What happened to Comcast!?

[Vellos]

Just got new internet with them last month and it's been a horrible experience so far. 2 years ago Comcast had reasonable prices, reliable connections, and adequate service. Now they charge $15 to plug in the modem yourself, can't keep anything reasonably close to the promised speed (1Mbps instead of 25), want to charge $50 for a house visit to fix their connection problems, and their call support is either completely automated or gives you a representative that tries to sell you an upgrade package. I remember having connection issues and they'd send someone over next day no charge. Is the only other option Century Link?

[Skitz]

Windsteam is good!

[kingtut]

Comsuck stopped giving a shit about 4-5 years ago (for me anyway). They won't run anything w/o a promotional price, contracts, etc. Their customer service is useless and they don't desire your business at all. I've been with Centurylink ever since. For the basic needs I have, I'm content with them.

[Captain Obvious]

I gave up on them 6 years ago when we were still in Atlanta. For me, they have had poor customer service as long as I have had them, just suffered through till a better option came along. They are going through a rebranding effort, but hat they should have done is put that money into customer service staffing and making their product better.

[KennyFish]

I have century link bundled with my dish and I can complain low bill great customer service

[The Black Knight]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3292249765.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3292249765)

:D

not my fastest score as I've had better upload speeds. But, honestly if you're after pure speed and internet connection. Just keep Comcast. I've been with Comcast for over ten years in terms of internet. I won't use anyone else. No one else can match the speeds I get and for the money I pay.

[laspariahs]

I have centurylink, it's slow, very slow. .5 up 4-5 down. I'll be switching once my 12 months is up.

[tecknojoe]

damn, what do you pay to get that speed?

I had them for a few years and it the internet was about a 9/10. I had to keep calling back every 6 months though to get back on a "promotional price"

[laspariahs]

20 a month.......

[Skitz]

I don't mind comcast, just make sure you have a docsis 3.0 modem, otherwise you'll never actually get the sold performance.

[~Barn~]

I have centurylink, it's slow, very slow. .5 up 4-5 down. I'll be switching once my 12 months is up.


20 a month.......

That's crazy.... Something sounds wrong. I pay $10 more than that for Century link and I'm on a package that is advertised as 12Mbps(dn). I consistently get speeds 1-3Mbps FASTER than advertised though, and there's really no variance in "peak time" speeds. My family of seven has connected devices out the yin-yang, and nobody ever complains about buffers or Netflix not working or whatever. I've consider paying +$10 to get their "advertised" 20Mbps (dn), but one of their reps once told me that it's really not worth it [not sure why he said that] but it's always stuck with me. If they ever promo it for me at no cost though I might try it, just to see how it runs. Very very content with the service I have though.

You absolutely must keep on them though, if you're not getting your speed. When I first switched from the their (7) package to the (12), my speeds didn't move at all. They tested and tested and tested and tried to spin me right-left & center, and I threatened to move back to the lower grade package since I wasn't realizing any benefit from upgrading, and then pow.... one site visit from a tech found a dodgy modem pool out at one of their "junction" boxes and upon upgrading the HW, I've been getting those +1/3 speeds ever since, and the bill has only gone down over time, not up. :dunno:

EDIT: I take a bit of what I said back... I just checked my last bill (bundled with DirecTV) and my Century Link internet portion was only $21.99. I actually thought it was closer to $30.

[laspariahs]

That's crazy.... Something sounds wrong. I pay $10 more than that for Century link and I'm on a package that is advertised as 12Mbps(dn). I consistently get speeds 1-3Mbps FASTER than advertised though, and there's really no variance in "peak time" speeds. My family of seven has connected devices out the yin-yang, and nobody ever complains about buffers or Netflix not working or whatever. I've consider paying +$10 to get their "advertised" 20Mbps (dn), but one of their reps once told me that it's really not worth it [not sure why he said that] but it's always stuck with me. If they ever promo it for me at no cost though I might try it, just to see how it runs. Very very content with the service I have though.

You absolutely must keep on them though, if you're not getting your speed. When I first switched from the their (7) package to the (12), my speeds didn't move at all. They tested and tested and tested and tried to spin me right-left & center, and I threatened to move back to the lower grade package since I wasn't realizing any benefit from upgrading, and then pow.... one site visit from a tech found a dodgy modem pool out at one of their "junction" boxes and upon upgrading the HW, I've been getting those +1/3 speeds ever since, and the bill has only gone down over time, not up. :dunno:

EDIT: I take a bit of what I said back... I just checked my last bill (bundled with DirecTV) and my Century Link internet portion was only $21.99. I actually thought it was closer to $30.

I have the fastest service available in my area, just checked to make sure, supposedly it is .9 up 7 down which is bad enough, but it's really .5 up if I'm lucky, 4-5 down, which is fast enough for 720p on netflix. Plus it's unreliable, it goes down every now and then, and since I use a VOIP phone it's very annoying. Screw centurylink, I'll be switching to comcast as soon as I can. I'm sure hassling them might prove to bear some fruit, perhaps, but I don't have the time to make them do their job. I've never had a problem with comcast in the past, though their CS sucks.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3292952597.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3292952597)

[I`m Batman]

...make sure you have a docsis 3.0 modem...

+1
Looks like I'm getting throttled... but I'm happy.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3292968185.png

[madvlad]

Yea we are not very happy with their services either, may just cut them loose

[derekm]

ya i wanted to bundle w CL but they didnt offer the speeds I wanted and with an 18 year old thats glued to his pc and 2 youngins watching ipads and youtube vids I need as much speed as poss. I call every 2-3 mos to comcrap and see if they have a promo to save me $$$. you get what you pay for... like "Bob Smith from Topeka KS" in a broken english/ middle eastern accent!

ps- on my BEAT THE FUCK UP and outdated macbook just hit 16.23v and 11.10^

[gator4life108]

I have been using CenturyLink (Internet) for the past year and have not been happy. Going back to Comcast next month. I have the 40 mb internet and it being DSL I can still tell when everyone else gets on. Took them almost a month to configure my modem since it kept on disconnecting. Using a phone cable DSL has not been great for gaming and heavy internet usage. Internet is really up and down and ping is high. I used Comast awhile ago and while their prices are high I think the stability of their internet is better.

[tecknojoe]

I have the fastest service available in my area, just checked to make sure, supposedly it is .9 up 7 down which is bad enough, but it's really .5 up if I'm lucky, 4-5 down, which is fast enough for 720p on netflix. Plus it's unreliable, it goes down every now and then, and since I use a VOIP phone it's very annoying. Screw centurylink, I'll be switching to comcast as soon as I can. I'm sure hassling them might prove to bear some fruit, perhaps, but I don't have the time to make them do their job. I've never had a problem with comcast in the past, though their CS sucks.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3292952597.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3292952597)

Yea, that looks like $20 a month, not the 57mbps posted above that

[~Barn~]

I have the fastest service available in my area <Snip...>

If that's the fastest that they say is available for your area (and considering your experience + the fact you use VoIP), then a move away from CL is probably best. It sounds like they may not serve many in your geography and as such you're probably forced to be working on pretty bad infrastructure. For the $$, I think Comcast will probably be far superior, even if you're not on their high-end speeds.

Century Link should be ashamed for selling to you at a rate that isn't steeply discounted, and then not even providing what they're advertising. But then again if the customer base doesn't demand... Good luck either way.

[koop]

Do you have a wireless router plugged into the modem?

I was getting speeds like that a couple months ago from comcast and the problem was the router.

[birchyboy]

My Comcast is stupid expensive ($75/month). If I paid the bill (I'm reimbursed by my employer), I'd definitely switch to something else. I wish that CL had fiber in my area, but it does say that 40/20 is available for $30/month. I'll have to see if that is discounted at all since I have DirecTV as well.

[The Black Knight]

My Comcast is stupid expensive ($75/month). If I paid the bill (I'm reimbursed by my employer), I'd definitely switch to something else. I wish that CL had fiber in my area, but it does say that 40/20 is available for $30/month. I'll have to see if that is discounted at all since I have DirecTV as well.

What's your package from Comcast? At $75/month(Business Class??) you've got to be clocking speeds quicker than me. I don't pay what you pay and I've got blindingly fast internet. If you're quicker than me, I wouldn't mind checking with Comcast and see about an upgrade. I'm always looking for more and more speed.

Oh yeah, set my quickest download speed just now. First time over 58Mbps. Uploads are still a little slow, I've seen as high as 15 but lately been around 11-12 area, still not complaining..

:D

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3294729550.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3294729550)




P.S.
this is what gets me when it comes to Call of Duty. One of the reasons I wanted a super fast internet was because of my affinity for Call of Duty. Which is why I can't understand why the damn game servers don't always pick me as the host for the game. One would think it would make the most sense to go with the guy that has the highest speed, and also has the ability to support everyone else, which in turn would make a smoother game for everyone. But my clan/team and I have noticed that many times the servers pick someone with an ultra slow internet and the game is thus laggy as hell for everyone. I know for a fact that several of my clan mates have the bare minimum in terms of internet quality(for PS3 use), yet they will get chosen as host of the game. The crappy thing about it, is even using them to host the game, it lags them out tremendously. Yet, when I do get chosen as host(I'd say about 40% of the time I'm host), the games are smooth and show little to no lag compensation.

[birchyboy]

Definitely not stupid fast and not business class. I ran the Comcast speed test just now and got 14/11. I only have the single service, so I'm not getting the benefit of any bundling.

[Vellos]

Do you have a wireless router plugged into the modem?

I was getting speeds like that a couple months ago from comcast and the problem was the router.

A few years back Comcast provided a modem and I used my own high-quality router with absolutely no problems. Now Comcast has this stupid 2 in one modem/router that takes 15 mins to reset and is probably the cause of the poor connections.

[birchyboy]

A few years back Comcast provided a modem and I used my own high-quality router with absolutely no problems. Now Comcast has this stupid 2 in one modem/router that takes 15 mins to reset and is probably the cause of the poor connections.

I read a story on Friday that the new Comcast routers are actually public WiFi hot spots as well. You have to call Comcast to opt-out of this program. Here's the story:

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/02/comcast-customer-surprised-to-learn-new-router-is-also-public-hotspot/

[I`m Batman]

I bought my own modem that is just a DOCSIS 3.0 modem without a wi-fi router. No "rental" fee.
List of approved modems.
http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/

I bought my DOCSIS 3.0 with telephony modem from ebay for about $67 since I have my phone through them too. Modems without telephony are much cheaper and easier to find.

[LambeauXLIV]

One of the reasons I wanted a super fast internet was because of my affinity for Call of Duty. Which is why I can't understand why the damn game servers don't always pick me as the host for the game. One would think it would make the most sense to go with the guy that has the highest speed, and also has the ability to support everyone else, which in turn would make a smoother game for everyone. But my clan/team and I have noticed that many times the servers pick someone with an ultra slow internet and the game is thus laggy as hell for everyone. I know for a fact that several of my clan mates have the bare minimum in terms of internet quality(for PS3 use), yet they will get chosen as host of the game. The crappy thing about it, is even using them to host the game, it lags them out tremendously. Yet, when I do get chosen as host(I'd say about 40% of the time I'm host), the games are smooth and show little to no lag compensation.

This probably has more to do with speed (length of time it takes your network to talk to others) than bandwidth (amount of data that can be shoved down your throat at a given moment). For instance, your ping to the comcast server in Denver takes 15ms, where someone else earlier in the thread only took 5ms.

How Call of Duty uses this information to select the best host is most likely not tilted in your favor.

[The Black Knight]

This probably has more to do with speed (length of time it takes your network to talk to others) than bandwidth (amount of data that can be shoved down your throat at a given moment). For instance, your ping to the comcast server in Denver takes 15ms, where someone else earlier in the thread only took 5ms.

How Call of Duty uses this information to select the best host is most likely not tilted in your favor.
That makes sense and I've had others say the same as you. What's odd is my ping, the 19ms I read was higher than I've done in the past. Also the 15ms on my last reading was higher than in the past as well. Usually, I run between 8-10ms for ping. Could be fluctuations within Comcast. I will say this, in the past when I've gotten the better ping, my speeds have been lower. Since I got bumped in speed last year, I was always over 50Mbps but normally in the 53-55Mbps area, and with a quicker ping. I've noticed since I've gone over 55Mbps and routinely score 57Mbps every time, my ping has gone up. I'm no longer in that sub-10ms ping area, but now float between 15-20ms pings.

[AOK303]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3297594908.png
Comcast

had centrylink was payin 10 more for only 20 the highest speed they offered in my area, i will say i have had more down time with comcast
but its twice as fast and ok service so far

http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3297594908