 Review by AthlGrond 
UPDATED: 67 days ago
member for 6.3 years, 2317 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Aurora,Arapahoe,CO
 $63 per month
 about 2 days
 "Good Uptime, Reasonable Pings (Latency)"
 "One Billing Problem"
 "Happy Now"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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Update (6//23/08):
Speeds are now:
8Mbps download and 2Mbps upload. (Up from 8M / 768K)
Still paying $63/month.
The connection remains very reliable.
Latency is good here too.
Update (12/6/07):
Nothing new to report, the connection remains very reliable, and the price has not changed.
Update (5/15/07):
Comcast has instituted a new speed bursting technology on all accounts. Although I'm sure it's probably working I don't see a personal impact to my internet usage.
Still no price changes, and the connection remains very reliable.
Update (11/14/06):
Nothing new to report, I've not had any problems whatsoever since the last update.
=)
Update:
Comcast has added an IGN subscription perk to the 8/768 package.
I haven't noticed any service interruptions as yet, it's been remarkably trouble free.
Update:
Comcast has updated their bandwidth limits.
Again.
I'm now getting 8Mbps down and 768Kbps up. Fortunately they seem to have the traffic shaping changed to the point where it's a non-issue. The Java based speed tests usually don't show the full bandwidth, but multiple concurrent downloads do show the full 8Mbps is available.
Update:
Comcast has updated their bandwidth limits. The good news is that I'm now getting 6Mbps down and 768Kbps up, the bad new is that they turned off traffic shaping so that 6Mbps is a maximum and I'm averaging about 5Mbps.
Update:
Comcast now allows the use of customer equipment with the Home Networking package, so I have switched to using my own modem and firewall (and save $5/month as a result). This time the billing was done correctly the first time.
So now I'm getting 4Mbps/384Kbps for $63/month, I still do not have cable TV service (which would save me $10/month on the connection).
The connection continues to be good. I have not had any significant slowdowns or downtime in the last year.
Original Review:
Background:
I had AT&T’s Ultralink service (3Mbps down and 384Kbps up for $80/month) and Comcast notified me that they are discontinuing that service so I would have to switch to something else. The service that Comcast automatically switch me to was the Pro service 4Mbps down and 384Kbps up for $95
I had heard that Comcast was offering a “Home Networking” service with speeds of 4Mbps down and 384Kbps up for $67, with the catch being you have to 1) Use their modem/wired/wireless/router and 2) you have to pay to have them install it.
The price breakdown is $52 for the service, $10 because I don’t have Comcast cable TV, and $5 modem rental.
I would have to buy the modem from Comcast for $200, if I wanted to own my own modem and avoid the $5/month rental charge.
Installation charges $200 1-2 computers +$50 per additional computer up to a total of 5 computers.
The modem/router device that Comcat provides has built in wireless and will provide (DHCP) IP addresses for up to 5 devices. You can put another router behind their device (double NATing) to attach more devices if you want, but Comcast does not support that.
The Phone Call
I called Comcast on Wednesday and they took my information and arranged for my installation on Friday. They would come out between noon and 4pm. They wanted to know how many computers they were going to set up, I told them one. They then wanted to know how many computers were going to connect to the internet, I told them three. I was told that the installation charge would be $250. Why? They would be setting up 3 computers. Would setting up two computers be less? Yes. Then just set up two please. Okay $200 installation charge then. (They won’t charge less just for one.)
The Installation
The installer shows up at exactly 4pm. (Well at least he got there during the specified time.)
He sets the modem/wired/wireless router. The wireless portion isn’t working. He doesn’t have a spare. He drives back to the warehouse to get a spare and sets this new one up. It works and it is now 5:30. Setting up my computers is not really needed since they are all going to connect via wires that are already in place, and the computers are already setup for DHCP so there isn’t really anything for him to do. Worth $200? Nope.
So with things up and running we test the speeds: 1000 to 2200 Kbps download. Uh, problem! I was getting faster speeds with the Ultralink service, and it was consistent.
The installer says that “Yep, that looks like a problem, but I can’t help you with that” (The signal levels are excellent, just like they were when I had Ultralink.)
“Go ahead and talk to tech support if things don’t speed up on their own.” Well I guess when it’s 6pm on Friday you are no longer part of “tech support”.
The Bill
I got my first bill for the home networking: $517
$450 installation and $67 service.
I call them up and complain. They agree that $250 was a mistake and they will refund it.
Well what they ended up doing instead is crediting my account $250, instead of crediting my credit card $250. Rather shady if you ask me.
The Speeds
I have found a way to get the 4Mbps download: Do my own traffic shaping. The technical details are not too important the important thing to know is I had to do something special on my end that Comcast would not help me with to get the full speeds that I’m paying for. (Some people have no problems getting the correct speeds, if you are one of those people hurray for you.)
Overall
Now that I’m getting the correct speeds, and I’m getting charged less each month than I was with Ultralink I’m fairly happy. Getting here was a pain.
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