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Service has definitely been degraded since the switch from Insight. I was getting pretty consistent averages close to the 10/1. Now average halved and latency doubled and pretty jerky. I reckon I can say that I have been 'Comcraptic' initiated. I am not all to happy or satisfied with my service right now. Update 3/7/2008 AS in my previous assessment. My user experience basically halved. I was using a Dlink DCM-202 Modem. Apparently Comcast did not have me modem registered. That was odd seeing as I registered it with Insight a little over a year ago. Comcast had my original RCA-425 modem registered I had gotten from Insight when I first started service. After spending about 21/2 hours registering my Dlink, the issues were not fixed. In fact I could not upload?!!. Dlink had a firmware upgrade specifically for Comcast users on the 202 model. So I figured ok...i'll try it. Well after the firmware upgrade the issues still wasn't straightened out. Then I found out that the firmware upgrade disables the tftp so you downgrade or revert back to the original. Something Dlink neglects to tell you on the site or in the 'instructions' SO DON"T DO IT is my suggestion for us former Insight people. Your Older RCA-425 is probably a bottle neck for your connection. It was on mine. I bought a new SB-5120 from Newegg with a promo code for free shipping. I figured I had not much to loose seeing how I considered my DCM-202 bricked and me RCA-425 slow. I have to tell you folks IT MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE!! Comcast is still having intermittent issues especially around peak time. Tier 2 tech assured me they are aware and are working diligently on them. Well I am not holding my breath, 3/14/2008 Lots of Phone call disconnects when calling support...even when just trying to call the Number sometimes I get disconnected right away. This time I actually got a 'ticket' number & I declined a service tech call because I know that it would be fruitless at this time. I did manage to pull a partial credit for the issues I had been experiencing. I found out that some of the effects included ssl errors & a full minute to sync Imap folders or Outlook times out in an email account. I wondered why I was having issues with updating/syncing My Quicken & Bank info for a week... 3/16/2008 PM There has been a few times I have managed to experience moments of seemingly unfettered smooth sailing on the net and have actually managed some respectable speed tests. However I don't believe the 'Speed tests' really give an accurate reading of the 'real world' internet experience. So i go to sites where i have downloaded things in the past ie: Microsoft.com and download maybe a SP2 or something. On Insight average would 1200-1300- KB/sec. Since Comcast takeover it now averages 500-600 KB/sec. I never have mentioned about the Cable tv service before so I will now.I just have basic 'cause I don't watch TV that much. However, the few channels I do watch occasionally have sometimes experienced distorted sound and occasional picture distortion (The little fleeting squares) 3/16/2008 PM Now the service really sucks 3/25/2008 Some times when you think they have it all straightened out.Then more issues happen. 4/07/2008 AM Still experiencing a lot of intermittent issues. Naturally Comcast wants to waste my time and theirs to send out a truck. I exclaim what for?? Besides the last person that came out confirmed there isn't anything wrong with me modem and inside lines or the drop and the immediate neighborhood. ..the intermittent issues are on comcast nodes above me like in Chicago and Boston.& why in the hell am i being routed to boston from the midwest to visit a sever thats located on the west coat? Gee that makes perfect network manageability sense to me. 4/13/2008 Yada Yada...same ole craptastic intermittent issues and &%^$% support. BTW the email Rick Germano thing is just a PR placebo. 4/26/2008 Internet has been a bit more stabilized per norm. But you never know exactly when you would mysteriously get cutoff in the middle of something. Such as what happened last week for 5 1/2 hours. However there are still occasional persistent intermittent issue on some nodes. The Basic cable service I have is even taking a licking from comcast compression and routing tactics. Insight service was sooo much more dependable and reliable in the end... 4/30/2008 Have another tech scheduled to come out...just to waste my time and confirm that is is nothing on my end...BTW I getting so annoyed at that stupid voice menu/speech/ marketing crap...just get to the chase I say 5/2/2008 I had to cancel the scheduled tech visit because a more demanding issue came about that required my presence elsewhere. I did get an email response from a "Comcast Rep". I have yet to email all my data to them. 5/4/2008 Until these issues are resolved, I am going to do my best to keep this review on the front page to divert what I sense are some of Comcasts paid poster/reviewers. I have notice a few folks posted a thread in the forums about a node/router in Connecticut (& other places) dropping packets big time. It just so happens to be one of those nodes/routers that is affecting me in Northern Illinois that I have repeatedly reported on numerous occasions. One in Massachusetts is another that acts up frequently and affects me here. One thing I have to say... If Insight can whip together a full fairly reliable network in about a year with less resources & experiences than Comcast, why on earth cannot Comcast keep/or do the same. Technically they were somewhat partners. So what happened in the transition? Other than Big Corp Greed, manipulation and moving stuff around for their own major benefit all in the meantime using the deceptive marketing media hype to promote the half truths.. 5/7/2008 Uploaded some more shots showing the Connecticut plots 5/11/2008 Uploaded More plots showing the typical Comcast node/router intermittent trouble makers IP 68.86.90.54 te-1-4-ar01.woburn.ma.ma.boston.comcast.net & IP 68.86.90.58 te-3-1-ar01.chartford.ct.hartford.comcast.net Even My basic cable tv service has intermittent issues showing on various channels today. 5/14/2008 Speed test (especially flash) DO NOT give an accurate rendering of real world internet experiences. Just as certain protocols, web sites, & servers can be blacklisted (throttled or blocked) - the opposite is also true. Have you ever noticed a vast difference in the latency when running a speed test from a certain server from Flash to Java & to running just a simple ping? A Comcast sales rep handed out a bunch of flyer's in me neighborhood offering a pretty good introductory deal. Little do they now that I am co-captain of the neighborhood watch. I communicate regularly with a lot of households. Needless to say I share the truth about my own experiences and what to really expect with Comcast. BTW as I am pinging speakeasy.net I am showing the 5-10 ms packet losses every 20-30 ms on the ole boston node/router this morning. 5/19/2008 As per typical Comcraptic ways. The above mention Nodes are still intermittent. I must STRESS that even the cable TV is rapidly deteriorating. Most of me channels have these quaint little lines going up the screen. Reminds me somewhat of rabbit ears. Support simply sucks at best. Tech or corporate don't get off their duff to truly fix stuff. Save the New Building the fatheads can sit in & that silly social site of whatever the (*&% it is they bought. 5/23/2008 I'll give credit where credit is do. Had a tech visit this morning about the quaint lines in my Cable TV service this morning. Apparently & highly probable it appears to have been a bad splitter that I really didn't need in the first place. (It was something leftover from before Comcast & NOT inline with the cable modem/internet) I won't fault Comcast on that one. I'll give the tech that came out a thumbs up for prompt and thorough inspection and troubleshooting. I do have a hard photo of my TV with some green lines taken on 4\20 2008 However I believe that was a totally separate issue Than this recent one. I did show the tech the data I have been collecting about my internet experiences. He suggested I take it to the supervisor locally. That can be arranged seeing as how they are not far from me. 6/7/2008 Woke up this morning and booted comp up to a very intermittent slow loading at times (Something was interfering with Various pages being called up intermittently) Home page (Google) and various other pages would take way too long to load or sometimes would load normally Speed tests and latency checks were all over the place. As usual the node IP 68.86.90.58 te-3-1-ar01.chartford.ct.hartford.comcast.net that appears to be in the way of most of my browsing paths is showing its typical intermittent issues. However it wasn't quite as bad as I have seen it in the past. So this is a bit puzzling for me. I'll chalk this up to one of their 'Deep Packet' inspection hardware boxes interfering with the syn_sent or the receive packets from my browsers. On the other hand, just to be fair it appears several other level3.net (nodes/routers) were having occasional packet losses too. Comcast support was running on the usual script per norm and of course they offered to roll a truck. I asked, "What for? You still hadn't really fixed the other (Internet) Comcast network issues yet thats above me since the last few tech visits." 6/11/2008 Internet service is the crap again. So what else is new aye. Can't even call support today from cell...reckon thats my fault too that even the call center is &^(^$%*$ up. 6/14/2008 Don't consistently get alleged advertise speeds even OFF "peak' Hours. Customer service and networks techs simply suck at best. Service is not 'smooth'... is spotty, jerky (cuts in and out) I really Hate the robot thing when one calls in with a bloody passion. What an absolute annoyance. Even that part of their service is not consistent or reliable. (Go figure aye). I am tired of doing the same ole 'script' only to still be where I am at today. Comcasts service and support simply doesn't hold a candle to my former ISP Insight despite all the marketing hype and empty PR double talk.. Yet they raised rates pretty much across the board claiming an 'Increased value of service. What a bunch of true BS. All the various 'Deep packet inspection' hardware, protocol agnostic, monitoring and other crap they use, actually hinders and adds to the instability and performance issues. Makes trouble shooting and diagnostics a much more pain in the backside & it leaves the generic tech support people clueless and inept. »/lineq ··· /2396022 ge-1-2-ar03.area4.il.chicago.comcast.net 19% 6/29/2008 With A 10 down and a 1 up service (Before the Media Marketed propaganda 'Powerboost') One would think that to send an email with approx. 8 MB attachment (Something I very rarely do), it wouldn't take all but a couple minutes MAX to send. How about a full 7 minutes!! Very Nice...yah right. Time to spend calling support= 2sec. Listening to robot to get to live person= 1-5 min reciting 'scripts' before CSR= 10 min User experiences from Insight to Comcast average ratio= (negative) -33-50% Actual 'Real' or 'long term' solutions applied= ??? Real User Experiences= Priceless Must be why they figure it as an 'Increased value of service' uh? 6/30/2008 I can no longer connect to local office...so i have to go through the other number and if I am lucky get cut-off during transfer so i can listen to that crap all over again. Aaarrgg! Finally got a live one. #CR129479 the tech on the phone even noted intermittent High pings from his end to my modem. As per protocol. I get to blow part of a day for a truck roll. I also take the opportunity to remind them once again of the troubled nodes/routers I have been noting. note...generally the speeds have been about half of what they should be these last couple of weeks. 7/2/2008 »/lineq ··· /2402609 ge-1-2-ar03.area4.il.chicago.comcast.net showing 29% loss Immediately after that I ran PingPlotter (TCP packets) against Pingplotter.com and te-1-4-ar01.woburn.ma.boston.comcast.net shows average of 50% packet loss. Comcast has us screwed coming and going. Go figure. View image 7/05/2008 Tech was here on time (Former Insight employee...Sincere thanks for Comcast keeping the "Local workforce') Tech was professional and thorough. He checked everything, looked at my data collected. Even ran his lappy bypassing router confirming my results. Again...Its not on my end that these issues are happening. I am gonna call it node overload or deep packet inspection/compression hardware issues. Whatever the case is, I am NOT getting what is marketed or I am paying for. Naturally it was 9 am day after the 4th so network wasn't nearly as bad. However it was still below par. Speed Test #53792888 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-07-06 05:54:20 EST Download: 3586 (Kbps) Upload: 1296 (Kbps) The dude even expressed interest in registering here on this site for future references. Apparently Comcasts internal (passworded) Speedtest site is in a cyber hole somewhere. Long Live the Java Speedtests!! Results of the tech visit are yet to be seen. I trust this guy will follow through on his reporting this for a real workable solution 7/12/2008 Still Waiting for a longer term solution to be applied...aka 'fixed network' screw the powerboost, stop compressing the snot out of everything and just stick with reasonable reliability aye!!. Comcast nodes/routers ARE overloaded. Speed Test #54160019 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-07-12 17:53:40 EST Download: 2713 (Kbps) Upload: 843 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 331.2 down 103 up Tested by server: 56 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 2986 tests from comcast.net: * download is 62% worse, upload is 43% worse 7/13/2008 Speed Test #54188994 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-07-13 09:04:12 EST Download: 3312 (Kbps) Upload: 1453 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 404.3 down 177.4 up Tested by server: 55 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 2899 tests from comcast.net: * download is 53% worse, upload is 3% worse 7/16/2008 Morning Done on the Speakeasy one Speed Test #54349081 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-07-16 06:50:01 EST Download: 2526 (Kbps) Upload: 1441 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 308.4 down 175.9 up Tested by server: 55 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 2528 tests from comcast.net: * download is 64% worse, upload is 4% worse Evening »/lineq ··· /2407954 7/17/2008 Needless to say it is not smooth sailing especially in the evening times Uploaded a new PingPlotter Images. I used UDP packets at Speakeasy.net & Amazon.com. One Pingplotter image (Using TCP Packets) at Amazon.com showing strange actions. I did manage to capture some packets during the UDP drops but not when I was memorized by the tcp Amazon one. See below and you will know why. The newer images are noted by the purple/bluish color 5 am my time: Speed Test #54459901 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-07-18 06:03:31 EST Download: 5948 (Kbps) Upload: 2251 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 726.1 down 274.8 up Tested by server: 55 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 2541 tests from comcast.net: * download is 16% worse, upload is 48% better 7/192008 @ 2:22am Speed Test #54512078 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-07-19 03:20:36 EST Download: 4082 (Kbps) Upload: 2597 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 498.3 down 317 up Tested by server: 54 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 2526 tests from comcast.net: * download is 42% worse, upload is 72% better 7/23/2008 Another grand evening of spotty, jerky, packet dropping and sub-par internet performance for what one ‘allegedly’ pays for. I am in the process of ‘testing’ a certain config file for what is known as Blast (16/2). I must confess, I am not too impressed. I do not see/experience much difference that what I ‘allegedly’ had (10/1) save the upload is a little bit better. Of course we all know that that what I had (10/1) was performing subpar in Comcast’s hands opposed to when it was in my original ISP’s (InsightBB). Generally, we are cruising about half speed and jerky. I ran some more PingPlotter Plots using three different types of packets, pinging three strategic domains (I will not post them here). One was Comcast’s very own. Naturally, the router/nodes or whatever one chooses to call them today I have been consistently griping about are still intermittently dropping packets . Some excuses ISP’s like to use is “It’s not on our network”… “We are not responsible for other networks”… or something along the lines of: We are not responsible for the delivery/speed outside our networks and even then, it is worded ’UP TO’… & THAT depends on certain conditions (of course one of them is termed “network”. These statements and ideologies may be true in one perspective. However, they are also used as a ‘reasonable’ cop-out for what appears to me as blatant irresponsibility. Whose network we complaining about here?? When I do browse other places outside your (Comcast) network, do I not pass through devices on your (Comcast) network to get to them (Other networks) and vice versa?? Let us have a show of hands of people that that do all their browsing, posting, forum hopping, music listening/downloading, video watching/downloading, banking, online shopping, software patches, online courses, web work, research & all the other things folks do on the net… On & limited too their ISP’S own specific network…hmmm Yet the Marketing Media Propaganda portrays it as…’DO EVERYTHING’ faster and better with our service (Which btw implies network) Tell me please how that will that happen when their own network cannot keep up and/or perform with the service they offer and sell? If I recall, this review falls under the ISP of Comcast and I do specifically remember me posting images (see below or go here »Review of Comcast XFINITY by FreedomBuild ) and such about certain troubled routers/gateways with the ending of COMCAST.NET that are consistently intermittently dropping packets, Thus, drastically affecting my internet experience. See recent from another angle »/lineq ··· /2410639 From my own experiences of the ‘Blast’ (16/2) these last 2 weeks is nothing but a ‘sound good’, ego boosting (Cuzz I got blast) theoretical cool thing that one technically pays more money for and gets less product (Personal experience with data to back it up) I call it deception or to put it lightly “LIE”. Comcast couldn’t even keep up with the 10/1. Former InsighBB customers were promised that we would have the same uninterrupted service, performance and speed that we experienced with InsightBB for at least a year. Well the Year is half over; so far we are getting the shaft by Corporate BS. Speed Test #54742962 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-07-23 20:32:59 EST Download: 1851 (Kbps) Upload: 1945 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 226 down 237.5 up Tested by server: 54 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 2180 tests from comcast.net: * download is 74% worse, upload is 28% better Even a speed test I did on Comcast’s own in Chicago was not good. 7/29/2008 Speed Test #54960214 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-07-29 04:55:57 EST Download: 2917 (Kbps) Upload: 2740 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 356.1 down 334.5 up Tested by server: 54 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 1603 tests from comcast.net: * download is 63% worse, upload is 80% better Oh, Gee Comcast…. Your bank is NOT ON MY BANK NETWORK. So I am not responsible nor can I guarantee the delivery for the ‘UP TO’ my full bill payment 8/172008 I have resisted posting anything on here for several weeks for 2 reasons: 1) been real busy in real life 2) trying to give Comcast a fair shake at 'catching up' Apparently, Comcast HAS been doing some things to improve user experiences in my particular area. from what I can tell. I have not seen the consistent packet losses noted in previous posts. I have been noting a considerable degradation in 'Speed' performance during 'Peak' time. (Generally 2/3rds of the normal using the internet time) Even with the highly media marketing propagated 'Powerboost'. Apparently the 'Powerboost' works well OFF peak hours. But what about 'Peak' hours? Does it turn off then? Doubt it very seriously. Then why the serious degradation in performance during 'Peak' hours. I think the powerboost just manages to keep you at about 'provisioned speed' during the speedtests at those times never mind the 'sustained provisioned speed. My observation anyway. So what does that really tell an inquisitive mind aye? Below is a copy of an email I sent to the Comcast reps that have been communicating with me. Begin email... Ok, I’ll put this more direct. So you bumped me up to blast and it ‘Really’ isn’t any better than the service than before. (Check out a few other folks complaining of issues with ‘Blast’.) Except, I am paying 25% more. Please tell me (stupid of me to think it was possible) How in the hell can Comcast manage 16/2 when they couldn’t manage the 10/1? When folks on the 8/2 can post similar speed tests (see 8-2 example.pdf). Evening time really sucks and you guys know it. Your overloaded and your charging a premium for services not & incapable of rending on a reasonable level. I am sure there are a whole slew of other folks that do not know better and are not aware of how or where to complain about their Comcast service too. To top it off, Comcast evidently shows favoritism. *see this review »Review of Comcast XFINITY by baineschile. So where is the real difference? Apparently Comcast will not deliver what they claim and market. I have multiple speed tests, PingPlots and download screenshots from places all over and locally showing that. Why is this error in my modems log files? *see logsdata.pdf (reset my modem yesterday) REG: Capability type incorrectly negotiated by CMTS Now we know that my system and setup can and does handle things nicely when Comcast is playing right. In one of your emails you sent me Frank, You stated “This could be something specific to the ping plotter program or the specific packets used…”. Could be! If that were truly the case, then why is it those two specific hops on a regular consistent basis and not any others? As I stated in my review… ‘Pay more for less’ I am not all happy or content with the dishonoring of Comcast’s word to us former InsightBB customers. Nor am I happy with false and misleading advertising claims. Nor am I happy with the performance and degradation of my prior service and the service I have now at a 25% cost increase. I am a Remodeler by trade and if I don’t perform what I say I would. Then I don’t get paid. Now you want to ()*&^)%^ my credit up because I contest my bill? All I want is what I have paid for on a consistent level. I’m tired of the price gouging, lies, Corporate greed and deception. end email... My observation about the Degradation in overall performance during Peak times has been confirmed more than once using Comcast's own speedtests as well as others. 8/18/2008 I sense some things heating up. »Review of Comcast XFINITY by pls1 8/19/2008 Taken Here »speed.nap.wideopenwest.com/ @ about 5:50 pm Speed Test #55955097 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-08-19 18:55:40 EST Download: 5876 (Kbps) Upload: 2157 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 717.3 down 263.3 up Tested by server: 12 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 2294 tests from comcast.net: * download is 23% worse, upload is 41% better note... This is a Java site recommended by Frank. The upload is indicating Powerboost. However the download is of serious trouble. I ran 3 of them in a 10 minute time frame. Appears the evening 'Protocol Agnostic' throttling has kicked in. 8/29/2008 I am still not convinced that the 'theoretical 16/2 blast' @ a 25% increase in cost, is any better than what i originally had and were promised that the service would not change in the transition from Insightbb. ( I still have the original letter) Now because Comcast was caught with their hand up their backside. We normal users have to pay another deceptive price. The user cap. I am not advocating those folks that use the internet to the extreme. To impose the abusers penalty on everyone else is just not right. I can read the writing on the wall. Its a dumbing down for internet access and another way to double charge for advertisements and to keep with the greed of 'Pay more for less' It doesn't matter if one has ad-blocking software on their PC. The bandwidth is still counted toward ones own use. Remember Comcast in essence could not manage my original plan 10/1 and it appears that the 16/2 on most occasions is the same performance. the throughput after the powerblast kick is no different the majority of the time. I am still waiting for proper compensation for Comcast own mismanagement of their network which in turn affected me. As for the other 'Paid' reviewers trying desperately to 'up' comcast ratings score... Truth always prevails in the end. Such as that when Comcast was caught red handed about the p2p protocol forgery and they (Comcast) explicitly denied it. 2/09/2008 As per Norm of typical Comcast deception and the regular prime time sub par performance one pays extra for... Speed Test #57176159 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-09-09 23:21:09 EST Download: 6702 (Kbps) Upload: 2823 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 818.2 down 344.6 up Tested by server: 12 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 1631 tests from comcast.net: * download is 2% worse, upload is 82% better Again...and this has been fairly regular. Just because I haven't been posting much doesn't mean everything is running smoothly. I have been running some other kinds of tests that are too lengthy to post here. Rest assured I am collecting data. 9/14/2008 When its up & Not during Prime time (which BTW is only about 1/3 rd the time), service is generally pretty good as noted: Results from »www.speed.io (Copied on 2008-09-14 06:48:46) Download: 31383 Kbit/s Upload : 2828 kbit/s Connects : 2710 conn/min Ping: 11 ms Java from WOW Speed Test #57427281 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-09-14 08:12:36 EST Download: 29742 (Kbps) Upload: 2752 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 3630.6 down 336 up Tested by server: 12 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 1750 tests from comcast.net: * download is 313% better, upload is 83% better Both @ 7am Sunday morning. However come a little later in the day and at evening times one can generally halve those numbers and the is with the co vented powerboost. Take the Powerboost away and one gets the real time average speed. which equals about half on a good day. So in essence we are paying twice as much for half of *package sold. As for the 'up to' lingo. They can shove it up too the their highest backside. I am a little pissed off at the constant serious evening and weekend degradation of services. I was doing a tile job @ a clients house when Comcast came to do an install. I was appalled at the non former comcast employee installing Comcrast's malware aka toolbar and whatever else that crap comes with. What self centered jerks!! They prey on the internet and computer illiterates for their own selfish, controlling and manipulative ways. 9/21/2008 As per usual scenario... Speed Test #57876307 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-09-21 20:28:12 EST Download: 9329 (Kbps) Upload: 2782 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 1138.8 down 339.7 up Tested by server: 12 java User: 2 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 2340 tests from comcast.net: If it were not for the powerboost, i wouldn't have sh** Supposedly they are escalating this *again to the local office. This time I made sure I got a reference number # 53358 & CSR id. 9/23/2008 7:28 pm Speed Test #57997746 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-09-23 20:26:33 EST Download: 5874 (Kbps) Upload: 2306 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 717.1 down 281.5 up Tested by server: 12 java User: 2 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Customer support is a proverbial loop of NOT actually getting anything done. But rather a placebo to to appear as they are actually doing something and to waste ones time and resources.The bureaucratic red tape in the companies policies ensure that nothing actually gets done to the customers satisfaction or a REAL long term solution for the customers benefit. (as been noted by my reviews as well as a few other local Rockford area members that managed to find this site and post there own experiences.) Customer service, Real technical support/solutions and the PR placebo scheme give a whole new meaning the the term 'simply suxs' So I have taken the liberty of contacting several elected state officials,CUB. FTC, FCC, Illinois Commerce Commission and the states attorney with my documented complaints, letters. tests, findings and will continue to hound them. Not all tests and finding were done from my own personal location. To ensure the broad scope of things I have run tests from several other peoples houses throughout Rockford & area. Only my own are posted. 10/04/2008 finally been contacted on that 'double' escalated ticket. I have actually had a few Comcast folks calling me. Naturally per protocol, they are sending out yet another truck today. I asked them....gee...did it really get fixed the other 5 times? Evidently the guy monitoring my 'line' noticed packet losses too. That's why they are rolling another truck. We will see... In the mean time, Internet service has been sporadic today some good times and some bad. * Normally this time of the day, it's all bad...but, it's not evening yet. here is a sampling Speed Test #58636293 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-10-04 15:28:46 EST Download: 6518 (Kbps) Upload: 2509 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 795.7 down 306.3 up Tested by server: 12 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net That's with the 16/2 package and powerboost mind ya. 10/19/2008 Comcast's own internal speedtest site on a Sunday morning no doubt & it being Flash based at that with the all powerfull powerboost & Blast Last Result: Download Speed: 9881 kbps (1235.1 KB/sec transfer rate) Upload Speed: 2814 kbps (351.8 KB/sec transfer rate) This test was done after a restart * first one stalled out. Like I posted in another place appears comcasts own crap throttles its own.I reckon it truly is agnostic. But you know I pay for the 16/2. But hey at least they cant use the excuse 'It's not on our network' 11/03/2008 Just cleaned up the ole PingPlotter images from here...(Kudos to the webmaster that enabled this) Apparently with all the DPI crap & new protocol agnostic hardware in the way. It makes it much harder to pinpoint the bottlenecks... Then again, maybe THOSE are the bottlenecks. I tend to think so. Been running a few tests from alternate sources when time permits. Although I do not really put mush stock into 'Speedtest' especially flash. I must again publicaly note that one of the suggested sites I use was one of Comcast's own internal site. We will just say that 4 out 5 last times I used it it would countdown and almost crawl to a stop...funny aye. Got hit with the random cable modem rental fee...even though I own my cable modem & always have. Funny it wasn't on the last bill. I have a theory that the billing program is set to randomly inject that fee for some mass, fast, oops (Hope you don't catch that) revenue generator. As for the actual service...Not much has really changed still averaging 1/3 - 1/2 the allotted tier I have been faithfully paying for. 12/1/2008 This is Blast... Speed Test #62136845 by dslreports.com Run: 2008-12-01 21:08:10 EST Download: 8301 (Kbps) Upload: 2931 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 1013.3 down 357.8 up Tested by server: 12 java User: 2 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 2312 tests from comcast.net: * download is 13% better, upload is 38% better Screen shot below was taken yesterday on Comcast's own internal speed test site. I did not finish the test because it was already @ 3 minutes. 12/7/2008 Some selective text from another test Connected to: miranda.ctd.anl.gov -- Using IPv4 address Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 1.70Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 1.93Mb/s The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 10 Mbps Ethernet subnet Information: Other network traffic is congesting the link [C2S]: Packet queuing detected Web100 reports the Round trip time = 82.98 msec; the Packet size = 1380 Bytes; and There were 13 packets retransmitted, 86 duplicate acks received, and 78 SACK blocks received The connection stalled 4 times due to packet loss The connection was idle 1.12 seconds (11.20%) of the time C2S throughput test: Packet queuing detected: 36.81% S2C throughput test: Packet queuing detected: 1.67% This connection is sender limited 1.63% of the time. This connection is network limited 98.37% of the time. The theoretical network limit is 2.63 Mbps The NDT server has a 127.0 KByte buffer which limits the throughput to 24.10 Mbps Your PC/Workstation has a 376.0 KByte buffer which limits the throughput to 35.43 Mbps The network based flow control limits the throughput to 4.56 Mbps This morning Connected to: miranda.ctd.anl.gov -- Using IPv4 address Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 2.88Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 7.43Mb/s The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 10 Mbps Ethernet subnet Information: Other network traffic is congesting the link [C2S]: Packet queuing detected Web100 reports the Round trip time = 87.74 msec; the Packet size = 1380 Bytes; and There were 58 packets retransmitted, 462 duplicate acks received, and 474 SACK blocks received The connection stalled 3 times due to packet loss The connection was idle 0.86 seconds (8.6%) of the time C2S throughput test: Packet queuing detected: 24.90% S2C throughput test: Packet queuing detected: 0.12% This connection is sender limited 20.15% of the time. This connection is network limited 79.85% of the time. The theoretical network limit is 5.72 Mbps The NDT server has a 127.0 KByte buffer which limits the throughput to 22.79 Mbps Your PC/Workstation has a 376.0 KByte buffer which limits the throughput to 33.51 Mbps The network based flow control limits the throughput to 23.15 Mbps But still crappy inconsistency in speeds and performance. 12/18/2008 Bottomline Comcast service simply is unreliable and simply sucks 1/9/2009 Still averaging half of what I am paying for. Fired off a EECB with "Written notice prior to Small Claims'. Supposed to be Contacted Regional Manager. 7/23/2009 I know it's been awhile since I posted my review. I hadn't taken Comcast to small claims yet. I still have time. Service still sucks!! still getting half speeds on average of what we pay for. I degrade my service back to the original 'Insight' tier 10/1 *naturally at a higher price than what I had* and guess what!! I am still getting (If I am lucky) between 5-9 on average with powerboost. Gee I was getting that on the 16/2. So basically they sold and billed me for a service they were incapable of actually delivering. See 12/7/2208 post I hold Mr. Comcastcares accountable for that. As far as I am concerned in My book, he aint nothin but an egotistical fluff bucket. Don't care much for the district manager in Rockford either. I have a letter written to me by him straight up lying. My response rebuked his tale using Comcast's own internal speedtest server. But naturally I suppose that's part of the Corporate policy is to lie. Just look at their track record. I thought about and maybe still will post that letter along with my reply here. As of 2 months ago, the slowest link; now reports 45 Mbps T3/DS3 subnet. Comcast replaced a head of course secretly while denying there was any problem with their network. Incidentally it took care of the tin man underwater sound on the local HD channels they are required by law to transmit. But that was a whole other complaint part that took about 4-5 months to resolve. One would think it would actually help our true speeds...NOT!! maybe it's the sandvine crap that was mentioned on the front page »Comcast/Sandvine Traffic Managment System Evolves [63] comments today. I know delivering mp3's and videos to a website I manage has a grand throughput speed of about 48-168kbs....'corrected' NOT GOOD So what is the real deal. Folks in a neighborhood that has some true competition may see some of Comcast's better side. But as it stands we in Rockford are getting screwed! 7/24/2009 I uploaded the letter I got from the District Director here in Rockford Illinois along with my response. Needless to say Executive customer care rep Verneen Breaux mirrored the same to to the inquiries from complaints I submitted to the FCC and our States Attorney. When I confronted Verneen on how is it Comcast can say I was complaining on speed results from a server in Germany...she replied they thought a tech that visited mention something about it. Again I rebuked that notion and claimed I NEVER SAID OR ELUDED TO ANYTHING OF A KIND. Asked if they had it in writing...'No', she said. I asked how is it they can claim something as fact (evidenced by the copies of letters they sent to the FCC and Lisa Madigan) when all they have is 'what they thought was said' and heresy? Putting it in writing may constitute perjury. Yet...true to Comcast denial and neglecting the truth Comcast negated actual hard core proof in writing nor would they own up to it. I do have several of our conversations recorded. Unfortunately the images of the letters do not appear in proper order despite my uploading them in order. No worries though, it's there for the world to see. Chicago Area/Argonne TCP/Web100 Network Diagnostic Tool v5.5.4b click START to begin ** Starting test 1 of 1 ** Connected to: ndt.anl.gov -- Using IPv4 address Another client is currently being served, your test will begin within 135 seconds Another client is currently being served, your test will begin within 90 seconds Another client is currently being served, your test will begin within 45 seconds Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 4.52Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 4.96Mb/s The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 45 Mbps T3/DS3 subnet Information: Other network traffic is congesting the link click START to re-test The theoretical network limit is 3.64 Mbps The NDT server has a 127.0 KByte buffer which limits the throughput to 24.19 Mbps Your PC/Workstation has a 255.0 KByte buffer which limits the throughput to 24.12 Mbps The network based flow control limits the throughput to 13.61 Mbps Client Data reports link is 'T3', Client Acks report link is 'Ethernet' Server Data reports link is 'Ethernet', Server Acks report link is 'Ethernet' 7/25/2209 Kills videos/news casts from ABC news 7:25 pm Chicago/Argonne This is with the Powerboost folks!! TCP/Web100 Network Diagnostic Tool v5.5.4b click START to begin ** Starting test 1 of 1 ** Connected to: ndt.anl.gov -- Using IPv4 address Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 4.53Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 4.05Mb/s The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 45 Mbps T3/DS3 subnet Information: Other network traffic is congesting the link WEB100 Enabled Statistics: Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 4.53Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 4.05Mb/s The theoretical network limit is 3.59 Mbps The NDT server has a 127.0 KByte buffer which limits the throughput to 21.65 Mbps Your PC/Workstation has a 255.0 KByte buffer which limits the throughput to 21.59 Mbps The network based flow control limits the throughput to 8.20 Mbps So actual through put is estimated at 1/1 Before the protocal agnostic sandvine kicks in!! Simply Craptastic aye....fits right in with the ads about 'downloading large files fast uh? 7/26/2009 7:55am Just to be fair and reduce to naught some typical Comcast excuses... I did a FTP test to my site in Dallas Texas on Site5 using the Theplanet.com Internet Services Inc group. Mind you, this is considered early morning when LESS traffic congestion is happening. My node isn't being used as much and Comcast's protocol agnostic network management aka sandvine theoretically may not be kicking in. I have screen shots, but will not post them here because they will interfere with the 'naming convention' of the other pics I have. I used a 253MB wmv file Upload averaged 134.27 KB/s....'corrected' good Download averaged 1192.81 KB/s....'Surprise!' well within 'reasonable' performance for the 'tier' I am on now. Maybe these recent posts are an official complaint against Comcast;s deployment of their newer 'Protocol agnostic' network management scheme. I do know this for a fact...as evidenced by ALL my previous postings. Come 'prime time' we get the snot throttled out of us!! 07/27/2009 Not even 'Prime Time' yet..But true to Comcasts continual commitment to customer and quality of service coupled with value added 'Enhancements' we are experiencing the following this morning!! Back to 'the slowest link 10 MB Ethernet link' Which probably explains the deterioration (random Pixelation) in on Cable video last night. I am quite sure the tin man underwater sound will be prevalent again too. Speed Test #75467551 by dslreports.com Run: 2009-07-27 9:11:50 CST Download: 492 (Kbps) Upload: 2981 (Kbps) In kilobytes per second: 60 down 364 up Tested by server: 56 java User: 1089628 @ dslreports.com User's DNS: comcast.net Compared to the average of 2033 tests from comcast.net: * download is 93% worse, upload is 10% better 7/27/2009 9:20 am TCP/Web100 Network Diagnostic Tool v5.5.4b click START to begin ** Starting test 1 of 1 ** Connected to: ndt.anl.gov -- Using IPv4 address Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 2.06Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 3.36Mb/s The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 10 Mbps Ethernet subnet 7/28/2009 12:00 pm WEB100 Enabled Statistics: Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 2.00Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 4.14Mb/s ------ Client System Details ------ OS data: Name = Windows Vista, Architecture = x86, Version = 6.0 Java data: Vendor = Sun Microsystems Inc., Version = 1.6.0_14 ------ Web100 Detailed Analysis ------ 10 Mbps Ethernet link found. Link set to Full Duplex mode No network congestion discovered. Good network cable(s) found Normal duplex operation found. Web100 reports the Round trip time = 83.88 msec; the Packet size = 1460 Bytes; and There were 39 packets retransmitted, 514 duplicate acks received, and 524 SACK blocks received The connection was idle 0 seconds (0%) of the time 10/20/2010 Rebooting the bleeping modem several times a day or at least every other day is getting to be a real pain in the a** not to mention wreaks havoc on my internal network and router settings S2C throughput test: Packet queuing detected: 1.01% This connection is sender limited 46.29% of the time. This connection is network limited 53.01% of the time. FTP test done today as the same posted on 7/26/2009 Sunday morning Upload averaged ??....not even going to bother Download averaged 472.17 KB/s....or 3.868 Mbps 4:10 pm TCP/Web100 Network Diagnostic Tool v5.5.4b click START to begin ** Starting test 1 of 1 ** Connected to: ndt.anl.gov -- Using IPv4 address Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 1.43Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 2.08Mb/s The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 10 Mbps Ethernet subnet this is with PowerBoost! of course when one calls...we get the same ole scripted crap we heard for the last year and half...several techs...and supervisors...yada, yada, yada...what do we have?... aint nothing changed but rather grew worse..Yet the Ads are blasting ...spewing hyped propaganda.....It makes me want to puke. 7/29/2009 So much for going back to the original Insight 10/1 I just learned today the screwed me out of that and have me rated at their so-called even more throttled silver package (the "performance 6/384'...excuse me??? Another example of Comcratic experience!! 7/30/2009 I do have another tech visit this early evening. Will it be another fruitless trip? I am not holding my breath. Excerpt from another post I did this morning in answer to an ambitious and dedicated Comcast rep...YES!! I actually DID say something positive. I don't hold the people who are the 'nuts-n-bolts' to Comcast's service accountable as a whole. I DO however hold Corporate policies and business model and those in charge of same accountable. A direct answer to your question...the mean average for my previous post was 8.16Mb/s. Knowing that those tests were using a 10 second burst up & down falls well within 'Active PowerBoost's' parameters. Please also note the time I posted 3:38 pm central. We were starting to get into primetime. Actual throughput was about 4.68Mb/s I will note this was done on my Vista 32 bit...Tweaked. Using router it is the same machine I did my FTP test to my site stated in my review on Sunday morning 7:55 am 7/26/2009 which at that time produced very acceptable results. This morning starting @ 5:50 am I did the same FTP test to my site. Freedombuild.net using ThePlanet group located in Dallas Texas. My site has a dedicated IP. There is only one other website I am managing there. This test I used my Vista 64 bit machine, Tweaked, same router of course and same 'brand' Security Suite * noting for documentary purposes, Security Suites generally do increase the overhead and MOST tests I have done, have this as well as other factors in mind (there has been some documented tests I have done with with said Security Suite disabled even when I was running XP 64 & 32 * just another side note to let Comcast know, that ALL my tests I have done and documented over the last year and half were not done hastily, biased an ignorantly without considering 'other' variable factors including 'typical' networked factors...aka the other networks. Here are my results @ 5:50 am-6:30am 7/30/2009 Using 253MB wmv file ftp to freedombuild.net Upload averaged....133 KB/s or 1.09Mbps Dnload averaged...1100 KB/s or 9.011Mbps Perfectly acceptable performance for my rated tier at this time Tracert to freedombuild.net to show the path Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002] Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. C:\Users\Shawn>tracert freedombuild.net 7:10am 7/30/2009 Tracing route to freedombuild.net [74.54.170.171] over a maximum of 30 hops: 1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms 192.168.10.1 2 * * * Request timed out. 3 9 ms 9 ms 8 ms ge-1-2-ur01.rockford.il.chicago.comcast.net [68. 85.179.137] 4 8 ms 9 ms 8 ms te-8-3-ur02.rockford.il.chicago.comcast.net [68. 85.176.169] 5 11 ms 14 ms 13 ms te-0-9-0-4-ar01.elmhurst.il.chicago.comcast.net [68.85.176.174] 6 13 ms * 13 ms pos-0-1-0-0-ar01.area4.il.chicago.comcast.net [6 8.87.230.237] 7 14 ms 25 ms 20 ms pos-1-14-0-0-cr01.chicago.il.ibone.comcast.net [ 68.86.90.45] 8 38 ms 40 ms 38 ms pos-2-14-0-0-cr01.atlanta.ga.ibone.comcast.net [ 68.86.85.170] 9 54 ms 51 ms 52 ms pos-1-13-0-0-cr01.dallas.tx.ibone.comcast.net [6 8.86.85.253] 10 52 ms 52 ms 54 ms theplanet-cr01.dallas.tx.ibone.comcast.net [68.8 6.88.50] 11 52 ms 52 ms 52 ms te7-1.dsr02.dllstx3.theplanet.com [70.87.253.18] 12 53 ms 54 ms 52 ms te3-3.dsr02.dllstx2.theplanet.com [70.87.253.126 ] 13 66 ms 54 ms 52 ms po2.car07.dllstx6.theplanet.com [70.87.254.190] 14 51 ms 53 ms * ab.aa.364a.static.theplanet.com [74.54.170.171] 15 54 ms 58 ms 53 ms ab.aa.364a.static.theplanet.com [74.54.170.171] Note that this test produced similar results as the one I did 7/26/2009 Sunday morning on me Vista 32 bit machine. Come primetime, when there is more traffic on Comcasts network, results are greatly diminished. Which tells me 1) Comcast's network is underbuilt and oversold. 2)The Network management scheme Comcast deploys throttles the snot out of everybody benefiting Comcast but screwing the average user. 3) Demonstrates the 'PowerBoost' is really just a marketing ploy and just manages to keep more naive users deceived as to what's really going on. 4)Active Comcast ad campaigns wording can be considered false advertising in certain markets (Rockford, IL) 5) Discredits Comcast's universal claim to 'committed' or 'commitment' when used in conjunction with customer service and quality of service.... I could go on, but I think the point is made. Does Comcast have the ability to provide service as they claim? I am sure they do as demonstrated from other folks here on DSLR/Broadband Reports typically in an area that is more prone too and has true competition. I have noted, on more than one occasion, folks on lesser tier plans (Especially when I was on the supposed 16/2 blast) consistently blew the doors off or MATCHED my typical speed tests *another note: I am not the only one in my immediate neighborhood that has expressed anguish over the performance of Comcast's 'HSI' 7/30/2009 5:33 pm Did same FTP test as earlier on the same machine...file...setup. This time I started about 5:03 pm. Upload average.....140 KB/s or 1.147Mbps 'I killed it at 60MB but still very good' Dnload average.....480KB/s or 3.932Mbps "NOT GOOD' typical less than half!! Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002] Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Tracing route to freedombuild.net [74.54.170.171] over a maximum of 30 hops: 1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms 192.168.10.1 2 * * * Request timed out. 3 14 ms 16 ms 10 ms ge-1-2-ur01.rockford.il.chicago.comcast.net [68. 85.179.137] 4 9 ms 13 ms 13 ms te-8-3-ur02.rockford.il.chicago.comcast.net [68. 85.176.169] 5 17 ms 15 ms 18 ms te-0-9-0-4-ar01.elmhurst.il.chicago.comcast.net [68.85.176.174] 6 17 ms 16 ms 15 ms pos-0-1-0-0-ar01.area4.il.chicago.comcast.net [6 8.87.230.237] 7 15 ms 13 ms 16 ms pos-1-14-0-0-cr01.chicago.il.ibone.comcast.net [ 68.86.90.45] 8 38 ms 40 ms 37 ms pos-2-14-0-0-cr01.atlanta.ga.ibone.comcast.net [ 68.86.85.170] 9 52 ms 52 ms 54 ms pos-1-13-0-0-cr01.dallas.tx.ibone.comcast.net [6 8.86.85.253] 10 52 ms 52 ms 54 ms theplanet-cr01.dallas.tx.ibone.comcast.net [68.8 6.88.50] 11 54 ms 52 ms 54 ms te7-1.dsr02.dllstx3.theplanet.com [70.87.253.18] 12 53 ms 54 ms 54 ms te3-3.dsr02.dllstx2.theplanet.com [70.87.253.126 ] 13 55 ms 52 ms 53 ms po2.car07.dllstx6.theplanet.com [70.87.254.190] 14 57 ms 63 ms 59 ms ab.aa.364a.static.theplanet.com [74.54.170.171] Trace complete. Now I know what some of your are thinking.... so here is Comcast's own internal 'Flash' speedtest @ »68.87.178.6/ 5:33pm Download Speed: 10866 kbps (1358.3 KB/sec transfer rate) Upload Speed: 2467 kbps (308.4 KB/sec transfer rate) Get off that 10866 kbps looks like your getting your rated down speed trash. Because one has to consider the Powerboost percentage. PowerBoost is a little over a 40% increase in the normal 1Mbps for the tier I am on now 2467 x 40% = 986.8 or 0.9868Mbps Take the download speed 10866 x 40% = 4346.4kbps or 4.346Mbps Not too far off from my FTP test... Now you know why I have been rising a stink for the last year and half...cause this just aint right! This has been the norm for me... 7:41 pm CR173997971 Techs just left. As usual Nothing wrong on my end. The same thing I have been telling them all the time they insist on a truck roll. At least they are getting paid uh? 8/1/2009 It is strictly an engineering/Comcast Policy issue. It's way over the normal techs heads. Has been pretty much from the beginning. Apparently Comcast just Loves to screw us Rockford, Illinois users. 8/4/2009 CR174832768 Trying to get engineering involved 8/06/2009 Still waiting for decent consistent performance in Rockford, IL 8/07/2009 Still sucks for us Rockford Users. 8/09/2009 I am so sick of Comcast's shitty sub par performance and BS excuses. with nothing getting done except more run around and BS. 8/10/2009 Service still sucks as usual TCP/Web100 Network Diagnostic Tool v5.5.4b click START to begin ** Starting test 1 of 1 ** Connected to: ndt.anl.gov -- Using IPv4 address Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 2.97Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 6.76Mb/s The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 10 Mbps Ethernet subnet with powerboost 8/19/2009 Generally deficient given any tier level verses the ACTUAL performance...even for normal browsing during 'normal' usage times despite the marketing media propagated claims of downloading large files 'Fast' With Comcast HSI [sic] with powerboost [sic]...Please define large!?! Apparently large must be between the parameters of the Powerboost [sic] scheme. But then, there are some parts of the Comcasts network that are just plain shitty and apparently will be forever the same no matter what scheme they use. Unless, despite whoever claims, we get some genuine competition here. 8/23/2009 12.54 pm Great typical HALF speeds with powerboost!! TCP/Web100 Network Diagnostic Tool v5.5.4b click START to begin ** Starting test 1 of 1 ** Connected to: ndt.anl.gov -- Using IPv4 address Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 1.64Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 5.26Mb/s The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 10 Mbps Ethernet subnet 8/24/2009 Now even during Non Peak times, service has seen a large percentage reliability and performance drop...So much for the &*^%&%^ saying they work on it aye! 8/27/2009 Typical Half speeds and BS support with empty promises 8/30/2009 400KB/S down...They suck period 09/02/2009 Still half speeds despite all the Marketing Hype 09/03/2009 Finally got a personal response from one of our elected officials over this... 9/03/2009 4:45 pm Typical primetime degradation to Halftime or less TCP/Web100 Network Diagnostic Tool v5.5.4b click START to begin ** Starting test 1 of 1 ** Connected to: ndt.anl.gov -- Using IPv4 address Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 2.60Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 6.58Mb/s The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 10 Mbps Ethernet subnet This IS with powerboost and I am NOT doing any heavy internet usage other than browsing and was twittering. 9/06/2009 Guaranteed to get less than half of rated speed tier. Don't bother programing favorites on Cable either. Comcast is sure to screw that up for you as well on a bi-monthly basis 9/08/2009 6:16 pm Posted a normal use time ftp pic to clearly illustrate the degradation of service I am talking about 9/09/2009 6:30 am Posted a NON normal use time ftp pic to clearly illustrate the vast difference of service I am talking about 9/12/2009 Compensating for the Comcast employee/fanboys posts.why? 'cause nothings changed 9/17/2009 Still cruising at less than half speed during normal usage and time. 9/23/2009 They are still full of shit. Waiting for them to run the Fiber Optic to my house. According to their advertisements. Yah right!! I say WTF and you sill can't handle a simple 10/1 tier during normal hours 9/28/2009 Marketing media propaganda still applies...How many ways can we say BS! 10/03/2009 Actual broadband speeds lag advertised speeds by as much as 50% to 80%. and that is at 75% of the normal usage time...Bugging at 343 KB/S at the moment as proof. »voices.washingtonpost.co ··· col-blog 10/07/2009 Actually have some line/plant techs out here..There's hope yet. 10/14/2009 Had some line tech out the other day and we ran tests off the pole. Naturally that day it wasn't at it's worst. But still sub-par. Made some interesting discoveries on the routing of Comcasts new speedtest site. Forwarded that info with my thoughts on it to one of the guys I am working with on this issue. Also posted it in the Forum. At any rate, Last night service really sucked as usual. 10/15/2009 Ditto for tonight 10/23/2009 forever screwed 11/09/2009 Still the same BS 11/25/2009 Tin man underwater sound again on the local re-broadcast HD channels. Definite violation of regulation (47 C.F.R. § 76.62). Speeds neutered and sucks as usual. Uploaded image taken from a 10 hr TCP packet sample set of PingPlotter . Posted a letter one of my elected officials forwarded me when I submitted a complaint and he in turn forwarded to an FCC official 11/26/2009 Uploaded another TCP pingplotter image from a sample set yesterday afternoon - early evening showing the exact spike that threw my Dennon 1909 AVR into a tizzy. It's been happening more frequently lately. Although I suspected several other reasons other than Comcast for my Dennon spazzing on and off then resetting itself, I just happened to be pinging Microsoft.com using tcp packets when 'Spike' happened and instantly my Dennon went into it's spazz.... 12/10/2009 Service still crappy as usual. I disconnected my cable tv part to minimize damage to my Dennon 12/13/2009 Still average less than half and unable to use cable although I am paying for it due to noise spikes. Check Comcast speed in Loves park at a Older ladies Home. First Time I did about 2 weeks ago was pretty much right on. 2 days ago was slightly worst than my average...go figure 12/17/2009 Guaranteed up to less than half of rated tier/plan averaging 3.55MB/S on Comcast HSI [sic] Lest you're one of the 'educated' folk that love the ISP preferred over cached popular white listed flash speed test sites.. 12/23/2009 same-O...Got a report from a friend of mine that works at a place that has the Business plan...and she has Comcast at home...Voip screwed at work as well as shoddy performance...Home cable and internet no better in Quality of Service....yep I knew that one month after Comcast took over InsightBB. 12/31/2009 Same ole distorted sound on Cable retransmission of local HD channels. Nope it's not my equipment...Same neutered speeds. 1/06/2010 First review of this year will actually start out on a positive note for Comcast. Apparently the distorted sound was very well my TV. I only have one as I am not an avid TV watcher. The one I do have Samsung Touch Of Color T260HD 26-inch LCD HDTV Monitor serves a dual purpose downstairs had demonstrated it alone was the only one having the distorted sounds. Techs came out with a little TV and we sat around watching this afternoon till the 'robotic' sound happened. Muted mine and I DID not hear it on theirs. When I am wrong about something, I'll admit it. Kudos to the local Comcast reps for this determination in trouble shooting this issue. I emailed the 5 I have been in regular contact with and being true to my word on rectifying my statements about the sound quality. 1/13/2010 Got a new modem today for GP SB6120 even though we are not on Docsis 3 yet. Ran some tests. Appears in general (even before this new modem. But this SB6120 seems to enhance a bit more) the upload powerboost as been a little more peppier. Overall download (even with the new modem) today. Less than my mean average 2 months ago of 450 KB/s. *screen shots First: Comcast internal flash 68.87.178.6 11362 kbps 3635 kbps average powerboost factor 30% 1162 x 30% = 3408.6 kbps or 3.409 Mbps or 416.1 KB/s 3635 x 30% = 1090.5 kbps or 1.091 Mbps or 133.2 KB/s Second: FTP freedombuild.net Download started about 480 KB/s Averaged 430 and finished at about 309 KB/s 255MB wmv file Upload started 485 KB/s dropped to about shortly after to 150 and slowly descended to 129 KB/s (mean average 133 KB/s 1/19/2010 Still less than half download speeds..browser resets...bla..bla..bla Upload is kicking good though (never had much of an issue with that) 1/22/2010 Still sucks..Comcast manage to screw my normally good early morning times...so it sucks 24/7 now. Emailed three test results to some folks I have been dealing with. One of the results using the internal test site. Not the over inflated cached erroneous preferred one. I reckon they got tired of the internal one squealing on them, It's down now. Go figure ! 1/25/2010 Even the general half speeds get halved even more during late afternoon and evenings 1/29/2010 Still well below subpar 1/30/2010 Early off prime time service sucks as bad now...Comcast for sure killed their internal test site and would much prefer you to use the 'erroneous' speedtest site. 2/05/2010 Still Craptacular ! 2/05/2010 Yo hum...still sucks 2/17/2010 Regular download and throughput sucks as usual. Don't bother setting your favorites on the TV because Comcasts changes that stuff around more than a gal changes her shoes. Of course they are pushing 'Business class' cause its even MORE money for less. 2/18/2010 Did I mention, they like to randomly reboot your modem @ whim. Particularly when your in the middle of something. Such as what happened a few minutes ago 2/21/2010 Random Reboots and interference in even the simplist of streaming...THEY SUCK SUCK SUCK!! 2/26/0210 talk is cheap and BS flies...Rockford is still getting the shaft. But I had noticed another hop in the mix (locally) 2/27/2010 I think @ least according to my SB6120 logs...Docsis 3 has been implemented or at least in testing mode... 3/05/2010 Since the Docsis 3 seems to be running during the last few weeks, it appears we have finally leveled off to a more consistent speed. Ironically one of my favorite Java test sites which showed a slow link of 10Mbps then 45 then dropped to 10 during most of my grumping is now back at 45Mbps TCP/Web100 Network Diagnostic Tool v5.5.4b click START to begin ** Starting test 1 of 1 ** Connected to: ndt.anl.gov -- Using IPv4 address Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 4.54Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 17.99Mb/s The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 45 Mbps T3/DS3 subnet Information: Other network traffic is congesting the link It's getting into primetime now. This test has been fairly consistent and doesn't show the massive drop as it did before. I have yet to check it during a well known peak time. To be fair, from my casual observance, it is definitely noticeable that Comcast has been improving HSI in Rockford...time will tell I am still somewhat perplex as to why the SB6120 occasionally reboots. Maybe something to do with the 'network management'. I have yet to chat with the usual local guys about this 'recent' change. I hadn't fired off an angry email at them lately so I figure they figure it's all better ) 4/3/2010 Well the consistent seemingly on par performance was short lived.. I should have known it was too good to be true. Service has been degraded to less than again. However the *#(&*) price is getting increased !! Real average 6 Mbps although I am being billed for CHSI Performance Plus with the older Insightbb standard config mind ya 4/5/2010 Even after a docsis 3 upgrade...service is still spotty & subpar. Perhaps it's the 'usage' meter causing issues now. Either way it's Comcast policy to stick it to customers in a monopolistic environment. 4/27/2001 Yep they finally swept the 'Golden Poo' award for Worst Company in America. I concur. Quote from a rep 'We... See More’re working everyday to improve our customers’ experiences with us, including offering a Customer Guarantee that’s backed by significant operational changes. We’ve taken steps over the past two years to improve our product reliability and service, and if a problem does occur, we work to quickly to resolve it, find the root cause and make changes so it won’t happen again.'... ..oO This I know, It took them a month to trash the HSI service level when they took over Insight and 2+ years to bring us back to nearly the HSI service quality we used to have...uh..huh How is it now? after the initial upgrade to Docsis 3 it was pretty good Until the initiated the their 'other' crap to to throttle us down to standard subpar. Slightly better than the prvious 2 years but, still subpar with occasion reset issues and 'imposed' congestivity. PowerBoost is & always will be a farce and an illusion to what one actually gets. 5/08/2010 ROCK SOLID SUCKS WITH SHI**Y SERVICE DESPITE SUPPOSED DOCSIS 3 UPDATE & PRICE INCREASE AND CRAPTACULAR PR HYPE OF IMPROVED CUSTOMER SERVICE 05/09/2010 Guaranteed craptacular substandard less than half speeds with overpriced speed tiers, Guaranteed a waste of time with crapuster service. Guranteed to irritate the snot out of you with 50 *#)(&)(& robo prompts and ads when you call crapuster service. Guaranteed to lie their asses off. If they would spend just half of the money they waste on Marketing propaganda and just GIVE US WHAT WE )(&)(& PAY EXTORTION FEES FOR. It would be great. But instead Comcrap is great on (*&()*&)(&* services 5/11/2010 I got a new big screen TV LCD HDTV TOSHIBA 42ZV650U REGZA. I've been comparing Comcast's theoretical HD quality to my neighbors satellite...Lets just say Comcast sucks big time in that department too... 5/14/2010 Comcraptic !! Uploaded some new pingplotter images taken @ 6am this morning. One is ICMP and the other is TCP 5/27/2010 Comcraptic X-sh*t-inity neutered speeds, Higher prices, tcp resets, slow loading pages. slow email imap syncs....occasional brief moments of actual clear sailing 5/29/2010 Only Company I know that can consistently turn a potentially wet dream into into a wet scream...just saying 6/04/2010 Can we say ....delayed....response time and slow 'realtime' speeds?? 6/08/2010 X-sh*t-inity...sporadic timeouts...modem reboots and TCP resets 6/14/2010 According to a letter we got a speed bump to 16 from 10....I also noticed the firmware update in my sb6120...all I can say is yeah whatever. All the hype BS doesn't negate actual user experience. Go figure I am averaging 750 KB/s -900 KB/s...Yep as norm right about half which btw is less than the normal 10 at about 1200 KB/s All I can say is B**ll Sh*t 06/17/2010 Sucks 06/22/2010 I don't understand why Comcast insistently and consistently takes something so simple a screw the hell out of it.. Incidentally the 'The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 10 Mbps Ethernet subnet' is back...showing the same from 2 separate servers both Chicago Based Service is dragging A** 6/25/2010 This is after the letter informing us we have been updated to 16/2...Yeah right. Save the BS and just give us reliable service. Below are the stats from www.anl.gov also see image attachment. Ironically the slowest link again is showing up @ 10Mbps...Its a Comcrap thing Because even with the supposed speed bump and PowerBooost aka Power BS...I'll just let the results speak for themselves TCP/Web100 Network Diagnostic Tool v5.5.4b click START to begin ** Starting test 1 of 1 ** Connected to: ndt.anl.gov -- Using IPv4 address Another client is currently being served, your test will begin within 135 seconds Another client is currently being served, your test will begin within 90 seconds Another client is currently being served, your test will begin within 45 seconds Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done checking for firewalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done running 10s outbound test (client-to-server [C2S]) . . . . . 3.99Mb/s running 10s inbound test (server-to-client [S2C]) . . . . . . 17.94Mb/s The slowest link in the end-to-end path is a 10 Mbps Ethernet subnet [S2C]: Packet queuing detected Stats... No network congestion discovered. Good network cable(s) found Normal duplex operation found. Web100 reports the Round trip time = 24.8 msec; the Packet size = 1460 Bytes; and No packet loss - but packets arrived out-of-order 1.65% of the time S2C throughput test: Packet queuing detected: 36.08% This connection is receiver limited 34.27% of the time. This connection is sender limited 60.20% of the time. This connection is network limited 5.51% of the time. Web100 reports TCP negotiated the optional Performance Settings to: RFC 2018 Selective Acknowledgment: ON RFC 896 Nagle Algorithm: ON RFC 3168 Explicit Congestion Notification: OFF RFC 1323 Time Stamping: OFF RFC 1323 Window Scaling: OFF Client is probably behind a firewall. [Connection to the ephemeral port failed] Packet size is preserved End-to-End Server IP addresses are preserved End-to-End Information: Network Address Translation (NAT) box is modifying the Client's IP address Server says [98.213.149.90] but Client says [192.168.10.199] More Details... c2sData: 3 c2sAck: 3 s2cData: 4 s2cAck: 4 half_duplex: 0 link: 100 congestion: 0 bad_cable: 0 mismatch: 0 spd: 19.24 bw: 449.08 loss: 0.000001000 avgrtt: 24.80 waitsec: 0.00 timesec: 11.00 order: 0.0165 rwintime: 0.3427 sendtime: 0.6021 cwndtime: 0.0551 rwin: 0.4901 swin: 128.0000 cwin: 0.7352 rttsec: 0.024804 Sndbuf: 16777216 aspd: 0.00000 CWND-Limited: 1373.78 minCWNDpeak: 48180 maxCWNDpeak: 96360 CWNDpeaks: 35 The theoretical network limit is 449.08 Mbps The NDT server has a 8192.0 KByte buffer which limits the throughput to 5160.45 Mbps Your PC/Workstation has a 62.0 KByte buffer which limits the throughput to 19.75 Mbps The network based flow control limits the throughput to 29.64 Mbps Client Data reports link is 'Ethernet', Client Acks report link is 'Ethernet' Server Data reports link is 'T3', Server Acks report link is 'T3' 6/27/2010 This post is to inform those that think I don't try and am NOT trying and resolve these issues with Comcast HSI. And that at least the 'Local' guys are trying their part. What management and their policies does above them is a total different story and IS REALLY the main crux of this whole long review. As I stated before, I generally do not have an issue with the main Comcast workforce but rather upper management and their policies to fleece and screw misinformed and 'educated' naive users. Here is an email excerpt from one of the Local Heads: Mr. Warren I had our Advance Services group look at your account, I don’t know if they called you or not. They did change some codes can you let us know on Monday if you notice any improvement or not? I would like to give it a couple of days just to see if there is an impact on more consistent speeds for you. Thanks What they have done so far seems to have relieved some of the inconsistency. How long it will last. IDK but based on passed experiences, probably until the next major policy roll out happens...in other words, not long. But we will see 7/29/2010 Unreliable, spotty and generally subpar to the performance of claimed tier and marketing media propaganda. High jitter rate (so glad I am not duped into their VOIP). Occasional periods of high packet losses and syn-sent/tcpip resets 7/31/2010 Unreliable and costly see new pingplot to gmail 8/09/2010 Effing unreliable...if it isn't major packet loss it's dam near with the high jitter spikes adn other network 'mis-management' 08/16/2010 If it isn't the internet they are *&%$( around with it's the cable. 2 primary local digital TV stations have disappeared 08/19/2010 With the high jitter rate throughout the network, especially the first couple hops, it might as well be packets loss...service is subpar which is normal for this neck of the woods 08/31/2010 Effin unreliable. but then what else is new aye. Once they do manage to work the kinks out, they roll out the new crap to screw the service up. This time probably the sandvine update for docsis 3 Did I say the service generally sucks? Yep, for the last 2.8 years I may have had a combined total of 3 months of good service. 9/25/2010 Slow and unreliable considering what you pay for and and actually get. 9/26/2010 Allow me to elaborate. Doesn't matter how fast the theoretical supposed tier is. The network management junk they utilize drastically increases latency and page loading times (causes a delay in full page loading and or slow loading. Doesn't matter what site or server. It's all basically the same...sucks period ! 10/17/2010 If Comcast is not throttling the snot out of you. Changing your TV channels all over the place and randomly scrambling or disabling, raising rates every time you turn around, annoying you with various insane fees here and there, rebooting your router at random especially when your in the middle of something they are effing with there own email servers... Notorious for dropping connection on a whim. Less for more money. Proven unreliability 12/18/2010 If it isn't one or two nodes locally acting up it's one or two down the pipe (still comcasts) If been watching the jitter rate consistently rise all through the first half a dozen hops (all comcast) over the last year. Rarely is it smooth sailing. Guaranteed stalls 12/22/2010 Absolutely Craptastic 1/1/2011 Sporadic TCP-ip resets, Slow loading pages, throttled, High jitter rate (steadily increasing over the last year) Occasional timeouts and packet loss. 1/10/2011 Guaranteed to crawl or abruptly stop without any notice at any given time ESPECIALLY when you are in the middle of doing some time critical production work. such as syncing updated files to website or a quick map search...bla...bla.....talk about productivity enhancement...NOT! 1/11/2011 See latest pingplotter image below 1/25/2011 Arggg...third time...will Comcrap cut me off. I'll let images below speak for themselves 1/28/2011 Craptacular 03/11/2011 Higher prices and shittier service. my 20/2 is not much better performing than my mothers Verizon wireless card on her lappy 03/15/2011 Still sucks and prices keep rising 04/15/2011 Unreliable and high priced vs actual service received 6/13/2011 Yeah I know it's been awhile, When you don't think a company can improve on sucking..somehow that manage to do just that. Tis about the only thing Commiecast has been consistent at 7/21/2011 Throttle your download to half when download large files even though you are no where near your monthly allotment. October 14th 2011 After being raped a few times for a Admin Late payment fee (Comiecast would mysteriously send me a bill every other month for the most of 2011 even though I called them 3 times to complain) I officially to them to Kiss my Arse and canceled my account. They can drop dead with their insane charges, waste of time, effing the consumer and bi annual rate hikes. I am now on a Verizon Wireless plan. I managed to get it before the unlimited data package changed and we are on 4 G LTE. Not surprising even though I had the Comicast Blast internet usage feels about the same through my tethered phone. Upload is slightly better on Verizon. Download rates about half of the theoretical blast speed I was supposedly receiving from comiecast. Attachments: member for 19.4 years, 953 visits, last login: 8.3 years ago updated 12.3 years ago
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