Review by mclovin206 
member for 115 days, 0 visits, last login: 115 days ago
lodged 115 days ago
 Mount Vernon,Skagit,WA
 $60 per month about 3 days "The FASTEST and BEST internet connection you can get" "Sometimes they overlook problems, and don't tell you the true price" "Best connection you can get, if an idiot installs it, won't work right. Real price is 60/mo for the internet only."
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OK,
I've done speed tests (www.speedtest.net) from as many ISPs I can try. Most I can find are in the 3MBPS to 6MBPS (including Frontier FIOS - DIRECT fiber to the house). While DSL/Dish package, or fiber-to-the-premises, can seem better, think about the cloud, the backbone.
No test I have done, can come close to my Comcast HSI connection at home. I have 12mbps down, 5mbps up. On a Comcast connection, this means if you download/upload a file over 5gb, it's capped at this speed. Admitted, you are capped, on a residential connection, to 250gb/mo, but this is quite a bit when you think about it. I have never gone over. When I do a speed test, I get 25 MBPS down 5 MBPS up. This is what you will get surfing the web, as any file under 5mb, will be uncapped. This is what they call, "Xfinity Power-Boost". DSL companies in my experience, when you pay for 7mbps down, 1mbps ADSL, this is their "MAX SPEED", mostly I see under it.
I am not a salesman. I speak from experience, speed tests, trace-routes, and knowledge of ISPs, DOCSIS, and the Internet Cloud. Here is the bottom line.
Comcast is the BEST in my area, western Washington. If you understand what trace-routing is, it shows what path it takes through the cloud to say, www.google.com. I've done a traceroute from a Comcast connection in Monterey, CA to my home in Seattle. It didn't even go though San Jose as I'd thought, never switched to another backbone, Comcast routers all the way. They have a 10 gigabit connection between routers as when I understood it, routers all over the USA, and 10-GB connection to major backbones in the cloud like level3. This means it can plug into any backbone that is the least busy, wherever city the router is located, Miami, San Francisco, Kansas City, wherever. This is why you get the fastest speeds, and the least latency.
Why does my connection work so well? I know what I am doing when I installed it, all the tech had to do is climb up the pole, and plug it in. If they send an idiot of a tech out to install it, they don't know what they are doing, and if they work for a sub-contractor and are in a time crunch (real Comcast technicians are paid hourly and are not expected to get 'the impossible' done yesterday). They appreciate quality over quantity. If you have wiring from 1985, and live in a 5,000 sq ft Brick home, with the 'drop' (cable that goes from the pole to the house), running to the opposite side of the house, with old fittings (connectors), old splitters (internet runs around 700mhz, these are rated at 300 or 600. Split too many times or long old (RG 59) or too long RG6 line? Low signal. This will cause you to get booted off line randomly. Old connectors (especially "twist-on" ones they put in new houses) will cause ingress (interference from outside sources), hence packet loss. If you live in an old apartment building, the wiring may need maintenance. Dish may have cut into the wiring on the roof, and they may need to fix that and set up a new appointment. This is called a maintenance request.
If you truly want the best, and want no surprises, check out your cable wiring if you can. If you have an old house with old wiring, tell them this when you order it. If you have a newly built house, pull the cable plate off of the wall by removing the 2 screws before the tech arrives, and move the desk or bookcase out of the way, so they can fix what may be wrong. The connector may be bad, and this makes the difference between a bad connection or a good connection. Look at the wiring, and if it's old and shot, it needs to be re-wired. Especially look at the drop. If it's old, or is smaller than your pinky finger and goes down the street 2 poles down, or bounces off a pole or more, tell them that when you order. They will include the replacement of the drop (from the pole to the house) in the price of the install, as well as the first outlet. If the drop is too long for the type of cable, you will have low signal before it's even split (distributed between your TVs and modem or EMTA (VOIP/Modem). Any additional outlets are called A/Os, and cost around $25 whether they are activated, or re-wired, or installed.
If you are having problems, before you call tech support and go though all the process of re-starting your modem, computer, all that crap... try going here:
»192.168.100.1/
Click on "signal" or "connection" on most modems. Downstream should be above -7dB, with 34dB SNR minimum. Upstream should be below 50dB. Got something like -18 on your downstream or 58 on your up? or 29dB SNR? The problem is with the wiring, something you cannot fix without the proper tools. Tell them this, they gotta fix it.
As far as the price goes, sometimes they'll tell you it's $19.99/mo for 6mo. This is for 6 months, the real price is 55.99 for internet only, or 45.99 if you have TV or Phone with it.
BTW their CDV Phone is great as well, I've had a 56k lock up at 52.6 (maximum).
I've posted a lot here don't expect you to understand it all, just trying to tell you how to get the best internet service, and the bottom line. I've seen many customers switch to DSL and get locked in a contract for 2 years, only to get crappy service that's 10x slower. Think before you do this.
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