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Review by jesseb_66  - Location: Derry,Rockingham,NH
- Cost: $54 per month
Good "Plenty fast, Good for the money."
Bad "Not quite as reliable as my old connection"
Overall "Fast, Price is right. Reliability not quite as good as the past"
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I pay for 50 mbps down with I about 10 mbps up. It usually get those speeds or higher. 60 to 15-20 is usually what I test out at.
Connection has been reliable, but I've had a few times when I try to use the connection and its out. Lasts only a short while, but I'm use to pretty high reliability with my old ISP.
Over all I'm pretty happy with it. It comes bundled with a few basic channels + HBO for the next two years.
I will say its been tough to determine the channels I'm suppose to get. I am suppose to get Digital Economy, but its no where on their site. The lowest they list is Digital Starter which includes many more channels. Its been confusing at best 
member for 10.8 years, 2507 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 1 days ago
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| Review by CUBS_FAN - Location: Chicago,Cook,IL
- Cost: $93 per month
Good "No bloatware neccessary."
Bad "Very expensive for Silver speed tier. Previous service problems are difficult to resolve. Tech's tell you what you want to hear"
Overall "8 months to get my service fixed 5yrs ago and it's having problems once again. Not waiting 8 months for a resolution this time "
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Since the recent upgrade Comcast has become very unstable with many issues in the system. On weekends when the neighborhood is online, service is fluctuating all over the place.
Easy install and Motorola modem is nice. Ip addresses change every now and then.4mbps downloads are reachable but at peak and then averaging mid 3 megs. Uploads are advertised at 384. Averaging high 350's. I would jump to DSL but not available yet, after 3 years.
***Months have passed since the review was written above. Now my speeds has literally tripled. Looks like upgrades don't go as smooth. Customer needs to be informed locally of maintenance on service. Seems to me that there is a communication break down between the national support and the locals.
*** It has been almost a year since my last update. I had to eliminate the cable television because the promo expired and it got too expensive. This change automatically downgraded me. I used to be at 8mbps, now its cut in half at 4mbps. Speed tests show me higher than 4 which isn't that bad.Some sites tests actually hit the 7mbps range, but I think it only measured the initial burst peak. I haven't had any service interrupts at all.
DSL still not available......
5-11-2007 • The new Double Speed burst works out great! 8 mb bursts up to 16mb. When performing bandwidth test I get burst speeds of 30mbps... Which seems unreal... Within the past 2 months my upload bandwidth went from 384kb to 1500kb or 1.5mb. Uploading pictures on Yahoo Photo's or Photobucket is a breeze. Sending emails with large attachments is fast too.
12-09-2007 • Ever since I received the upgrade speed burst I've had nothing but problems. My node is oversold and at peak times my MS is over 500ms. My download rates are as low as 2mbps at peak and during speed tests it crawls up to 2mbps. Everywhere I go on BBR and the Comcast forum is complaints about crowded nodes.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Comcast is making my connection worse as a ploy to get their Digital Voice telephone service.
1-28-2008 • After 8 months of scratching my head wondering why I'm having periodical latency issues my problems have finally been fixed ("knock on wood"). I can actually thank this site (dslreports.com) for helping me fix the problem. I was getting nothing but sympathy from the locals on the Comcast help Forum. As I look at the history of my posts I can see that the latency problem was developing long before May of 2007, but it seems that in May it was the straw that broke the camel's back. We'll see how long the quality of latency lasts until Comcast signs up another 400 people.
9-30-2008 • Pretty solid all summer long Every now and then I do see a latency spike but not to the point of an annoyance. The free upload upgrade to 1MB is good with speed bursts up to 2MB before dropping back down. My VOIP quality is acceptable
7-1-2009 • The free doubled speeds I got around May are a real convenience. Sustained upload's over 2 Meg are present at all times. Uploading files is a breeze. The new download speed of 12 Meg is awesome too. I can download a 700MB file in just about 8 mins flat. Don't get any better than that. When performing VOIP tests my QOS % can reach 99% at times which was almost unachievable in the past. Download powerboosts are only peaking around 16 megs. Before it was 20 & Up but I'll accept the sustained speed of over 12 meg.
10-29-2009 • Another year has passed with only slight service interruptions. Still have the 12 meg download with 16meg burst and the 2 meg upload is great for uploading pics to Facebook. Can't wait until the next upgrade whenever that will be.
VOIP test result:
Download speed 20650 Kbps
Upload speed 4377 Kbps
D/load COS 98 %
U/load COS 98 %
RTT 14 ms
RTT Consistency 77 %
Max Delay 8 ms
Avg Delay 1 ms
Max Bandwidth 20650 Kbps
Route Speed 37448 Kbps
Forced Idle 0 %
9-4-2012 • Still reliable without any hardware or plan changes. I still have the same SB5120 and now have a Cisco Valet Wireless Ethernet combo router installed. Able to run laptop's, Online gaming w/ the PS3 and Netflix on the iPad without any lags. I believe I have upgraded speeds at 16/2 and 24/4 burst's with the same Silver tier package. Every now and then I'll get a phone call from a Comcast salesman trying to get me to sign up for a bundle including their Digital Voice. Nothing can beat the yearly cost of MagicJack so I dont budge on my current service.
6-16-2013 • Just this past month I got a speed upgraded to 25/5. Got my Surfboard 5120 modem swapped out for a Cisco DPC3008. Only issue was back in March my line being cut and laying in the alley by Comcast without telling me. I had to place a service call and customer service had no clue why my line was cut. I saw a yellow tag attached to the other half of the line up on the telephone pole stating some "leakage". After a few days of suffering without internet a repairman came and found evidence of a squirrel chewing on the cable wire up on the telephone lines. Had the drop replaced and everything has been smooth since. HIGH-SPEED INTERNET $51.95. Limited Basic $29.99
Upstream: No shaper detected.
Median received rate: 5488 Kbps.
Downstream: No shaper detected.
Median received rate: 27477 Kbps.
10-4-2013 • I'm giving up on Comcast. Since my last update in June I've experience too frequent poor quality service. Frequent packet loss combined with high ping spikes that is getting worse day by day. I even tried upgrading to the Blast tier of 50/10. Only problem is my Cisco Valet wireless gateway can only give me download speeds of around 28Mbps. I think after exactly 10 years of service its time to try something new. So I'm going to try AT&T U-Verse which is cheaper without needing unnecessary Cable TV bundled in.
member for 8.4 years, 904 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 1 days ago
Comments:
 DADDYJTL
join:2012-12-01
Chicago Heights, IL | COMCAST MY SYSTEM IS NEVER DOWN, AND I HAVE NO PROBLEMS AT ALL. | |
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| Review by Coelispex - Location: Wilmette,Cook,IL
- Cost: $87 per month (6 month contract)
- Install: about 1 days
Good "Great connection and service, I love it!"
Bad "Awful tech and customer support."
Overall "So far so good."
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On June 20, 2013, I decided to switch to a Double Play (Internet + TV) called "Blast Plus" promotion; basically you get Blast Trier HSI + Digital Economy (~45 channels). This promotion is for 6 months $69.99 then $79.95 after (this excludes state taxes, FCC fees, franchise fees, other government taxes). This promotion is not under contract or any agreements attached. I used my own equipment, a Motorola SB6141 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 instead of paying for an extra $7/month for rental fees.
Screenshot of the local channel line up:
»i.imgur.com/J3vNfk3.png
How was the order & install process?
Somewhat sketchy. One chat analyst told that me that my service address is fine for self-installation ($9.95). Another told me that my cable isn't installed by the tap and needs professional installation ($32.99). What a load of B.S. I disconnected and soon talked to a more experienced analyst. Order process took around 40 minutes. In the end, he told me to wait for the self-installation kit to arrive in 3-5 days. I didn't wait to wait that long. An hour later, I plugged in my coaxial cable from my 2-way splitter to my SB6141 modem, started the activation service online (took about 10 minutes) and BAM; got Blast Internet up and running on the same day. (I didn't have to wait for my self-install kit to arrive). Told you it was sketchy.
My first speedtest
»www.speedtest.net/result/2784965199.png
Overall, I can say that I'm very happy, one satisfied customer
P.S
I also made a excel spreadsheet for Comcast Double Play promotions and non-promotions for those who are interested in making the change. (Prices may vary depending on your location)
»docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?···=sharing
I will update this review periodically.
UPDATE 10/4/13
For the past 5 months, there has been about ~4 outages, lasting less than 3 hours. This is probably due to severe weather in my area (flooding, heavy rain, thunderstorm etc)
But my speed has increased by 1-2 Mbps more
»stage.results.speedtest.comcast.···8864.png
member for 124 days, 89 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 1 days ago
Comments:
| Review by Nightfall - Location: Grand Rapids,Kent,MI
- Cost: $100 per month
- Install: about 7 days
Good "Fast speeds! Great reliability!"
Bad "Tech support could be improved. Extra cost for non-CATV subscribers."
Overall "Awesome connection! If you have CATV, then it is worth the price."
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When Grand Rapids first got ATT@Home, I was excited to be one of the first to get it in my new apartment. My wife and I just got married, and having fast internet access was a must for both of us. She was taking college courses online and I am a techie that likes to use the internet heavily.
@Home came out and installed the cable modem within 14 days of me calling and setting up the appointment. The install tech was courteous and the service worked without a problem. The first couple months, the service was flaky to say the least. I was down on average 1 week out of the month for the first 3 months. After that, the line was stable and the speeds were top notch.
I moved into my new home a year later, and since then I have been using ATT@Home. My line went down maybe once in a three month span. I always got blazing fast downloads. Needless to say, I was happy. The main selling point of this technology in my opinion has to be the reliability of the connection. The speed is up there, but being able to get on all the time is simply a huge plus for me.
Now, I am on Comcast after the move from ATTBI and @Home. I am still not disappointed with the service. I am looking forward to the tiered pricing that Comcast is going to introduce sometime this year.
8/11/02 Update - Connection is still rock solid and speeds are very nice. Highly recommended!
11/05/02 Update - Still as solid as a rock. Fast speeds and virtually no downtime.
3/14/03 Update - Getting some sparse outages on occassion where rebooting my router will fix the problem. Otherwise, top notch speeds! Comcast is doing work in my area which could be part of the problem.
3/26/03 Update - Found out my router was the problem. Replaced the router and no downtime so far. Will report back later next week.
5/31/03 Update - Only downtime I had was due to a power outage in my area that lasted for 3 days. Otherwise, life has been good.
6/16/03 Update - Still rock solid. Nexland fixed the Comcast issue in a firmware update. Going to put the Nexland back in place and start it back up in the next week or so. Otherwise, I am just glad the packet dropping and other issues were router related and NOT ISP related.
7/14/03 Update - Still going with no downtime!
10/01/03 Update - Comcast is still rocking and rolling for me. If you can, prepay for a year of service to save even more money. Instead of paying $42.95, I pay $467.45 for a year and I get a free month. If you leave anytime during that time, you get your money back. A good deal to say the least.
11/10/03 - Still working. No downtime. Fast connection. Nuff said!
1/12/04 - This connection is still totally rock solid. However, Comcast has caught up to me. Since I went with Directv about four months ago, I found out that prepaying for a year of service will keep my internet the same price and I could ditch cable TV. This has now changed. Now, I have to keep at least basic cable TV which is $13.50 plus taxes. Either that or my internet goes up to $61. Let me see...$61 or $56 a month. I still prepay a year in advance which saves me a little money, so it brings the cost down to $53 a month as the total price per month. I have decided to try out SBC DSL this month sometime. I will go for the $37 package which includes 1500 down and 256 up. If it works out well, and it may since I am less than 7,000 feet from the CO, it will lower my internet cost by $16 a month. Don't get me wrong, I love Comcast cable internet. If SBC DSL sucks, you can bet I will spend a little more and keep the Cable internet. My hope is the DSL service rules! I have already gotten input on DSL in this area and it does look promising. I will report back on this review later.
2/17/04 - I called and canceled Comcast cable internet about one week ago. I am up and running on SBC DSL. Comcast was excellent in my area, and if not for the price increase for non-cable TV subscribers, I would have stayed. The $26.95 price tag is all I could qualify for, but I am getting 1500/256 which is excellent speeds for the price. Reliability so far is equal to Comcast cable internet. Latency is the same, which is excellent. I get nice steady pings in the 30-40 range which is excellent. This is my final review on Comcast, but it was a very positive experience for me. If you can get it in your area, give it a try.
6/28/06 - I finally budgeted out to get dual broadband lines in my house. Since I have SBC DSL for $15 a month, I decided to take the plunge and get Comcast again. I had a very favorable review of Comcast in my area so I was hoping nothing had changed. I found a offer online for Comcast HSI for $20 a month for 6 months with a $100 cash back offer. In order to get that lower price, I had to pay $13 for basic cable TV which sucks, but there isn't much I can do about that but complain. I placed the order on 6/22. Install was set up for Saturday 6/24. I opted for the basic install since I had all the equipment. Saturday came and went with no installer coming out to the house. I called Comcast and they explained that the installer was running very late on a few other installs and they would need to reschedule. They even gave me free installation to make up for the trouble. The new install date was 6/27 and it went through without a hitch. Modem came right up and internet speeds were top notch at 6000/384. I put both lines in my dual WAN router and just stressed the heck out of them both last night. So far, 1 day later, connection is as solid as it was when I left Comcast a few years ago. Aside from the installation reschedule and the fact I have to pay $13 a month for basic cable TV, I am very happy.
1/5/07 - Running Comcast HSI and SBC DSL on my dual wan router and it is a match made in heaven. I love the redundancy, but not that I have had to have it. I use both lines of upload bandwidth quite heavily, which is very nice. Service is solid.
10/25/07 - Service is still solid. No outages at all to report. The service just works and I love it. Still have both SBC and Comcast on my dual WAN router and both services work great.
1/28/08 - After a few years of running with a dual WAN connection, I have dropped Comcast once again. My DSL service is $25 a month while Comcast is much more expensive since I don't get their cable TV. Its a shame actually cause their service here rocks. Maybe I will pick it up again later. Right now though, I am happy with DSL and to save the money over a dual wan connection.
11/21/09 - After about a 2 year hiatus, I have returned to Comcast. My DSL connection was tapped out at 4000/768 and after some flaky connection issues, I decided to give Comcast another go. I am proud to say that Comcast is still great in this area. I will be monitoring the connection to see how it goes.
12/09/09 - The install went as expected. I had my own modem and Comcast wanted to charge me for installation. I got that charge removed though. Still, billing should know when they see a "self install kit" on the billing information that a "install technician" should not be billed. Ah well, at least the line was installed and working quickly. I got introductory pricing at $19.95 per month for six months with no cable TV, phone, or additional costs. My Comcast line is up and running at 8000/1000 and working great. No problems to report at all. My line monitoring service has not detected any issues with the line or quality so I am pretty happy. I am also gaming on my comcast line with zero problems.
11/21/10 - Comcast cable internet is awesome here. I currently have the blast internet along with digital cable service. The extra speed is nice. With Directv, I was spending $85 a month. Now, with cable internet and TV, I am spending only $99 a month which is much better than then $85 + $43 I was paying before on the basic package. I know that my price will go up later, but I will call to renegotiate. The key here is that I have good service.
4/14/11 - Comcast service continues to be rock solid. I did have a couple issues about a month ago where my internet service would stop working and I would see a "No Ranging Response Received" in my modem. Rebooting my modem and resetting it to defaults both did not fix the problem. I used the Comcast Direct forum here and put my trouble ticket in. With help from the techs there, the problem has been fixed and life is good again. I also updated the price I was paying to the full TV + HSI package I am paying for.
11/30/11 - Comcast service continues to be solid. I had a couple issues a few months ago with some service issues. My modem would say that there was a timeout of some kind but the service would never drop off the cable modem. Comcast looked into it and sent a tech out to look at the problem. The tech checked my signal levels, did some tweaking, and I haven't had any issues since. Awesome job Comcast Direct and Comcast!
6/11/12 - Comcast continues to set the bar high. The service is solid with virtually no downtime. We had a power outage in our area about 4 months ago, and our comcast internet service was still running while we were on the generator. I can't see any reason to move away from them.
12/24/12 - Another 6 months of solid service. No downtime. My blast speeds are incredible. I am very happy!
10/3/13 - It has been about 10 months since I updated this review, but things are still very good for me on my Comcast connection. I enjoy the 50/10 blast connection very much, and my internet is rock solid. I had an instance of downtime on a Saturday about a month ago and that was because someone hit one of the comcast boxes in my area with his car. Within 5 hours, the connection was restored and all is good. I get about 55/14 on my connection when I test it, and that is great for me. TV is still very good as well. I have no plans to move on.
member for 12.1 years, 5433 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 2 days ago
Comments:
 jc
@sbcglobal.net | billing department full of shit it show on my credit that i did not pay comcast for the amount of $200 dollars and it show up on my credit report i dont remember that i owe them money i ask them to take my service out due there cable tv is a peace of shit they even send me a refund for the last month then they said that my account is delinquent | |
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| Review by Aozora - Location: undisclosed location
- Cost: $62 per month
Good "Good speeds for a premium price"
Bad "Latency, tech support, bundling, and caps(depending on your area)"
Overall "Overall one of the better options in my area"
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You better be able to troubleshoot your connection with AT&T and Comcast if experience has taught me anything. You need to be able to see if something looks wrong and head to one of these forums to fix the issue. If you can't do that, then you're going to be in for the ride of your life. I have the most experience with AT&T and Comcast, so if you have another company in the area, it might be different. These two companies are identical when it comes to support, and that is that the support is outsourced to India and you're going to get some person reading the manual and wanting to transfer you to about 50 departments before anyone does anything. Just hope the tech that comes has a clue what he is doing or you're going to get a headache from the frustration you are going to experience.
Who comes to install your service varies. I have moved around the Chicago area and each install seems to be different. You might get a very good tech out there who will leave with you with a rock solid connection or you might get the tech that cuts the neighbor's dish service and leaves you with a connection that stays on for 10 mins tops.
RCN isn't available to me always when I move so I don't always get them since their upload is also slower. I've had them for a few months and their TV packages are better for the price so if the TV aspect is more important to you and you can get serviced by them then don't pass them up.Their Internet is slightly cheaper, but you also get about half the upload that you get with Comcast which is why I'm not fond of them.
AT&T is more expensive, has slower speeds, and has caps so I don't recommend them at all if they are in your area. They really don't seem to care about the HSI line and it shows. AT&T used to be far better 10 yrs back, but nowadays I would never consider them if you can get Comcast or something else.
I have the 50Mbps tier and I get 57Mbps down/11+ Mbps up. When it works, it works well, but if any issues arise, it's going to be hell to fix with their horrendous tech support who believes rebooting your modem is the only solution to every problem.
If you have very few options in your area and Comcast is one, they can be alright. Obviously if you have FIOS, Google Fiber, or anything similar in your area I highly recommend passing Comcast up. They are alright, but nowhere near as good as those options seem according to users here and general public perception. Comcast increases prices roughly yearly along with other providers. Lack of competition really shows, especially in their TV packages. You can't always get what you want, but you may find what you need(hopefully). Comcast is what you need, but not what might want or hope for. It gets the job done.
EDIT: Updated the review since the old one was not relevant nowadays. AT&T support has drastically gone down along with Comcast's.
member for 4.8 years, 532 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 2 days ago
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| Review by funkhonda - Location: Oakland,Alameda,CA
- Cost: $30 per month (12 month contract)
- Install: about 365 days
Good "self install was impressive. line already in (from old service). already had cable modem. click, click, credit card, go."
Bad "called for tech support when there is an outage/problem. staff undertrained/inefficient. on top of that blind transfers..."
Overall "you're trading speed for piss poor service. im actually going back to clear (yeah, that slow) because the service is better"
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Simply put, it doesn't matter HOW fast your service is if you're dealing with rudeness and stupidity. What premium goes on your sanity for 6Mbps down and 768K up? Even if you get it cheap but the support staff causes you to have a meltdown what's the point? If they hang up on you to ditch responsibility or out of just sheer ineptitude and you STILL have to call them back what are you paying for and why are you giving them money at all?
just my two cents.
Fair warning: reviewer joined this week
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| Review by johnhharvard - Location: Minneapolis,Hennepin,MN
 Business customer- Cost: $70 per month
- Install: about 4 days
Good "Business class service consistent, stable and no outages - can run full bandwdith of 16/3 continuously with no iossues."
Bad "So called technical support and their management are a bunch of talking heads"
Overall "You the consumer need to manage the service provision to satisfaction"
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A business service over coax is used at two different sites and works very well - but we are networking people who ensured up front that everything worked at provisioning time and we have monitoring equipment via our enterprise class switches and firewalls. So from a service perspective, the business class service does exactly what it should and we've had no issues over 2 years
The "installers" know nothing and "just follow the procedure" and plug stuff in and look at numbers on their analysis device for signal levels and so on. Provided that all goes well, which as far as we can see it normally does, then all ok. Install co-ordination from the central provisioning team sucks - they use independent installers over whom they have no control and with whom they cannot communicate and so one will be told all sorts of things re dates and times that simply go by the wayside until the time the installer decides to show up and actually do something
However beware if there is ever a problem and you need to talk to technical support or even try their management - a bunch of know nothing talking heads. Their Tier 1 Support (the people who answer the phones) stand ten deep and ensure you will get nowhere and get nothing and in any case have no clue, no expertise, nothing at all it appears that they understand, can test or can do. One is quite simply fobbed off.
member for 45 days, 23 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 3 days ago
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| Review by IowaCowboy - Location: Indian Orchard,Hampden,MA
- Cost: $81 per month
- Install: about 3 days
Good "Works Great, When it Works"
Bad "Tech Support is Less Than Par"
Overall "Works good but only with a DOCSIS 3.0 modem"
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Here in the Springfield (MA) area, we have a choice of two internet providers which is either Verizon DSL or Comcast High Speed internet. I prefer Comcast High Speed internet because I am biased more in favor of cable modem service over DSL. Verizon does not offer FiOS in Western Massachusetts yet (if it ever makes it here) and their DSL has speeds of up to 3.0 mbps. I have had Comcast for over 5 years and I have had multiple installs. I prefer to self install because I usually do it better than their contractors and in half the time. The staff at the Best Buy connection center helped me get a better deal on TV because I used to have DirecTV for video and Comcast for internet and phone but DirecTV got to be too expensive and I decided to switch to Comcast for the Triple Play when my contract ended. They got me on a bundle that includes internet and phone and TV. I use TiVO Premiere DVRs so I don't use the Comcast receivers. I do rent an Arris TM 722 EMTA which serves internet and phone. I currently subscribe to the Extreme 50 package which is 50 mbps downstream and 10 mb upstream which is a $50.00 upgrade to my $119 triple play HD bundle. I just had the tech install and activate the EMTA and I did the phone wiring myself because I wanted it my way and not the tech's way. I find it difficult to get techs to honor special requests and they usually cut corners. When the underground line had to be replaced they pulled it around the back of the house instead of pulling it through the utility conduit that comes in the front of the house where the old line came in, thus exposing it to the risk of damage from lawn mowers, weed whackers, etc.
Getting to the Comcast internet, it has been a smooth ride up until recently when I have had issues with the internet and phone going offline and it usually occurs in the evening. The lights on the modem stay on but I know the connection is offline when the AT&T microcell goes out. I have had no less than three technicians out for this issue which has been going on for an month and they all said that it was an outside plant issue. When technician # 3 came out, he was approached by two other customers on my street asking if he was here to fix the internet. A day after technician number 3 came, it went out again. I called 1-800-COMCAST and got the complete runaround from the CSR and I asked for the supervisor. I did not get a supervisor and it came online in a few minutes. It seems that Comcast is not willing to fix the issue at this point after 3 techs said they would refer the issue to maintenance so I have filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (franchising authority) stating they are unwilling to fix the issue after 3 tech visits. The issues are also affecting video service because the TiVO boxes have issues with video tiling (pixelating).
The good things about Comcast is the in home tech are always friendly and they always honor my request to send an in-house tech instead of a contractor (learned that from this forum). I also get my e-mail through comcast(dot)net and I get very little spam with their e-mail servers. Also it is a very fast internet connection. I prefer to load YouTube videos on my Comcast connection at home instead of my Grandma's RoadRunner connection up in Maine, due to their poor upload speeds. I can definitely tell Comcast is better that Time Warner because there is a big difference in speed between the two.
Update 2-14-2011
I downgraded my connection to the economy tier due to the fact Comcast is unwilling to fix my issue regarding dropped connections and there is no other options because a local competitor is maxed out on DSL facilities but DSL is available at my address because I've had it before. I also switched my home phone service to Verizon due to the fact that Comcast Digital Voice would cut out alongside the internet connection putting my safety at risk because that means lost E911 capability. I also get the reps blaming my computer and I've ruled that out as an issue.
Update 3-24-2011 I am doing this from my Verizon Wireless MiFi because Comcast HSI is working sporadically and I am not even going to bother calling customer service because doing so will be futile.
Update 9-20-12 With Blast being upgraded from 30/5 to 50/10, it works very fast. I upgraded my iPhone and Mac and the upgrades downloaded pretty quickly. It does cut out now and then.
Update 2-19-2013
I went to swap the modem as I was experimenting with rented modems to rule out my purchased equipment as an issue. They gave me a Cisco modem that when I hooked it up and tried to access the diagnostic pages, a screen with strange code popped up so I figured I had either a hacked modem or one containing malware so I put my purchased modem back in. I own an Arris TM722 so I put that in the basement for phone and I put in my own Motorola SB6120 for Internet. Seems to work better with my purchased equipment than with their rented equipment so that will be $7 per month that stays in my bank account. I have also done a lot of troubleshooting myself because of Comcast's inability (or unwillingness) to fix things. I have installed new wiring and new fittings. The golden rule of cable is the problem goes away when the tech arrives and comes back after he/she leaves.
Update 9-29-2013
No complaints, other than my Motorola 6120 died and I purchased a Motorola 6141 at Best Buy. I was able to activate it with no issues using the automated walled garden activation. The service works great with a 8x4 channel bonded DOCSIS 3.0 modem. I've also noticed fewer connection dropouts as well. I have not had to call customer support in a long time. Comcast has really improved the reliability of their Internet offerings. I also get a few cable channels with the Internet since I have the blast plus bundle ($81.99 a month).
I also signed up for their home automation offering that includes a camera and light control. I unfortunately cannot use the thermostats because I have electric baseboard heat. The setup of that service was rather straightforward with a few hiccups. I did have a hard time registering the automation hub but a quick reload and it worked.
member for 2.9 years, 1365 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 5 days ago
Comments:
| Review by Zenit - Location: Purcellville,Loudoun,VA
- Cost: $135 per month (12 month contract)
Good "Fast & Reliable Connection, Good Phone Service"
Bad "Installation Problems, Billing Issues, Rental Prices, Price Hikes"
Overall "The Only Choice in many Areas -Better than obsolete DSL, good luck with support/billing"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Update 9/29/13:
Well, rate hikes! Our bill has gone up from $135 to $165. The rent for the TV equipment is unreasonable. 1 standard HD box, 1 DCT700 SD box, and 2 DTAs is costing $25!
$165 for Performance, and the plain package of Digital TV is way too high. I know people who are getting Blast and DVRs at this price point. (Wait until they get their hikes!)
Time to negotiate with Comcast...
Dropping the value for the money rating, for the time being.
Update 7/10/13:
Still with the same service. Comcast recently changed the bandwith limit so our Performance package is a consistent 22Mbit down, 4.5Mbit up, down from 25mbit down. The quality of the connection is fine - decent latency and no slowdowns at peak times. The Digital Voice is reliable and has excellent clarity.
Verizon has begun to construct FIOS here, they will probably skip over most of the town, which means Comcast will continue to get our money. If FIOS becomes available in our subdivision, we will probably switch - that depends on VZ making an equivalent deal or better.
I noticed Comcast's newer promotions include a DVR at our price level. As usual, new customers get better deals than existing.
Update 4/14/13:
Still with the same services, no issues have arisen. Comcast renewed our promotional pricing, so we continue to pay $125 + rental fees for the TV boxes. They have started charging for the SD boxes, so we will be returning those. Comcast TV really is not competitive.
The Internet service has improved with time, with the removal of PowerBoost the speeds are a steady 2.5MB/sec down, 4mbit up. Seems that peering agreements have also improved. The IPv6 deployment has been completed in our area.
Nothing has changed with the phone - works as it should.
Now for the (minor) issues:
Billing has issues from time to time, dropping autopay and resulting in late bills.
TV Services are expensive, not too good channel selection, overpriced equipment rental.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Origi nal Review------------------------------------------
Well, lets start of with the positive. The connection has been very fast and reliable. The Performance tier delivers a consistent speed of 1.8MB/sec, with powerboost it comes out to 2.4-2.8MB/sec. Upload is a steady 4mbit/sec. DOCSIS3 has practically eliminated the problem of congestion. Latency is generally low, however there have been some times of poor routing - this gets resolved (Poor Peering arrangements). Our previous ISP was Verizon, on their aging DSL. The 3mb/sec DSL was perfectly reliable, which is not a small miracle considering how VZ has abandoned their copper plant. The Comcast provided line is so much faster than the old DSL line - I don't look back at all.
The Phone service has worked fine, no complaints.
The TV product is aging. Comcast LOVES rental fees, and other fees. Why cant we buy our equipment outright like the rest of the world? The only reason we don't have a DVR is cost - its astronomical at $17 a month. Standard HD box is $9 a month. Additional SD box? $5 on your bill. The program guide is the same old Motorola system from 1999, very few changes. The Comcast Universal Remote is horrible compared to the DirecTV remote due to some odd glitches. (Turns on devices 1-by-1 rather than sending the signal all at once, a problem if you put down the remote too soon!) The only positive? The TV has been insanely reliable, never going out in the 1 year of service we have had.
Billing issues have been a constant pain, nearly monthly something gets screwed up (i.e DVR fee when we dont have a DVR, Package Price changing out of the blue, rental fee increases for no reason). Don't bother with Comcast's standard support - they are useless. Use the direct forum here.
Installation was a pain also. First tech was a contractor, refused to run RG6 to our Office upstairs and instead put the EMTA/Gateway in the living room far away from the hardwired PCs. (Brilliant) Second tech comes out (actual Comcast employee) and runs the RG6 in 15 minutes. He also replaces the Gateway with a standard EMTA (Arris 722G) at my request. This should not had required 2 Tech visits.
Overall? Internet is fantastic, Phone just works, and the TV product is aging in the modern era, an expensive core product. Just good luck with Support!
Attachments:
member for 1.4 years, 181 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 6 days ago
Comments:
| Review by nonamesleft - Location: Manitowoc,Manitowoc,WI
- Cost: $53 per month
Good "Better then att dsl"
Bad "Constant rate hikes and no competition lots of internet drop outs"
Overall "Tech support horrible!"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
I have had comcast internet for a while, I did have the 1mb down 384k up tier for awhile and then went up to the 6/1 tier (not sure if thats the performance one?), seems when there is problems the outages are 2 or 3 hours or more.
I am having problems right now, I have tryed my other cable modem, same problems, losing sync, lights go blinking. I call tech support and tell them about it, and they bring up the router as the problem! I try to make myself more clear, and said the modem log says the modem was shutting down and restarting. They offer to send someone out and I ask how much that will be, 49.95...I passed on it. We have had a very hot summer for our area, power levels seem to jump when the sun is out. I feel like I had interrupted those poor people at comcast. Just seems like the elevator doesn't go all the way to the top at this company.
9/18/2012...4 hour internet outage 8am til 12pm...Hope that has taken care of the high end signal problems, or else I am dumping comcast if I see anymore modem is shutting down and rebooting in the cable modem logs.
9/26/2012 Starting at 1:45pm internet goes down, still not working by 11:45pm later that night, Assume it came back early thursday morning, NOT too happy with comcast at this point.
So I start my morning on line, and already 7:46 the modem loses sync and shuts down and reboots...For WHAT!? I don't know. I would of thought that long outage would of fixed the problems.
Update: The local news paper covered the outage, Both outage incidents involved fiber outages in our transport network provider. They say its been taken care of.
9-28-2013 about 20 to 3PM My youtube video stops and webpages won't load, All solid green lights on modem. What is comcasts problem? I hope to find something that is better then comcast with less issues, and something that actually fixes problems.
member for 1.9 years, 518 visits, last login: 1 days ago
updated 7 days ago
Comments:
Reviews:
 ·Comcast
| My experience may help. Started with @Home near the turn of the Century, which was taken over by ATTBI [not sure of exact name anymore] then Comcast acquired. Have had Comcast in 4 locations in the PNW and that includes two States. Did have DSL for a year from a small Co-op way out in the country [best service I ever had, though only 1.5 meg]
Where I am now, I have had the most outages so far. Some lasting up to 5 hours. I was able to call the Comcast number from the phone registered to the account and the "system" advised me that there was a known outage every time, with an ETA. The last time, it also included TV. I have just watched DVD movies till it returned.
Did have a problem with speeds late this summer and suspected that the line "I had run" was the culprit. And it was. I originally ran the line myself, just for TV and for that it worked fine. I used some "crap" connections and leftover cable for a 75' run. Over 3 years it degraded. My speeds were erratic at different times of the day, per various speed tests. Called support, let them do their thing, and they sent a Company Tech the next day. Since the line was in the attic and furniture was in the way in the room where the Modem was, made access easy for the Tech by moving everything out of the way. And having the Laptop connected to the Modem directly when he came.
We ended up by putting in a new splitter and ran new line from that to the modem. Before I had 3 or so barrel connectors and some crap connectors. I helped the Tech. as much as I could. I could tell that he appreciated that as it was toasty in the attic. Plus it put us on an even playing field, so I could ask questions and get good answers.
Ended up with speeds higher than my Tier, wirelessly and more so once connected directly to the modem.
Was never told what the cost was to be at the time of the call, but it was only $32.00 or so on the next bill. Best $32.00 ever spent. And he was here 2 hours. He fixed a couple of other issues that would have been problems over the next couple of years for cable going to another room where the main TV is.
So what is the takeaway from the story? - help the Techs and they will help you, whether on the phone or in person. And one can learn of new tools they now have. Just that week the Tech had been issued some slick ones to do his job.
Plus it probably does not hurt that I have provided Tech Support for USWest/Qwest, GM, Sprint/Nextel, Vesta, and a bunch of other companies. I know what the person can and can not do on the other end of the phone line. And assholes did not get very far with me, I would help them, but would not go out of my way. It would hurt my call metrics. Nice people? I bent over backwards and could have several hour long calls per day, without hurting my metrics.
I do realize that different areas of the country have different levels of experience with Comcast, but so far, in my area, I talk with local people in Tech Support.
I can get CenturyLink where I am at, but reading the reviews and talking with others in my area as to their problems, will stay with Comcast for now.
Good luck solving your issues!
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