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 Review by Chris 313 
UPDATED: 11 days ago
member for 4 years, 2587 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Houma,Terrebonne,LA
 $33 per month (12 month contract)
 about 17 days
 "Calls are crystal clear, no hiss in the background, no reseting everytime you lose power. No sucking of internet bandwith."
 "ARRIS e-MTA 502G has upload speed problems, but using a modem for internet and one for phone, a temporary solution can be found."
 "Comcast Digital Voice rocks so far. I'm glad I switched from my AT&T CallVantage VOIP service."
| Web-site:
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(ratings match consensus)
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As far back as I can remember, I started with a phone company called South Central Bell. Years later it turned into BellSouth and there we were were with 3 phone numbers over 18 years and a 4th when I got my VOIP service.
CDV reads as my 5th phone number in all the time I've had phone service. Hopefully, this one will stay for a good long time.
Back in January 2004, I jumped on the Broadband bandwagon with Time Warner Cable's RoadRunner service when I moved into my new house. I loved the speed, but we still had plain old POS POTS service from BellSouth. After paying to have the place wired to our specs and the number we had for several years prior transfered, a botched jack install in my bedroom was the last straw. I was sick of paying so much every month for so little.
(We had local and long distance calling and Caller ID in this package for 88 plus taxes a month.)
After the botched install and getting that fixed, I decided to dump BellSouth and check into VOIP services like Vonage, using my broadband connection to make calls for cheaper. 35 bucks vs 88+ really is a no brainer.
After checking into Vonage and them failing the test because they didn't have my area code when I went to sign up, I checked into a rival service of their's called AT&T CallVantage. They had my area code and was 32.43 a month.
I jumped on eagerly, even though I had to lose the phone number I had for at least 5 years.
After a bit of a false start, I got up and running with the service a month later and used it through price drops and great service for almost 4 years. But rising prices through bogus fees, sapping of my bandwith during calls, the occasional 911 call where I had to tell them where I was, and most annoying of all: Having to reset the damned VOIP box whenever power or net hiccuped in the slightest, drove me to look into alternatives like Vonage again, or a service my cable company was offering: Comcast Digital Voice.
After going to Comcast on 6/13/08 and checking into it. The deal was sealed when I talked my way into a Triple Play Premier deal with phone, internet and TV all in one package with a few extras like DVR and faster internet added in at a decent price.
Before I left, I had a new, unlisted phone number and an install date of 6/30/08 from 2-5 pm with most of the CDV install charges waved.
That brings up to today: 6/30/08
Today at 2:10 PM a Comcast truck pulls up to my house, I see two people inside just yaking. They looked like they were finishing lunch, and since I had a window of 2-5 PM, I didn't begrudge them an extra 5 minutes. As they walked up to my house, I saw them looking under my carport and heard them saying something about a telephone box.
Back when I moved into this house in late 2006, the house had been remodeled several months prior, leading to telephone and cable wiring being ripped out. I had the cable custom re-ran and didn't even bother with the telephone wire as it wasn't needed since I had Cable and VOIP.
As they walked up, they introduced themselves as Blair (Dressed in a Comcast shirt and gear.) and Dustin (Dressed casually. I think he was in training, but, eh.) I told them there was no box and that my phone would plug straight into the modem. They said great as that would make their jobs a whole lot easier.
After they got inside, they told me they were going to swap out my trusty 4.5 year old internet only Motorola Surfboard 5100 for the E-MTA that does both internet and phone. I was a little weary of that as I heard certain brands and models of the E-MTA's that Comcast uses give funny internet speeds compared to regular internet only modems.
So, I told Blair about this and he looked at me funny, as if he didn't know what I was talking about, went to the truck and came back with an ARRIS Touchstone Telephony 502G E-MTA. As soon as I saw it, I told him that I'd like to keep my Motorola 5100 for the internet and just use the ARRIS for the phone only. He just nodded, went back out to the truck with Dustin, grabbed a splitter and two lengths of cable, came back, screwed my main modem cable line into one end of the splitter, the two lengths of cable into the other ends and then into my modems.
They both lit up like Christmas trees. Blair and Dustin went out to the truck, did something. The Arris, which was syncing up at the moment lit up completely. They came back in, plugged my phone in, had me test it. It worked immediately with 7 digit dialing. (Yay! No more VOIP and that 10-digit dialing for locals anymore)
They had me sign the work order after I ran a speed test to confirm my Motorola was still working the internet side of things and they were off. It took from 2:15 to 2:36 PM.
I have never had such a trouble free install and two of the most pleasant and agreeable installers I have ever dealt with. These guys deserve points.
After they left, I made a few test phone calls to update my family on the new, now working number and there was no slight background hiss like when I used my AT&T CallVantage VOIP service.
I am very pleased except for the fact that I have to use one modem to get my full internet speeds and another for the phone. Until ARRIS puts out a firmware that fixes the issues on the internet Upload speed side. I will be more then happy to run the two modems.
A friend of mine has done this also and it works great for him too.
I'll update this as more info comes.
Update: 7/4/08
After 5 days of not having access to the CDV Center, I found to be able to access it today. I have also found a few detractors. One, they mis-spelled my name, both there and on my bill, they've also marked my number published when it was supposed to be unpublished both in the book and directory assistance. I'll be going to Comcast monday to fix these.
The second thing I don't like and wish they had was a phone book to list contacts and numbers and a click to call ability.
Third thing I noticed is that they don't have an online listing for speed dial that I've found, you have to program all those numbers into your phone. I'm still looking, but that's two things now that AT&T CallVantage had over my current Comcast Digital Voice service.
If anyone knows that the CDV Center has a phone book and I'm unaware of it, please leave me a comment.
Other then that, the service has been working flawlessly and I like it. I've also had a power outage. I was plugged into a UPS, but the phone still didn't miss a beat.
Other then the bits I've listed, I'm finding the service a high quality replacement and I'm liking it.
I'll update this as I get more info.
Update: 7/11/08
Two days ago, I went to Comcast, talked to a CSR named Sheila and she shorted my name and had my number unpublished. Said it'd take about two days for the changes to take place. Later that night, I found that both had happened, sooner then she said. Yay for her quick response.
I'll update when I get more.
Update: 6/13/08
Tonight, I had a disconnect on the internet side, but my phone stayed up through the whole thing. You couldn't do that with my previous AT&T CallVantage VOIP service.
I'm loving what Comcast has put together.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Comcast Digital Voice |
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 Review by NETSH
Posted: 37 days ago
member for 5.7 years, 1426 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Port Saint Lucie,Saint Lucie,FL
$30 per month
about 4 days
"All in one package"
"None So Far"
"Great deal if you bundle your tv/internet/phone"
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Money wise its great....have had no issues with call quality and in fact it seems better than what I had with vonage. E-911 is a better system than Vonage by tying your modem with your address. Also has a built in battery incase of a power outage it should last up to 6 hours (a feature not available with Vonage)
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Review by reelbigfish
UPDATED: 58 days ago
member for 6.1 years, 1541 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Boston,Suffolk,MA
$38 per month (24 month contract)
about 8 days
"Clear Call Quality, Easy to use, good voicemail"
"None so far"
"Great POTS replacement, recommend to all who can get it!"
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I had Comcast Digital Voice installed along with my cable and internet. So far things are going quite well. I'm liking the Arris modem for both. Reduces clutter versus having another box for a 3rd part VoIP provider. The call quality is clear. I was on for an hour during a conference call and everything went well. No one complained about the quality and I could hear everyone just fine. The unlimited calling is nice and the voice mail is quite easy to setup and use. I will surely update once I have spent more time with the product. I would highly recommend trying it out if it is available in your area.
---------------------------------Update 08/09/2007--------------------------------------------
Well, I have now had the service for almost a month and I have nothing but good things to say. I had to make some long calls and Comcast was able to hold the call the entire time. A lot of my calling is long distance as I have family scattered all over and it has been great. The quality is good, and when we did lose power for over 6 hours, I was able to make calls during the outage. I turned my cell off so that if it did last longer I would have a phone to make calls with. It is a bit of a downside to be limited by the battery life, but in reality if the power is going to be out for several days, I would go somewhere else for the time being. As compared to when I had Vonage it costs the same during my 12 month deal. It has been as good as when I had a land line and had less problems as well When I used to have a land line, every time it rained the service would go out randomly and also get static when it worked. I still recommend the service to anyone looking for an alternative.
------------------------------Update 09/13/2007----------------------------------------------
So Far things are going quite well. I have not had any outages even when there have been power outages in the area. Longest outage we had was 6 hours and I did not lose the phone in that time. The call quality has been superb and the value is quite good. In this area Comcast Digital Voice competes head to head with Verizon. I have check the log in the modem to make sure I did not lose connectivity on the voice side and haven't seen anything. I use it to make calls home long distance and it does it will. Having a cell phone I probably don't need CDV, but if I didn't, I would surely need a higher cell phone plan. This is mainly due to calling 800 numbers when I occasionally work from home. I am on call, and when something happens there is no time to get to the office. I have been on a call for several hours and I was not dropped. For a famliy I would recommend this service as it will help reduce your cell phone bills especially with kids. For my alarm system I would do not worry about having it hooked it up to my CDV in this area. Other areas I may consider something else. Overall a great product and it is highly recommended.
------------------------------Update 05/27/2009----------------------------------------------
It has now been almost a year since I had the Comcast Triple Play installed. I have to say that I am still loving the Comcast Digital Voice product. The price has not changed and I have now signed up for a 2 year contract on the $99 Triple Play, making the price of the CDV $38/month including taxes, fees and the modem rental for the next 2 years. Definitely worth it. The service has not gone down to my knowledge since I've been using CDV. I've been on the phone for 12 hours continuously at times and I have not dropped a call. I use it to call land lines and cell phones and have not had issues. It is definitely better than Verizon in our area, whose repair times have gone up significantly in the past year. The only time the battery backup was required was when the power on our street went out. It was out for 18 hours. The battery did eventually die, but it lasted a good long time before anything happened. I did have to dial 911 once, but it was to report an accident, so I don't know exactly how well the E911 works. The police did show up at our building and the 911 operator asked to confirm my address, so I assume she saw it on the screen. In the Boston area this is a highly refined product and I recommend it to anyone who can get it. As with any service though, E911 can fail. It even happens with landlines occasionally, but for the price and performance to date, it has been a great product.
Followup comments:  
WindowsObserver
@navy.mil | Great review Thanks for the updates to your initial review. I like seeing the consistency of the service from your perspective.
I get my installed in about 10 days. | |
| | reelbigfish
join:2002-06-06
Boston, MA | Re: Great review Just remember that it is dependent on the plant in your area. You should have quality service and if you don't, call Comcast right away to deal with the problem. I hope you enjoy your service as much as mine! | |
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 Review by FicmanS
UPDATED: 129 days ago
member for 3.5 years, 1163 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Brownsburg,Hendricks,IN
Contract price not specified.
"Call quality is VERY good... Could not be happier..."
"couple of small issues to start, cleared up within 24hrs..."
"I am still pleased with how well this works..."
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We're happy with the service so far, call quality is GREAT...
Website is a bit dated in my opinion, needs a refresh (badly)...
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 Review by gdm
UPDATED: 142 days ago
member for 7.1 years, 3909 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Mchenry,Mchenry,IL
$45 per month
about 5 days
"Quality is great, doesn't come off my bandwidth, if internet goes down phone doesn't unless both go."
"Web portal needs some serious improvements and the ability to modify phone features via the web."
"I am very happy for the price."
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****Update 3/3/08
I decided to leave Comcast after having CDV and HSI for a 1.5 years and then cable the last 6 months. Things were good but when the promo pricing runs out it's hard to get a good deal. AT&T U-verse got installed on 2/15 after some issues. So far I like it and I am saving over $60 a month compared to comcast. Downloads about the same without powerboost upload is twice as fast. Same station package I had before. This isn't a promo rate just the regular day to day rate and no contract. Also signed up for AT&T Call Vantage since U-verse Voice isn't an option yet in IL.
I have to say I had no issues with CDV. The web portal I had hoped would have moved along much farther then what had.
*****Update 9/11/07
So far so good still with CDV. Every so often the modem needs a reboot but otherwise all is working. The web portal has gotten a little better giving the ability now to listen to voicemails on the web and control some features. Still wanting to get that backup number if some thing ever happened like Vonage has.
I think since my last post I have only had 2 outages. One was trouble at the head end and CDV/HSI were both out. Came back up in about 40 minutes. The other time was during winter some how my line got disconnected from the pole. Called comcast on sunday when we got back in town and had a tech out monday to fix it.
******
I signed up for CDV back in mid October and ported my Vonage #. Well some things happened with the order and Vonage itself being a PITA. I went to the comcast.net forums and got some help from the tech there. Once Vonage finally released the # then it took 5 days to get Comcast out here to install. Install took no more then 30 minutes. That was swapping out to the new Arrius cable/digital voice modem. Then calling in to have the account updated.
Phone is very clear and people comment on it. It's nice to see cell numbers with names vs cellular caller, etc.
So far I am very pleased with the service and have had a few friends sign up.
Two things that need to be worked on are the web portal and have a backup number if the service does go down. Basically like what Vonage has where you enter a number in the portal and if service goes down the calls get forwarded to that.
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Review by Tom867
UPDATED: 144 days ago
member for 4.1 years, 104 visits, last login: 144 days ago
Browns Mills,Burlington,NJ
$34 per month
"Awesome sound quality and performs excellent"
"Feature set is lacking compared to some others"
"Awesome service"
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I've had Comcast Digital Voice (CDV) for over 7 months now. The service has been excellent since installation and voice quality compared to all the others I have went through is superior. It's a keeper service and enjoy having a service that finally works all the time. Having Comcast use their own private network for this service truly makes the difference.
The feature set isn't as bold compared to some of the other VoIP services out there, but in reality I never used more then half of those features anyway. I'm still waiting and looking for a DND feature as Vonage never had it either when I left. If I don't want to be bothered, it's a real pain turning ringers off or unplugging the rj11 jack on the TA. It's a multi-phone system, so when I get a phone call sometimes it sounds like a bomb going off when I'm sleeping. Some people have no consideration and call ANYTIME, hence really wanting a quick DND feature.
****** April 2007 ******
Comcast CDV has been great and better then all the other "Internet" phone services I've used. I can't tell the difference between a POTS line and this service. It's a great service and have had it for while and recommend it!
Anyway, it's been a really good service and I feel comfortable and secure with it to not even think or worry if it's going to work like my previous providers I had.
****** March 2008 *****
Been pleased with the service. No negative things to say about the service itself. Still waiting for my DND feature. 
Followup comments: 
Trinijoy
Premium
join:2005-09-12
Brick, NJ
 ·Vonage
| Uh huh Well yeah of course it performs excellent, its proprietary on the Comcast service so there will almost never be any choppy audio as it's not effected by regular traffic like Vonage and SunRocket are. So even if you have crappy connection you still may get good voice. | |
| | Tom867
join:2004-05-25
Edison, NJ | Re: Uh huh Which makes it a superior service against the ones that do use the public Internet for all their traffic. | |
| wstagner
join:2003-06-23
Yorkville, IL
| CDV connections I'm generally satisfied with the service however there ARE some phone numbers (especially interrnational ones) that will not connect.
I've reported to their support and I never hear anything back. After several weeks the number(s) still don't work.
I get "we're sorry your call did not go thru" message. | |
| chas3
join:2004-12-03
Dallastown, PA
·ViaTalk
 ·Comcast
edit:
May 4th, @11:55AM
| get ready for price increase Since you commented that you have been on comcast voice for 7 months now...
Figuring that you have triple play, in 4 or 5 months, the special price for triple play should be expiring...
After that, the monthly price jumps like 40%. I was told the $99 becomes almost $140/month. Be ready for it and start shopping soon if you don't like the increase.
As far as DND, the service I am using has DND and can be preset to go on/off automatically by time of day. | |
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Review by Tedspick
UPDATED: 147 days ago
member for 147 days, 0 visits, last login: 147 days ago
Beaver Falls,Beaver,PA
$40 per month (12 month contract)
about 7 days
"Very careful installer - technical expert - spent extra time"
"Hard to find out how to use website and get account and password"
"So far after a month very satisfied with digital voice"
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We were concerned about horror stories from other users and I was worried about how the Comcast installer would screwup my powered radio shack two-way splitter. My actual experience was the opposite. The technician surprised me by expressing interest and curiosity about the splitter and he applied his measurement equipment to the input and output and adjusted the gain to be optimum (it's not true that max gain is best). He was dissatisfied with the incoming signal from the pole and before I knew what was going on four (count them, 4) Comcast trucks showed up outside my house and an army of guys climbed up and down the pole tweaking and adjusting until the tech, looking at his metering devices, pronounced the result "perfect". My old RCA cable modem was replaced with a new device of unknown brand (not before he scorned the RCA as belonging in a museum). Then he used my PC to log onto Comcast and began a computerized process of setting up my account etc. It took a while to do that and he discovered a few errors and plugged away until they were fixed to his satisfaction. Then he really surprised me by examining in great detail all the phone lines in my house - tracing the wires and testing each one - finding two problems that required replacing a splice block and rewiring one outlet. Finally all internal phone lines met with his satisfaction and after more testing he decided everything was working correctly. We tested all phones and verified everything was correct. He began all this at 4:00 PM and did not leave until 7:30 PM expressing some degree of hunger. That was about a month ago and as of today there has not been a hitch. The digital voice has worked perfectly and so also has the internet and my splitter etc. I did hit a snag several days later when we tried to log onto the account to view messages etc. and needed a few calls into their support to get it all logged in and apparently working. Since his visit I notice the old phone unit still sitting on the wall and still plugged in? In general I felt the technician took pride in what he did and also determined to leave with a satisfied customer which he did.
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 Review by Comm Tech
Posted: 169 days ago
member for 3 years, 35 visits, last login: 2 days ago
White Lake,Oakland,MI
Contract price not specified.
"Always works , call quality great"
"none, yet"
"best in area for price"
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Used to have nothing but problems with SBC (bad drop they refused to replace, although they did switch pairs a few times). Finally changed to Comcast and have nothing bad to say about them yet. Have CDV and HSI on same RCA modem no problems at all run a linksys router for XBOX live no lag! everything is great. will post if anything changes though!
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 Review by CO_Chris
UPDATED: 228 days ago
member for 6.9 years, 3274 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Broomfield,Broomfield,CO
$33 per month (12 month contract)
about 2 days
"The call quality"
"nill"
"Well worth it"
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Review update 12-8-2007
Well it's been a year now and i still have CDV and love it no big problem so i would still recommend there service
11-28-2006
Since i use to have TWC DP and it worked so well in Houston that i will give Comcast a try here in Colorado and man it work's the same. I am paying 33.00 a month for it for 12 months and it's well worth it.
CC DP works better then vonage and the other because it says on there network till it drops out at the CO and by far this is so much better then Vonage because they use the UL/DL to make call and some times they are very choppy .
I have to say for the money go with CC DP you be happy that you did.
Also they use a real 911 service
My total bill with tax and all is 35.68. this is not so bad
Followup comments: troy201
join:2002-07-07
Lyndhurst, NJ
·Comcast
| CC Voice I agree it works just fine no matter what I'm doing on the net. It would be nice if they upgrade their web page interface to say Sunrocket standards which I thought was great. As it stands now Comcasts is terrible and so very basic and useless. Hopefully they will get it together in that area of the Digital Voice service. | |
| gensai
join:2006-04-15
Seattle, WA | UP/DN Well the reason the SQ is so good even when doing mass upload and downloading is the digital voice uses it's own bandwidth. It doesn't use the bandwidth of your internet connection. The beauty of CC | |
|
intrstdobserver
@clearwire-dns.net | comcast voip Think about this for a moment. If you have a central alarm system in your home, no voip product will work, period!
Comcast fails to mention this in their sales pitch... | |
| | bscoleman
join:2007-03-20
Midlothian, VA
| Re: comcast voip Contrary to the last post, Alarm services do work with Comcast digital voice. I had problems initially because the contract service person did not install it properly. I called Comcast and they sent a Comcast technician out the day after I called. They were there less than 20 minutes and my alarm company was able to receive my test signal. The service works if it is installed properly. | |
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Review by Jim K
UPDATED: 233 days ago
member for 6.2 years, 912 visits, last login: 57 days ago
Columbus,Franklin,OH
$33 per month (12 month contract)
about 25 days
"Voice quality"
"Tech support"
"mixed"
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My experience with Comcast DV was the most extreme positive and negative, with one company, I’ve had. The installation took four appointments, of which I was notified of cancellation for one of them. It apparently had to do with porting my number, which is understandable, but not notifying me of cancellations isn’t. But hey it’s only my time - no time or money lost by Comcast.
A problem cropped up – after initially being able to access my account online, it stopped being accessible. Their “tech support” was non-existent. I had to deal with customer service which is referred to as tech support but isn’t – there was no way to speak with tech support. Those masquerading as tech support were clueless, and five different CS reps ended up giving me five “tickets” with five numbers with no action taken on them – over a two week period.
Service is provided to my location in Florida.
The good: Voice quality is excellent. The installers were excellent. Initial cost for triple play.
If the price rises significantly, I’ll be looking at the competition – hopefully Verizon FiOS.
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