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Review by keason 
member for 9.7 years, 2085 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 25 days ago
 Ann Arbor,Washtenaw,MI
 $100 per month- (36 month contract)
 about 7 days "Fast, powerboost, hosted exchange accounts, static IPs, good service" "expensive install on 1 & 2 year contracts, monthly fees for faster tiers" "Expensive but works well"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
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I ordered the 22/5 service with static IPs. It took about a week after the order was accepted to installation. Comcast gave a 4 hour windows and arrived about 1 hr later than scheduled. Hint: (Don't schedule an afternoon installation if possible!) It took less than an hour for the install, most of which was spent waiting for static IP assignment. The installer carefully matched signal strength and installed a 2 way splitter for future use.
Ping times showed a different distribution than with the dynamic residential service I had previously. Pings around Chicago averaged 25-30ms, Atlanta 60ms while Michigan were closer to 70ms with west coast pings close to 100ms. Comcast employs some strange routing logic.
Speed tests were positively inconsistent with powerboost. Downloads ranged from 55-85 Mb/sec, while uploads ranged from 5-6 Mb/sec. Sustained downloads average about 24Mb/sec, slightly better than advertised.
Comcast included an DOCSIS 3.0 SMC cable modem, configured in bridge mode. A separate box is used for a telephone connection. It worked perfectly with my firewall, unlike the Motorola 5100 DOCSIS 2 modem which was provided in a previous installation.
Overall, it worked as promised with no hassles.
Update 6 Jan 2011 - Comcast credited my account $20 for the late appointment (unsolicited). The CS in business is much better than residential. So far no glitches, drop outs, or speed issues. VoIP has worked flawlessly, and the modem has remained stable.
Update 12 Jan 2011 - Had our first outage. Called at 6pm, it was fixed at 9:30am the next day. Tech was on time and professional. It turned out that a different tech had disconnected the cable at the pole  due to a residential disconnect order. The two divisions are not well coordinated. The performance difference was very noticeable compared to our ATT DSL backup - ATT constantly lagged, web pages did not load correctly, and VoIP occasionally stuttered .
Update 6 Feb 2011 - No problems or slowdowns. Speedtests have been averaging 85-95Mb down/ 5-6 Mb up at all times of the day. Sustained transfers 25Mb down/5.5Mb up.
Update 20 April 2011 - No hassles or glitches. SMC router has been very stable. Only a few momentary dropouts during the past 2 months, and no outages. Speedtests range from 15Mb/3Mb to 75Mb/6Mb depending on server used. No noticeable slowdowns during peak usage time
Update 21 May 2011 - Comcast came out again and tried to disconnect service due to a residential disconnect order. I intercepted the tech at the pole. Comcast now claims that their system is clear and it won't be disconnected again. Amazing that one outage and one near outage were caused by no communication between residential and business groups. Otherwise service working fine, powerboost still inflates speedtests. No slowdowns during peak periods.
Update 13 June 2011 - I was experiencing severe packet loss and slowdowns. Reported Sunday, was fixed on Monday. Squirrel had chewed the line.
Update 21 July 2011 - We now have upstream channel bonding. Speedtests average 80/35, and powerboost is uncapped. Uncapped powerboost is a great feature - VoIP traffic, browsing, and even some streaming services (which mostly transfer multiple small files) work very well even during long capped downloads, and we don't see much of a spike in latency when the connection is in full use.
Update 15 Jan 2012 - Well, the good stuff didn't last. Upstream bonding disappeared, Comcast started charging $7/mo for the formerly free modem (even while in contract!) , and speed is down to 15-25 down, 2-5 up on speed tests during peak hours (about 40/6 off peak). I change the 'Pre-Sale" ranking to worst as Comcast lied about the modem pricing - it was free only for the first 12 mo in a 36 mo contract! Latency is also higher during peak times. To cut costs I dropped the Static IP's and bought my own modem, and now use Dynamic DNS. Bill dropped from $127 to $100 after returning the modem and purchasing a Moto SB6120 (the only other supported modem for business class)
At least the service is still uncapped and VoIP works well. It would be nice to have the higher upstream bandwidth back.
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Review by The Grif
member for 11 years, 4116 visits, last login: 5 days ago
updated 57 days ago
- Geneva,Kane,IL
- $119 per month
- (24 month contract)
- about 6 days
- "Speed and Relative Cost..."
- "None So Far..."
- "Fast Connection, No Caps, Static IP's all at a Reasonable Cost..."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I had Comcast HSI residential package for several years with no complaints. I recently upgraded to Comcast Business Class service because I wanted:
No monthly usage caps
Static IP's
Servers allowed
The price difference for the upgrade was reasonable IMHO...the speeds are faster than my residential service. I am consistently getting 30 Mbps down and 7 Mbps up...with 5 static IP's for $79.60 month...not too bad. Reliability seems great thus far...
Update:
After 1 year of trouble-free service...my Comcast Business class is now nothing short of terrible. I have daily outages...for the last 8 weeks...sometimes 3+ hours per day. I have had 4 tech visits, they have rewired and replaced all cable and hardware between my modem and the tap...no improvement at all.
Comcast customer support has given me many excuses for these issue...the latest was that there was a cable damaged by a construction crew nearby and it will take a month to get the required permits from my city engineer to fix the damaged cable. Well...I called the City Engineer and she stated that Comcast has no outstanding permits, etc.
So...at this point, my last hope is Comcast Direct...I am hoping that Comcast Steve can help me.
Update 08/24/2011:
I am still having daily outages on my Comcast Business Class service. Often times 3+ hours per day. Comcast has done nothing to help. I have had broadband since the old @Home days....in the early 90's...and this has to be...by far...the worst experience I have ever seen. Absolutely awful customer support.
I cannot run my business with this kind of service...no way...
Update 08/31/2011:
The infamous construction project was finally completed on 08/27/2011. My service has now been returned to normal. I have experienced no outages since.
So...in summary, my service was extremely intermittent for 10 weeks...with daily outages of 1-3 hours for both my phones and Internet. It appears to be repaired at this point, however, I just do not see how it could take over 2 months to repair service. Once again, this is not my idea of a "Business Class" service that I pay for.
It is nice to have it back, however, speeds are outstanding.
Update 09/12/2011:
Connection has now been rock-solid for the last 2 weeks...no outages whatsoever. Comcast has also now given me 2 full months of credit.
Although I did have major issues this summer...I still believe Comcast provides a great connection technology.
Update 12/12/2011:
Connection remains rock solid. Fast with low latency. I have ordered an upgrade to the 22/5 DOCSIS 3 business class speed tier which will be installed tomorrow.
I will review the new faster service in 30 days.
Update 12/16/2011:
I upgraded to the 22/5 service on 12/14. A new SMC D3 modem was installed and the old SMC 8014 was removed. The service is much faster. I am seeing 54 Mbps down and 8.5 Mbps up with PowerBoost. Sustained rates are now 25 Mbps down and 8 Mbps up...a real improvement.
So far...very pleased with the new tier.
Comments:
 | | CEO Why not email the CEO's Office? you do know they read those emails right? | |
| | | | Re: CEO That is a good idea...I think I will do just that...can't hurt...
Thanks
--
"This place makes Cambodia look like Kansas..." | |
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 Review by Chester2
member for 11.3 years, 711 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 151 days ago
- Menlo Park,San Mateo,CA
- $75 per month
- (24 month contract)
- about 7 days
- "Fast, static IP's for my servers, Free Norton, No bandwith caps!"
- "Expensive, no USENET groups"
- "Worthwhile step up from DSL"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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10 years ago I had Comcast internet and really liked it but when I moved Comcast wasn't available in my new neighborhood and I had to go with DSL. For the last 9 years I've had DSLExtreme 3000/512 DSL service. I've been needing more speed and was on the fastest service DSL could provide me. Enter Comcast.
I have a home office, actually 2 since my wife also has an office in our home. I need static IPs for my servers so Comcast residential was out and I had to get Comcast Business Class. My understanding is that the business internet connection is the same as the residential connection. The difference being that you can get static IPs, there are no bandwidth caps, support is supposed to be better and you get some business goodies like free MS Outlook 2007, free webspace, free domain name.
When I made my first call to Comcast Business inquiring about service they tried a hard sell on their VOIP phone service. I was actually ready to sign up then but they got me researching VOIP services to see if theirs was worth getting. Their "deal" was $25 a month for Comcast Voice service. It's big plus is that it runs separate from your internet so that big downloads won't affect voice quality. I ended up signing with VOIPo.com for about $7.50 a month. Comcast Voice is just too expensive.
I choose their basic 12000/2000 service for $60 a month. I wrangled 5 static IPs for $10 a month and got hit with a $5 equipment rental. I paid $99 install with a 2 year contract. I could have got the install for $49 with a 3 year contract and while I will probably keep the service that long I hate being tied down, especially with all the new technologies coming down the road. I'm paying $20 a month more than I was for DSL but am getting 4x the speed!
I signed the contract on Monday and was told I'd be called to arrange installation. When no one had called by Wednesday afternoon I contacted my sales rep. and he got someone to contact me Thursday. An install appointment was made for 10-2 the following Monday.
The installer arrived Monday at noon and promptly went to work. I had already installed structured wiring (phone, ethernet, coax) that junctions in the garage. From there he tested each cable line running into the house and found one that was bad. I pulled the cable running from the wall to the TV and replaced it with one the installer cut to fit and all was well. He also determined that I didn't need the amplifier that had been installed in an attempt to fix a weak signal years ago. One less thing to be plugged in made me happy. I was given a SMCD3G Docsis 3 router/modem. I was glad to get this as most people with 12/2 service get a lesser model. The installer told me that they try and use the Docsis 3 modem on all installs even though they are not suppose to. The installer changed the hardware on both ends of the drop, at the house and on the pole. He also installed a little note on the line telling residential technitions not to disconnect the line as it has business service on it. I found it amusing that when he called Comcast to get my static IPs he was on hold waiting for an operator for quite some time. What does that say for priority business support? Once the modem was up and running the installer showed me all the line readings and did a speed test and showed the speeds with and without Powerboost. He handed me a sheet of paper with my network settings and was off. No mention was made of setting up any of my network. Once the Comcast modem/router working the rest is up to you. No residential hand holding here. Fine by me but some people may be surprised when the installer leaves without connecting their computer.
I've only been using the service for 3 days so far but the speed increase is very, VERY noticeable. I'm very happy. Plus, I am at the lowest speed tier. All I have to do is make a phone call and mail a bigger check for more speed. Until now I've been paying $60 a year for 3 Norton licenses. With Comcast Business I get 25 copies of Norton so that saves me $5 a month. I also get a free domain name and some web space which I will do some thing with.
So far I am very happy with my new Comcast service. I'll post updates if I have to use support for anything.
-- UPDATE 9-8-2011 --
I've had the service a little over a week now and the main thing I have to say is, "Why didn't I do this sooner?" Speeds are as advertised even when PowerBoost is taken out of the equation. PowerBoost does skew the most of the speed test results.
»www.speedtest.net/result/1472885855.png
»www.pingtest.net/result/46584646.png
Beyond being faster everything seems snappier. I click and bang web pages appear without the hesitation that I had with my DSL service. From pages on the web to my routers config. page, all are much quicker to load. It's not DNS because I've always used OpenDNS. I like it.
I've installed the Norton Business Suite on all my computers. It is a re-branded Norton 360 that comes with all the features of 360 except the cloud backup storage. You can still use the backup feature you just have to do it to a local disk. The software has many more features than the Norton Internet Security retail version I had been using. Upgrading was a piece of cake in that Norton gives you the option of saving all your settings when you uninstall their software so that they can be used when installing the Business Suite software.
Comcast gave me a welcome packet with a stack of business cards with their 1-800 support number on them. I taped them to all my computer equipment but haven't had reason to call yet. So far the service just works. I keep looking for things to complain about but can't find any. I should have something to complain about it is Comcast after all.
One place the service comes up short is Usenet access. Every ISP I've had in the past has included Usenet access. Comcast doesn't. I did find a free Usenet service that is almost as good as the one provided by my last ISP so I won't bitch too much about Comcast not offering it.
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Review by Hylas
member for 10.6 years, 229 visits, last login: 81 days ago
lodged 158 days ago
- West Hartford,Hartford,CT
- Contract price not specified.
- (24 month contract)
- about 14 days
- "FAST!"
- "None"
- "Free, Fast, 100% Up Time"
| |
After years of AT&T DSL, I couldn't be more happy with Comcast Business Services. My old AT&T service would require me to reboot the modem and my router almost weekly. VOIP would drop constantly.
I got a new job; working from home. My employer put in Comcast Business Services. I don't have a bill to pay and I've had rock solid connection for 9 months now. In fact, other than when I lost power for hurricane Irene, my Internet has never been down. My uptime on my router was over 8 months. Once the power came back on, my internet was there, waiting and fast as ever.
I'd love to hate Comcast but with a bill of $0 and 100% up-time, I've got to give them a perfect score!
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 Review by jbeckva
member for 7.6 years, 2286 visits, last login: 4 days ago
lodged 181 days ago
- Powhatan,Powhatan,VA
- $59 per month
- (24 month contract)
- about 7 days
- "Solid for the most part, and great tech support when it's not"
- "Can't seem to find anything to fill in here!"
- "Want to not worry about caps? Pay the extra and stop complaining"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
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I'm on the 12/2 business class at 59 per month. Looking to go to the next level, as I'm relying on it more and more.
I've had this for about a year now, upgraded from regular consumer class when it was the same per month for the same speeds (why not, eh?). Only a few outages.. maybe 2 max. One was a problem with the SMC D3 modem, but since then absolutely no issues. In all cases, the business support tiers are there to help, and definitely much better.
Glad I upgraded. I was able to get "off the grid" with TV, saving over a 100 per month. No caps to worry about.. works for me!
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Review by muranternet
member for 2.3 years, 578 visits, last login: 65 days ago
updated 235 days ago
- Saint Paul,Ramsey,MN
- $52 per month
- about 5 days
- "Decent speeds, fairly good uptime"
- "Sometimes variable speeds late night, stupid SMC 8014 gateway, inconsistent support"
- "Good option for >250GB traffic, esp. if in a low usage node"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I was on a Comcast residential account in my address before this one, when it took over from the AT&T Broadband account at my loft in Lowertown. I was apprehensive due to widespread negative reviews but I have to say I have been very lucky with Comcast overall, with a few exceptions. (Had a node-wide problem that took me a LOT of calls to get resolved, but that was when I was on residential and had to suffer through lousy tech support calls.)
I signed up for Comcast workplace through my employer after pondering it for about a year. I wish I had done it sooner. I moved from a residential account with basic cable TV, standard broadband service (was getting about 16mbps/30 with powerboost down), and the usual taxes and mystery charges that go with them, totalling around $57/mo. (I bought a modem.) When I switched to business class, I dropped the basic cable TV, as that was really only there because of Comcast's pricing structure that essentially forces you to get some kind of TV service, or it actually costs more. Note: Basic cable services are always available, if you are interested in that sort of thing.
Speed has basically been about the same, and my account rep was surprised when I told him what sort of bandwidth I was getting under my residential account. I suspect I'm in a low usage area, with a lot of people using DSL instead of cable, so I may have lucked out. I know other people in different metros do not have the same experience, so YMMV. I think my old residential account was supposed to be 12/2, and my business account 12/2, but since I was basically running faster than rated anyway I saw no difference. Unfortunately I don't think the speedtest.net node in the Twin Cities is available anymore, so I can't apples to apples compare my speedboost. Sustained throughput is about the same, however.
Under a business account, Comcast forces you to use their modem, not a privately owned one, but at least they don't charge you for it. The bad news is that unless you get a higher tier account you wind up with an SMC 8014 business gateway, one of the most reviled pieces of hardware ever. DO NOT USE THIS AS A ROUTER. After having it crash several times a day due to poor handling of routing tables, I just set my own router to a static in the gateway's address range (10.1.10.x I think, check your nonexistent manual) and stuck it in a DMZ. The gateway works passably for a straight modem, though I'm still unhappy with it as it still occasionally hiccups and the double-NAT setup results in weird things like tracert not working. After talking with tech support a couple of times, they said they had seen people go crazy trying to make this work for a while, and suggested I just get a surfboard modem and provision it. Some of them will tell you you cannot do this on a business account, but this is absolutely not true unless you need a static (which I don't), so just keep hounding. I have not changed this yet, as I keep thinking I'll drop by the local Comcast office and just pick up a modem, but I have not found the time yet.
Phone support is worlds away from residential support. On residential, when my entire node was having problems, I would have to call about 12 times (no kidding) until I finally got someone on the phone, delayed them for a while, and then told them to look right at the moment that an intermittent drop was occurring in order to get anyone to fix a problem. On business class, your first call is basically to tech support 2, with people who have (so far) known what they were talking about, and had actual information and the ability to fix problems. Apparently, a truck roll is guaranteed within 4 hours of a call, though I have not had to try this yet. I may tonight, just to change out my modem.
Note that if you change from residential to business class, your old account with disappear (at least mine did) and you will be assigned a new address under Comcast. This can be pretty frustrating since I got minimal documentation when my account was changed over, and I needed to call up and find out what my new login information was. I autoforwarded all my mail so I didn't lose anything, but if you actually use your comcast.net address, make arrangements to move all your stuff to Gmail or a similar service before it poofs.
I am also a moderately heavy user with videoconferencing, streaming services, FTP, etc., and I'm sure I must have come close to the 250GB cap a couple of times in the past. The fact that business class caps are, if not non-existent, at least much more lenient (I've heard from 750GB/mo to 1-2TB/mo), is very comforting. Your sales rep may say "no cap" but that's not entirely true. What I generally hear is that the real rule is, "don't bring the node down."
I cannot comment on the other services offered with the account such as Sharepoint, Outlook server, static, rDNS, etc. as I don't use them and have intentionally turned off as many of them as I could.
In conclusion I think this is a very viable option for people who work at home, or who have employers who offer a program for it, or just people who know a bit more about what they are doing and want higher quality tech support and service. I don't know if I would be comfortable running a 20+ person small business using this as my only pipe (maybe as a backup or one of 2 "prosumer" linked pipes), and I still don't think QoS is high enough to reliably serve from a Comcast account, but at this tier of service you are basically paying slightly more (or less) for a souped-up residential account with much better support, not a five 9s service. I am quite happy about it.
UPDATE 2/17/10: 4 months in, very satisfied. I still have not changed out my SMC8014, but it has gone down maybe once very early. Has not crashed since turning off all options and DMZing my DD-WRT router to handle all port assignments and DHCP. I have gotten a couple of different answers every time I call in about changing out the gateway, from "just pick up a modem at the local office and we'll provision it" to "we have to roll a truck out and swap your SMC at the same time." As long as the SMC doesn't give me any problems I won't worry about it.
One thing to note about support is that if you call during business hours M-F you get the local office and very good techs. If you call outside of those hours you get a call center with techs who are slightly better than the residential techs but much more limited. I'm lowering support to 4 because of this and the modem swap answer flipping but still satisfied.
My contract was for 12/2, not 16/2; have update the review to reflect this. Sustained speeds are minimally 12/2, occasionally higher.
UPDATE 2/24/10: I called into support this morning at 2 and 5AM after experiencing 5% loss and effective tested uploads at 0.06-0.20Mbps for a few hours. The tech thought it might be a problem with the gateway, and offered to swap it. I asked for a SB5120, to finally be rid of the 8014, and set up an appointment for the afternoon.
However, at 1PM, speeds were fine, and I called into support again to find out how much of their troubleshooting ability they lose if I switched to a 5120, and the answer was "most of it." Therefore I have made the surprising decision to keep the 8014, double NAT and all, rather than switch to a standard bridging modem just to keep better remote support capabilities. Time will tell if it works out or not.
I'm pushing my support rating back up to 5 because I got excellent answers to my questions and support from the national call center, which I was a little leery of before.
[URL=http://www.speedtest.net][IMG]»www.speedtest.net/result/7283077···G][/URL]
UPDATE 11/1/10: Last week I had a network failure at about 3AM. I rebooted everything in my network and got nothing. The SMC8014 was visible, and had a public IP assigned but could not ping out. I called support. They were able to log into the modem but also could not ping out. After booting the modem again it was not visible, so they placed an order to have it replaced; I asked for a standard DOCSIS modem, and they agreed.
The next morning I got a call from the Tier 2 guy. Naturally at that time my network was working fine, and so they cancelled the call. He also stated that it was "not their policy" to use standard DOCSIS modems on business accounts, even dynamic ones. I told him every time I called I got a different answer on this, and personally knew 2 people who also had this service who were on standard modems, but he would have none of it. "Happy that I could resolve your problem," he actually said. I told him he really didn't do a thing.
Lowering my support score because of this unpleasant experience, but generally still happy with the service.
UPDATE 1/8/11: I've been experiencing severe upstream power drops and packet loss at night for over 2 weeks. The gateway got replaced (another 8014) and an old analog filter removed from my drop, but it wasn't fixed. I spent a week calling in most nights to report the problem, but the desk was less than helpful. Fortunately, I had a very good tech come out when the gateway was replaced, and he kept notes on the situation. I called him back directly, and he put the line techs onto it, and discovered that there was an area issue around my node. They're working on monitoring it now, which doesn't mean it's fixed yet. When I called the desk back to update the ticket, it was closed. This was because the issue had been escalated (to whom I have no idea). They did measure severed upstream power drop and loss. I got half a month's credit, but I'd rather have a working line available at night. I'm not changing my support rating, since like in all services it all depends whom you get on the phone or in the truck. I am lowering my reliability score though, because even though it's been pretty solid over the life of my service, an area line issue can still take forever to get fixed. You're still on the same infrastructure as residential customers, apparently with the same headaches if a problem happens.
UPDATE 6/21/11: Sorry I haven't updated this, but a couple of interesting things happened. First, Comcast FINALLY tracked the problem to a node in my area as they were measuring similar loss at other residences, including another business customer on the same node. It was finally taken care of. Of course, I had to call a higher level desk to get an analysis of the area done. I don't think they were very happy about a mere customer calling, but whatever it takes.
Second, I was contacted by a CC service rep on the East Coast who actually did bridge my SMC 8014. Hallelujah. I can no longer access the control panel for the modem as it no longer had a maintenance address, but since it no longer drops dead, I don't care. Powerboost speeds are also up to what they were on a 5101 residential modem (up to 30mbps boost). I posted this information in the HSI forum, and it set off a veritable cyclone of back and forth nonsense between extremely knowledgeable people who enjoy debating over what a layer 2 bridge really is and what the correct terminology is for a cable modem, all the while debating whether or not the 8014 could go into dumb modem mode. Nobody believed it until I posted the telnet command, at which point it was confirmed by a number of people who are also now out of their 8014 double-NAT hell.
Of course, nobody at CC can agree over whether or not this is a good thing, but then again nobody has actually honored my request for a standard DOCSIS modem for over a year. Therefore my support rating is not changing. To those helpful individuals who insist that the proper way to to things is to get a DOCSIS modem out of CC business: well, no shit. That's why I tried to get one for over a year. Why not ask Comcast why they don't just do things the proper way?
So I still think support is better than Residential support. Incalculably better. But how much better is still a function of who happens to answer the phone.
Attachments:
Comments:
| | SPI is the killer I have found with that POS with the confirmation of a knowledgeable business support agent, that SPI is what causes these crap routers to buckle and crash/cause latency/jitter issues. Stateful Packet Inspection. That little processor built into the SMC 8014 can't handle it. I can't believe they even put that into the firmware. TURN IT OFF! And it should work fine. I'm not at work so I can't remember the location exactly. It was under firewall in the web interface. | |
| Reviews:
 ·Comcast Workplace
1 edit | SPI and everything else I personally turned off EVERYTHING on that gateway the first day I got it. It's definitely horrid as a router, and meh as a modem. I have still been using it in this mode: no DHCP, no NAT, no firewall, no nothing, static address to my own router which handles all of those functions, and stuck it in the SMC's DMZ because with this I was having all kinds of problems with variable port forwarding assignments. I'm still a little suspicious of the SMC even as a plain jane modem, but it's been stable enough with all functions turned off and I've just been too busy to deal with a swap. The only oddity has been that traceroutes and pings from a LAN machine fail, but this hasn't impacted anything else yet.
Edit: The setting is under the Gateway tab, Firewall options: Disable Gateway Smart Packet Detection (check). | |
| | Eliton
join:2010-01-10
Pottsville, PA | Re: SPI and everything else I have had no issues with the gateway. I turned off the DMZ though. I will be getting a new D3 modem Monday for when they activate my new speeds. | |
| | | | | Re: SPI and everything else I've decided to keep the gateway, as much as it annoys me sometimes, just because of the remote login support options it affords to technical support as opposed to a standard bridging modem. | |
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Reviews:
·Comcast Workplace
| Bridge It Once call to comcast and they were able to change the SMC to "bridge mode" - which they explained is really pseudo-bridge mode. My Cisco router sits right behind the SMC, and network speeds and reliability have improved substantially. I recommend this to everyone | |
| | Reviews:
·Comcast Workplace
| Re: Bridge It From what I can gather pseudobridge is pretty much what I did, except that I also DMZ'd my router address just to avoid any other weird surprises. No problems with the box since that one I had. I expect to replace it probably within a year since the sucker must be getting close to EoL by now. | |
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| | To megawhizz: I stand corrected. Bridge mode forever, regardless of what people want to call it. | |
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Review by ppryor63
member for 340 days, 26 visits, last login: 19 days ago
updated 242 days ago
- Staunton,Staunton City,VA
- $79 per month
- (36 month contract)
- about 5 days
- "Professional, knowledgeable tech support, high quality service"
- "Sometimes billing get mixed up so keep eye on the bills."
- "It is my best decision, especially for 5 static IP's."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I ordered Comcast Business service for my home. I have two reasons for going that route. I had 3 videophones that required their own public IP addresses, and the other reason is that I telecommute full time and I need reliable HSI.
I used to be Adelphia customer, and they worked with me and gave me 3 IP dynamic addresses for videophones. When Comcast bought them out, they discontinued the 3 dynamic IP addresses, even through I am still paying for the extra IP addresses. I was furious and made demands with Comcast Residential to no avail to get them reinstated. I was even told off by Comcast Residential that they are in entrainment business and not in telecommunications. That really upset me because I use high speed internet for my work - I work from home full time, and I go out for videophone install and training.
Then I decided to contact Comcast Business group and found out that it was not as expensive as I thought, and they were very helpful, and set me up with 5 static IP addresses, and sent out an installer to hook up the equipment. When I had SNR problem and called technical support to resolve it. They scheduled a technican to come out the very next day and it was resolved quickly and professionally. I am very pleased with technical support and the technicans that came out to work with me. If you are serious about your high speed internet, for telecommuting, or video communications, then I heartily recommend you to switch from Comcast Residental to Business! You will not regret it, and the slightly higher price is worth it because of speedy response if the service is interrupted (they promised 4 hours if called in the same day, or 24 hours turnaround after hours).
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Review by jkuta
member for 12.5 years, 270 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 243 days ago
- Sebastopol,Sonoma,CA
 Business customer- $65 per month
- (36 month contract)
- about 8 days
- "Consistently delivers better performance than ordered"
- "Installation was 5 hours late on promised day"
- "Very good value for the money"
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No other options were feasible because of distance to the CO of the ILEC. I ordered 12/2 Business Class Internet for $65 MRC. The order process and contract signing was painless. Although the installation was 5 hours late, once arrived the process was prompt and professional. I was given a SMCD3G-CCR gateway, which exceeded my expectations. For the past 2 weeks I am consistently seeing 53 mb/s down and 27 mb/s up with pings of 16 ms to a server ~50 miles away.
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Review by LOW CASPER
member for 4.1 years, 184 visits, last login: 145 days ago
lodged 1 year ago
- Pleasanton,Alameda,CA
- $115 per month
- (60 month contract)
- about 7 days
- "no other service in my area comes close!"
- "cost"
- "you get what you pay for"
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I wouldn't trade Comcast internet for any of the other so called broadband services offered in my area. I pay for a 22/5 connection and actually get 80/10. I run a 5 IP block so I can run multiple PlayStations on there own IP with an open Nat and a web server. I must say it's comcastic.
The only thing that pisses me off is about once a day I loose connection for just a moment. Although it seems to be getting better, only noticed it once this weekend during all the hours of gaming from Friday until Monday.
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Review by megawhizz
member for 9.9 years, 146 visits, last login: 23 days ago
updated 1 year ago
- West Bloomfield,Oakland,MI
- $85 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 10 days
- "Fast, reliable service. I have no other options for business class broadband."
- "Abyssmal pre-sales. No business class support after hours, long wait times in daytime. Crappy SMC modem"
- "Nice connection. Unacceptable support."
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I chose comcast amongst all my choices (namely comcast, comcast and comcast). Too far for DSL, no other cable provider. Personally I prefer the smaller ISPs. Ordered the "Standard" business package with 1 static IP additional. $79.90 + $4.95 per month.
8/7/08
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I have had comcast for about a week now. I will post serial reviews as I gain more experience.
Pre-sales and Installation:
* They provide minimal information on their website, so all communication was via e-mail back and forth and phone calls.
* The sales rep was eager to get my business. However she was not very knowledgeable. Made up answers to questions she was unsure about, and when I prompted her to ask someone who knows, got back to me with the correct (I hope) answers.
* Sales rep promised order to live time of 3 to 4 business days. Actual time: 8 business days
* Sales rep promised an SMC Wireless Router as the internet gateway. Finally I was supplied a non-wireless model. When I called comcast to complain, I was told that I was misinformed, they never provide wireless gateways to business customers.
* Installation tech came on time as promised, and did a good job of neatly installing cables, etc.
* I was provided with zero papers/manuals on how to set up my static IP, e-mail, configure NAT and port-forwarding, etc. Had to call comcast to get that info. In fact I wasn't even told what number to call for tech support, had to ask my sales rep for that.
Service
* So far the service has been fast, stable. I have been able to set up my SMTP server, reverse DNS on IPs, etc.
* Comcast (sales rep) promised no filtering or blocking, and I have seen none so far.
* Hopefully comcast will support my SMTP server and not write me off as a spammer when I start sending out my newsletter. That is my greatest anxiety at present.
Tech Support
* Promise 4 hour turn around time, 24x7. Have not used this service yet, but seems reassuring
* The basic tech support answers the phone very quickly, but expect 30 min wait times if you are transferred to a higher level, as I needed for my reverse-DNS setup
* Tier 2 tech support is knowledgeable and polite. Work quickly to solve your problem.
Overall, sales rep was poor. Avoid her if possible (can I name names here?). Service seems reliable and fast, good value for money (though I signed up for the more expensive 1 year contract). Will keep you posted as time goes by.
Update 1/7/09
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I continue to get excellent up/down speeds with no significant downtime. Very happy with the service. Have not had to call support yet, so no feedback on how responsive they are.
Update 1/21/10
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So today, after 18 months of service, I had my first problem with the service - 25% ping loss, 53% low bandwidth loss and 40% medium bandwidth loss: »/linequality/nil/2610365 - the poor quality connection was noticeable even on sending e-mail. Made a couple of very interesting (and concerning) discoveries about their "24x7 business class support":
* After about 6:30p, the business class support office closes and the residential support handles all calls
* The only option available to the residential support people is resetting the modem remotely
* The earliest time they could send out a tech was 36 hours later
* Contracts "auto-renew" after their term is over, for the duration of the original term - my one year contract had auto-renewed about 6 months ago, so I still had 6 months of contractual obligations left
I asked the phone tech to escalate my request, and they called back saying a tech would be sent 8h later, first thing in the morning.
Next morning I received a call from comcast, apparently this was a system problem that they started working on today and asked me to call back if my problem was not fixed by the afternoon. Sure enough, my internet service is back to normal as of 10:30a.
Overall I'm not impressed by the promised 24x7 business support. I continue to look for other options and will switch away ASAP.
Update 1/12/2011
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Today I had some e-mail security problems with Comcast (summary: I have an SMTP server and operate legitimate double-opt-in lists. Unfortunately the comcast feedback loop process does not work - I got a threatening email from comcast that they would terminate my access unless I stopped sending email). I was on hold waiting for their business class security team to answer the phone. After 30 minutes, the lady who answered had me on hold for a another few minutes while "waiting for a tech to get off the phone". The tech was quite helpful and genuinely tried to solve my problem. He promised a call back - we'll see how this works.
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