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.That's a fantastic deal when it costs an overwhelming $30 to buy your own. | |
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Re: .They are like we have 200,000 cable rentals. Let's make it $5 a month. We now make $1,000,000 a year haha! | |
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| |  mm8
@charter.com |
mm8
Anon
2009-Sep-16 8:58 am
Re: .I bought my cable modem motorola 5100 about 5 years ago, never had any issues. It paid off for itself many times over. Just goes to show how many people have computers at home but have no idea about computers. I guess you could say what you don't know it may hurt you in this case $5 a month. Don't mean to insult anyone by it. | |
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bogidu
Anon
2009-Sep-25 5:55 pm
Re: .Ok, now let's flip your logic on it's head. I'm a systems analyst with 25 years experience. I've been with comcast for 5 years and been through on average a cable modem a year. At $3 a month, that's $36 a year. Cable modems were over $130 5 years ago. Now days it maybe smarter to reevaluate my decision to rent as the price of the modems has come down, however considering the failure rate I've had . . . . I'm not so sure. | |
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| | | |  R4M0NBrazilian Soccer Ownz Joo
join:2000-10-04
Glen Allen, VA
2 edits |
R4M0N
Member
2009-Dec-23 10:00 am
Re: .said by bogidu :
Ok, now let's flip your logic on it's head. I'm a systems analyst with 25 years experience. I've been with comcast for 5 years and been through on average a cable modem a year. At $3 a month, that's $36 a year. Cable modems were over $130 5 years ago. Now days it maybe smarter to reevaluate my decision to rent as the price of the modems has come down, however considering the failure rate I've had . . . . I'm not so sure.
You need to reevaluate the equipment you're getting or the type of environment you're putting them in... A cable modem per year is absurd by anyone's standards. I'm in charge of all the network equipment at my company and we've never replaced our cable modem... The location of the equipment is far from optimal (dusty environment) and still we've had no problems whatsoever. At home, I've had my own cable modem for over 10 years and I don't really remember paying $130 for it even then. | |
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| |  baineschile2600 ways to live
Premium Member
join:2008-05-10
Sterling Heights, MI
1 edit
1 recommendation |
to brianiscool
Your numbers are way off. Last I checked, they had 14,000,000 HSI subscribers. Assuming (low ball) 80% rent a modem, thats about 11.5 million modems out there. So, 2 bucks more a month is more like 23 million more a year.
Edit: Thats 23 mill more per month, not year | |
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| | |  odeonkreelSearching for my lost shaker of salt
Premium Member
join:2000-10-31
Naples, FL
1 recommendation |
Re: .Oh jesus....  You are all off. 11.5 million modems times $2 per month = $23million per month$23million times 12 months = $276 million per yearAnd that is on top of the assumed income of $3 per modem per month which is currently $414 million per year. So, at $5 per modem per month with 11.5 million customers renting, Comcast is pulling a tidy sum of $690 million a year. That is all assuming the 11.5 customer base is an accurate number. | |
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Re: .wow, now the CEO can retire his family for 600 generations. | |
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| | | | baineschile2600 ways to live
Premium Member
join:2008-05-10
Sterling Heights, MI |
to odeonkreel
Lol, youre right, i missed that completely. | |
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to brianiscool
Actually that would be 12 million dollars a year. Doctor Evil 12 times over | |
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to NeoandGeo
Anyone got a line on a good cable modem that supports Digital Voice, or are you forced to rent with that service? | |
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| |  Chris 313Because It's Geekier
Premium Member
join:2004-07-18
Houma, LA ·AT&T FTTP
 ·Comcast XFINITY
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Chris 313
Premium Member
2009-Sep-16 12:32 pm
Re: .said by Uncle Paul:Anyone got a line on a good cable modem that supports Digital Voice, or are you forced to rent with that service? If you have CDV service, you have to rent from Comcast. Something about them being liable for 911 working if I remember right. So, if you have CDV, (Like I do) you're stuck with it unless you wanna switch to something like Vonage. And for most people, that's too much hassle. So, I've made plans to deal with the modem increase and plan to lower my bill by dumping other things, like the 15.95 DVR I've got. I'll be going with a Tivo instead. That'll knock my bill down to under 200. I can deal with that. Good luck! | |
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to NeoandGeo
According to this article, they are more like $100. » www.multichannel.com/art ··· wide.phpAt an extra $2/month that would be $24/year. It would take a little more than 4 years to break even. I'm not sure it the $100 covers the cost of an EMTA (phone) modem, but if not the payback could be longer. | |
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Re: .But that's retail. Comcast gets them without retail mark-up and much cheaper due to the scale of purchases. I'm willing to bet that the $30 price suggested in an earlier post isn't too far off the mark.
Furthermore, the extra $24 per year is in addition to the $36 per year currently being paid. So the modem rental is costing consumers $60 per year, possibly double what the damned thing cost Comcast. The break-even point, assuming $100 retail cost of the modem, is not four years.
I bought a Linksys cable modem from Wal-Mart for $55. A little hunting around avoids paying too much at retail. However, that is just a cable modem. I agree that if you need a phone adapter with the modem, you're going to pay a lot more. | |
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| | |  maartenaElmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA |
maartena
Premium Member
2009-Sep-16 11:44 am
Re: .Keep in mind though that cable companies continuesly have to replace modems too. They break. Customers break them. They get obsolete. Etc.
In 7 years I am now on my 3d cablemodem. TWC doesn't "officially" charge me on the bill, but obviously they do count the modem price into your monthly bill.
They don't officially allow you to buy a modem either, but in former Adelphia areas it has been done.
What I am getting at is that TWC doesn't offer you a discount if you purchase your own modem, so it isn't always worth it, unless you REALLY want to have a specific model. | |
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to HarleyDude
I got my RCA modem 1.5 years ago for $25 from Amazon. Granted it will only go to ~36Mbps, then I will have to upgrade. I have still saved a ton of money. | |
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| dfxmatt
join:2007-08-21
Crystal Lake, IL |
to NeoandGeo
eh, the docsis 3 cable modems are presumably kind of expensive. we got a cisco DPC 3000 (which I can't find prices on anywhere). Anyone have pricing on it, as to whether we may as well buy our own? | |
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| maartenaElmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA |
to NeoandGeo
You can get a DOCSIS 2.0 modem for about $40, but I haven't seen a DOCSIS 3.0 modem yet for under $80 or so, and the decent ones cost a little more.
If you rent the modem, and DOCSIS 3.0 comes to your town.... swapping the modem is free. If it breaks, even if it is your own fault by spilling a drink all over it..... replacement is free.
It's give or take I suppose.... $5 a month nets you $60 a year, and if you buy a $80 DOCSIS 3.0 modem that is going to last 3 years you have made your money.
I'm on my 3d modem since I got RoadRunner 7 years ago, so for me it is pretty much breaking even.
Do keep in mind though that if you are considering VOIP from the cable company, you'll get a modem/phone gateway from the cable company anyways, and your bought modem will become worthless. | |
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| |  FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ
3 edits |
FFH5
Premium Member
2009-Sep-16 12:32 pm
Re: .said by maartena: but I haven't seen a DOCSIS 3.0 modem yet for under $80 or so, and the decent ones cost a little more. If you rent the modem, and DOCSIS 3.0 comes to your town.... swapping the modem is free. If it breaks, even if it is your own fault by spilling a drink all over it..... replacement is free. It's give or take I suppose.... $5 a month nets you $60 a year, and if you buy a $80 DOCSIS 3.0 modem that is going to last 3 years you have made your money. Prices on a SB6120, a Docsis 3 CM, run from $75 to about $100 at many online stores. Plus the cost of shipping and taxes in some states. » www.google.com/products? ··· coring=pErwinComp New $74.95 Tax: $5.94 + Shipping: $9.95 $90.84 after taxes and shipping | |
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to NeoandGeo
said by NeoandGeo:That's a fantastic deal when it costs an overwhelming $30 to buy your own. Not if you have digital voice and have to use an eMTA device. | |
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Want to avoid the fee? Buy your own cable modem......or stick to analog on the cheap. The whole argument about updating the modems is just so they can add more sales options on their digital cable service. If you can still get the standard, "non-digital" (because really it's all digital anyway) service you can bypass the cable box completely and just plug directly into your television. | |
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| rody_44
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA |
rody_44
Premium Member
2009-Sep-16 8:57 am
Re: Want to avoid the fee? Buy your own cable modem... this has nothing to do with set top boxes. this is for cable modems. | |
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| |  dvd536as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ |
dvd536
Premium Member
2009-Sep-16 9:12 am
Re: Want to avoid the fee? Buy your own cable modem...said by rody_44: this has nothing to do with set top boxes. this is for cable modems. Don't even THINK about EVER buying your own cable tv box. those are FAR TOO LUCRATIVE. you'll NEVER be able to buy your own tv box. and before anyone mentions tivo, those are more expensive out the door with their plethora of fees than cable company boxes are!!!!!!!!!!!! | |
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Re: Want to avoid the fee? Buy your own cable modem...Wow that's really wrong.
In fact considering Comcasts "box rental" fee + the "DVR" fee the TIVO pays itself off in about a year and three months.
Comcast has really priced themselves out of the game and literally ALL of my friends have switched over to TIVO units recently because TIVO is a far better solution and the cost savings become real very shortly. | |
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| | | | maartenaElmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA
1 edit |
maartena
Premium Member
2009-Sep-16 11:48 am
Re: Want to avoid the fee? Buy your own cable modem...On the other hand, I have had a DVR for 5 years or so, starting off with a Explorer 8000 with my SD TV, which I had replaced due to a harddrive crash at least once..... then I traded it up for free for a Explorer 8300HD DVR, which I had to replace THREE TIMES. Once because the box rebooted continuesly by itself, once because of a harddrive crash, and once it started smelling very funny (electrical burn) and it would not even turn on anymore. I may just have had bad luck (and no, they were not stuck in a closet, but on a table with at least a foot in each direction (except downwards) of breathing space), but even with the DVR fees, I still have quite some YEARS to go before I make my money back....  Also keep in mind TiVo still charges you about $10 a month, and you HAVE to have it connected to the internet or analog phone line. | |
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to dvd536
said by dvd536:said by rody_44: this has nothing to do with set top boxes. this is for cable modems. Don't even THINK about EVER buying your own cable tv box. those are FAR TOO LUCRATIVE. you'll NEVER be able to buy your own tv box. and before anyone mentions tivo, those are more expensive out the door with their plethora of fees than cable company boxes are!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn't that what a Tivo HD is? I think I paid $249 for it and Comcast gives you the cablecard for free. Yes I know $249 is a lot more than the monthly DVR rental fee, but I bought it because I wanted an alternative. | |
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|  armyrebel4Dream Chaser
Premium Member
join:2002-01-08
Springfield, IL |
to SRFireside
I agree SRF, who has time to watch 300+ channels anyways. | |
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they force you to rent the phone modem why can't you buy thathey force you to rent the cable phone modem why can't you buy that?
and how much will the cable box rent go to
$8-$10 for a sd box?
$10-$12 for a HD box?
$17-$22 for a HD DVR? | |
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| dvd536as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ |
dvd536
Premium Member
2009-Sep-16 9:15 am
Re: they force you to rent the phone modem why can't you buy thasaid by Joe12345678:they force you to rent the cable phone modem why can't you buy that? and how much will the cable box rent go to $8-$10 for a sd box? $10-$12 for a HD box? $17-$22 for a HD DVR? in AZ a hd dvr will be $28 out the door![cox] and we haven't even paid for PROGRAMMING yet!!!!!!!!! DON'T EVER THINK YOU'LL *EVER* BE ABLE TO BUY YOUR OWN CABLE CONVERTER BOX!!!!!!!!!! | |
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coxsucks
Anon
2009-Sep-16 11:08 am
Re: they force you to rent the phone modem why can't you buy thaand they lie about satellite tv by saying they have • Free HD programming, including your local Hi Def channels*.
but what they don't say on that page is they make you pay $12 per hd box.
A $9.99 monthly access fee to get any channels in Hi Def is better then $12 per box + Digital Gateway $5.00.
a sd box is $6.
vs satellite at $5 /m per box (any one even HD DVR) box 1 free.
coxes HD-DVR's and SD DVR also have a line saying needs dvr service not listed in the price card but with them saying that makes it seem like that is not part of the box rent fee. | |
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| |  tubbynetreminds me of the danse russe
MVM
join:2008-01-16
Gilbert, AZ |
to dvd536
of course, you also realize that cox doesnt charge rental fees on the emta for phone service, right?
q. | |
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dvd536as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ |
dvd536
Premium Member
2009-Sep-16 9:08 am
NooooooooooooooooowQ:When can i avoid cable box fees by allowing me to buy my own cable box?
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A: cable box rental fees are far too LUCRATIVE to EVER let you buy your own cable box!
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this isn't a comcast only issue. its EVERY cable company!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | |
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33358088 (banned)
Member
2009-Sep-16 9:37 am
cable whas thatthat then means i ur save how much? | |
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 heat84DSLR Influencer
join:2004-03-11
Delray Beach, FL |
heat84
Member
2009-Sep-16 10:36 am
EMTA's don't count?EMTA's aren't part of this right? | |
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|  ptrowskiGot Helix?
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT |
ptrowski
Premium Member
2009-Sep-16 10:40 am
Re: EMTA's don't count?They do say "voice" in the statement so my guess would be yes, they will be hiked up also. | |
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1 edit |
tmc8080
Member
2009-Sep-16 10:53 am
Have a MON/DU OPOLY? Raise Rates!The consumer won't mind, just a few bucks more.. ater all, the minimum wage went up another .50 cents, so we have to collect our part of your money, along with the bank, insurance company, health care provider, government, etc, etc. etc. It's real cheesy to say that the money goes into buying "NEW" equipment they know damn well they're surcharging for with the deployment of docsis 3.0 early adopters already... so that doesn't make any sense. It's just an unjustified money grab on cablemodems which are DIRT CHEAP (on average $30-50) so they assume a lifespan of 8-10 years and your actually buyng the modem on an installment plan.. and on the odd chance that the modem dies.. they take the money from other "rentals" to buy dirt cheap modems by the thousands for $20 each-- so they have plenty of spares. | |
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neufuse
join:2006-12-06
James Creek, PA |
neufuse
Member
2009-Sep-16 11:14 am
rentals......anyone who says renting boxes / modems is a non-profit thing for cable-co's needs to look at the numbers... comon $5 a month for a $40 cable modem? in one year they already made $20 profit... a cable box costs about $350 (based on places that DO sell moto boxes) for a HD box, at $9 a month for the box then HD Service fee of who knows how much that takes a whole 2-3 years to pay off then profit time... most of these boxes dont break every year, heck we have never had a box break.... you have to figure out they make SOME money off cable boxes because they rarely break to the point of not being usable... they usually jus repurpous the box to someone else anymore it seems like... but back to my point $5 a month for a $40 modem is ridicilous...... start making people buy the darn things | |
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iansltx
Member
2009-Sep-16 11:24 am
Amazon time!Around here modem rental is still $3 plus tax (so $3.22). When it hits $5 (plus tax) the economics of buying an SB6120 off of Amazon suddenly make a lot of sense: » www.amazon.com/dp/B001UI2FPEAccording to my math you pay off the modem in about 16 months. Or get the SB5101 » www.amazon.com/gp/produc ··· 9JJ44108$54.99, so 11 months break-even time. Of course, I already hae a Zoon DOCSIS 2.0 modem that I got off of eBay for $20 that worked fine while I had non-D3 service. If I want to tighten my belt, lowering monthly fees and not paying for a new modem, I'll just switch to that. One thing's for sure: the Ambit D3 modem is NOT worth $5/month. My estimate is that Comcast gets 'em for $50. | |
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Reverend J
Anon
2009-Sep-16 11:33 am
Motorola SB6120 $90You can pick one up at Amazon.com for $85 (17 months to break even) with free shipping or J&R, or Buy.com for a bit more (I think $88 w/ shipping) so there are plenty places to get cheap ones. If you want to go with a DOCSIS 2.0 you can get a new one for under $50 if you look around.
I think this will motivate a lot more people to buy their own, however it's a number game for comcast, will the number of people dropping the rental fee be offset by the increase in price. Plus Comcast loves to keep the renter fee on after you buy a modem despite several calls to them to try and fix it (not that I know from personal experience or anything) | |
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| cferro
join:2003-07-27
Jersey City, NJ |
cferro
Member
2009-Sep-16 1:24 pm
Re: Motorola SB6120 $90Comcast only needs an excuse to raise their prices for service.
I brought a SB6120 router in June for $93.24. It will pay for itself in about 20 months. I did not have any problems with paying an extra month for returned equipment. | |
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EricGT
Anon
2009-Sep-16 11:37 am
Cablevision rental?I subscribe to Cablevision in NY, and I don't think I paid anything for the cable modem when I had it installed years ago. And I don't see a monthly charge on my bill for a modem rental either.
Is Comcast the only company charging customers to rent modems? | |
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PittsPgh
Premium Member
join:2003-08-21
Pittsburgh, PA |
PittsPgh
Premium Member
2009-Sep-16 11:42 am
New fees on old equipmentThis is ridiculis. My modem is five and half years old. DPC2100 hardware ver. 1.1 Should give me a new modem for the new fees. Had line trouble earlier this year, I swapped it out for anothe five and half year old modem. Same model and version. My HD cable boxes (Non-DVR)are almost as old. Did try to swap the one out for one with an HDMI. They haven't had them in several months. Only DVR's  Motorolla doesn't send them any. Can't get new equipment but seem to get plenty of new fees. So where's all this money for equipment rental fees going to? Defintley not new equipment for the end customer. | |
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Will Comcast operate DOCIS 1.1 and 3.0 on the same system.  I wonder if Comcast will operate DOCSIS 1.1 and 3.0 service on the same cable system? That would be handy if they would do so. It would be great for someone like me that owns their own modem and does not care about a speed higher than 6 Megs down. If I am forced to purchase or rent a DOCSIS 3.0 modem I might go DSL for a year and wait until I can get a promotional offer like I received when I moved here. Free Motorola Modem, Six Months of broadband service for $19.95 per month for 6 Megs down and a $100.00 Gift card from Circuit City. I wonder how long it will take for a big box store in this area to offer a free or almost free DOCSIS 3.0 Modem and Six Months of service for $19.95 per month for 10 Megs down. | |
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| maartenaElmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA |
maartena
Premium Member
2009-Sep-16 6:41 pm
Re: Will Comcast operate DOCIS 1.1 and 3.0 on the same system.Since newer DOCSIS equipment, both on the cable operator as the client side, is downwards compatible, it is VERY VERY likely that this will be the case.
As a matter of fact, I would want to bet that there is a mixture of 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0 modems running on most cable networks right now, regardless of what DOCSIS equipment is on the head ends.
They can't - and won't - simply replace all modems that are older but still work for those clients, it would be too much of a cost burden. It is better to leave that to it's "natural flow" and don't re-issue returned 1.1 modems, and replace them in the cases a client requests a speed upgrade. | |
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 perki
join:2008-12-01
Santa Maria, CA |
perki
Member
2009-Sep-16 11:03 pm
Bright SideNow it makes your $70 dollar invesment payoff in 14 months instead of 2 yeard | |
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AplusWeb
Anon
2009-Sep-17 6:42 am
Catch 22...When a service call is placed, the first thing they will demand is that you swap out the modem - as a troubleshooting pre-requisite prior to sending a technician out... or if they find the modem is bad, and its not theirs, you get charged for the call - not cheap, either. | |
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My, oh my......they all come out of the woodwork on a topic like this. I'm shocked, shocked that a company is seeking profit!  | |
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Rip offWhen the Original cable modems came out they cost more than these Doscis 3 Cable modems and yet Comcast set the price at $3 per month. They collected the revenue on these and made a tidy profit. Now they feel the need to raise to charge 66% more? Cable modems rarely fail, I will be now be purchasing my modem instead of renting. | |
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Motorolla doesn't send them any.
I wonder if Comcast will operate DOCSIS 1.1 and 3.0 service on the same cable system? That would be handy if they would do so. It would be great for someone like me that owns their own modem and does not care about a speed higher than 6 Megs down. If I am forced to purchase or rent a DOCSIS 3.0 modem I might go DSL for a year and wait until I can get a promotional offer like I received when I moved here. Free Motorola Modem, Six Months of broadband service for $19.95 per month for 6 Megs down and a $100.00 Gift card from Circuit City.
