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DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
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DataRiker to koitsu

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Re: Customer-owned modems -- a preemptive plea to Comcast

I find these threads silly

Comcast would throw you and your family under a bus if it made more money for them.

They don't care.

It is the US corporate way. Anytime they can shift fee's out of the advertised price they will do it. TRUST ME

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

1 edit

Mike Wolf

Member

Don't put the Comcast techs and employees in the same basket as their Corporate overlords as I'm pretty sure we wouldn't want any harm to come to our customers and their families. I mean can you imagine ComcastSteve or jlivingood doing something like that? I couldn't, they're too good a people.

SimbaTLK1
Rawrrr
join:2001-09-07
Pittsburgh, PA

SimbaTLK1 to Mike Wolf

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to Mike Wolf
said by Mike Wolf:

I perfer something that allows paypal.

Newegg allows paypal...

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

yup

DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
00000

DataRiker to Mike Wolf

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to Mike Wolf
said by Mike Wolf:

Don't put the Comcast techs and employees in the same basket as their Corporate overlords

I didn't.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

I know but sometimes when people say "Comcast" as a generalizatin they do

BronsCon
join:2003-10-24
Fairfield, CA

BronsCon to PeteC2

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to PeteC2
Every ISP-provided D3 modem I have used has been utter CRAP, that's 2 through Cox in the Cleveland market and 4 through Comcast in the Bay Area market. All of them would drop the connection if you so much as looked at them funny, with signal levels smack in the center of perfect.

I'm currently using the D2 modem I bought when I was with Comcast in the Detroit market 9 years ago and the only service interruption I've had since switching to this modem was when I bumped the power switch on my UPS while moving stuff around. The Cisco D3 modem they provided most recently was dropping connection anywhere from 10 to 50 times per day, that I noticed during active use.

We're talking SNR of 36.1dB, downstream signal of 3.6dBmV, and 41.4dBmV upstream. The most recent D3 saw similar levels on 8 bonded downstream channels and 4 bonded upstreams; why is a D2 modem with a single channel in each direction faster and infinitely more stable?

If I couldn't own my own modem, I wouldn't be here posting, I would have canceled the service, flat-out, because Comcast would not be willing to issue the service credits I would insist on every month due to the absolute sh!t quality of service the D3 modems they offer provide.

That said, I have not gotten to try out a Motorola D3 modem, so maybe it's not all of them.

PeteC2
Got Mouse?
MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT

PeteC2

MVM

said by BronsCon:

Every ISP-provided D3 modem I have used has been utter CRAP, that's 2 through Cox in the Cleveland market and 4 through Comcast in the Bay Area market. All of them would drop the connection if you so much as looked at them funny, with signal levels smack in the center of perfect.

Well, if I had the experience with cable modems that you have, I probably would have felt the same way.

In my case, history has been a bit different: I come from some 10+ years of dsl. The only really "bad" experience that I had was with a 2Wire gateway that AT&T highly recommended, which was pure frustration and misery. At any rate, all my dsl equipment was owned...and I have an interesting, albeit useless supply of old dsl equipment. Nothing wrong with it, but it has little or no residual value, which is why I am less enthralled with self-ownership.

On the other hand, I now rent a Comcast-provided Arris TM722G eMTA. It came brand-new, and performs every bit as well as I'd expect it to.

For that matter, the other Comcast eMTA and cable modem that I'd received were new, un-used units as well, which also performed as expected, so that probably at least in part explains my relative non-concern over rentals vs owning. Again though, I always support choice!

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

I think the major appeal of owning equipment is to be able to take it with you to other locations when you move. If equipment works great for you you want to keep using it regardless of where you live. This is one of the reasons why I'd only move to Comcast serviced areas and nowhere else.

plencnerb
Premium Member
join:2000-09-25
53403-1242

1 recommendation

plencnerb

Premium Member

said by Mike Wolf:

I think the major appeal of owning equipment is to be able to take it with you to other locations when you move. If equipment works great for you you want to keep using it regardless of where you live. This is one of the reasons why I'd only move to Comcast serviced areas and nowhere else.

Again, I'm all for the customer to have the choice to rent or buy the modem. I want to make sure I stress that point. Personally, I'm in the "rent" camp. As I posted a few posts back, I really don't see the point to purchase (outside of the price), as I cannot see any functional differences between a rented modem, and a purchased one. They both perform the same functions, and its not like a purchased modem gives the end user more options or settings to modify that the rented one does not. My impression is that if you rented a SB 5100 from Comcast, and went to best buy and purchased a SB 5100, they would be the exact same modem (functionally), and you would have the same options on both, which would be to just go to the web interface screen (192.168.100.1) and view your settings (not make any changes to anything). Now, if that's not the case, let me know.

If you move from a Comcast area to another Comcast area, and are transferring service, would you not be able to take your rented Comcast modem with you, like you would your Cable TV box?

Now, I can see if you were moving from a Comcast area to an area not served by Comcast (say from Illinois to Wisconsin, which is Time Warner), you would not be able to take your rented modem with you, as you would have to cancel with Comcast, and start up with Time Warner, and rent a modem from them. If you had your own modem, and you liked it, then you could take it with you, assuming your new ISP allowed your purchased modem on their network (another risk to purchasing, IMHO).

--Brian

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

Unfortunately from my own personal experience as well as a number of experiences with friends and family if you move from one Comcast area to another Comcast area, even in the same town, heck even in the same neighborhood or even FAMILY, you are forced to give Comcast the equipment back and issued new. Cable modems, set top boxes, everything. One example is my Grandfather had a DVR on his cable plan which would be used with everyone in the family. When he passed, we wanted to put that DVR onto my own account so we could continue to watch the recordings on it. We both are served by Comcast of Toms River not 10 minutes away from each other, and Comcast forced me to bring the DVR in. They wouldn't reissue it onto my account even though I had the proper legal and account authorizations. They claimed it was because of logistics. 7 years of recorded TV shows and movies and boxing events my Grandfather recorded gone.
NightOwl2
join:2012-03-19

NightOwl2 to plencnerb

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to plencnerb
Only a small portion of Wisconsin is served by Time Warner Cable, I believe the Milwaukee area. Charter is the primary provider, and Comcast is also available in the spill over area of Hudson, River Falls, Prescott included in the Twin Cities area. Other states have mixed providers such as Michigan, which has a small portion of Charter and mostly Comcast. California has Charter in some areas, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable. There is even Charter in NY state. My office has done both outbound and inbound calling for these cable providers and it is surprising to find these pockets of mixed providers.

BronsCon
join:2003-10-24
Fairfield, CA

BronsCon to PeteC2

Member

to PeteC2
Ahh, yes, the famed box full of DSL modems. I moved twice while I had DSL service and, both times, AT&T insisted I get a new modem. They were providing them free of charge, so I said "what the hell, why not?". When I moved from MI to OH, all 5 of them came with me. They stayed in OH when I moved to CA, though; and the UVerse gateway I bought in my old place? That was free after rebate (which they weren't doing when I moved) and useless in the new place (IPDSLAM), so I gave it to a neighbor who was considering UVerse but was put off by having to buy a modem.

2 of the 4 D3 modems in question were eMTAs; one was an Arris TM722G and the other was a UBee something or other, I only had it for a month so I didn't have to look at the label on the bottom enough to memorize it :P

Also worth noting, I've never had stability problems with a D2 modem that weren't directly related to bad wiring.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to Mike Wolf

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to Mike Wolf
said by Mike Wolf:

Unfortunately from my own personal experience as well as a number of experiences with friends and family if you move from one Comcast area to another Comcast area, even in the same town, heck even in the same neighborhood or even FAMILY, you are forced to give Comcast the equipment back and issued new. Cable modems, set top boxes, everything. One example is my Grandfather had a DVR on his cable plan which would be used with everyone in the family. When he passed, we wanted to put that DVR onto my own account so we could continue to watch the recordings on it. We both are served by Comcast of Toms River not 10 minutes away from each other, and Comcast forced me to bring the DVR in. They wouldn't reissue it onto my account even though I had the proper legal and account authorizations. They claimed it was because of logistics. 7 years of recorded TV shows and movies and boxing events my Grandfather recorded gone.

And thanks to the US being "One Nation Under Copyright" its not like you could even download all those recordings off the DVR. Since the cable companies pay lip service to the MAFIAA and disable data ports.

runnoft
Premium Member
join:2003-10-14
Nags Head, NC

runnoft to koitsu

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I couldn't agree more with OP, but the problem is that for major corporations that issue ownership through stock shares like Comcast... it's a race to the bottom driven by their board of directors which can issue additional shares and options almost at will. The customers like you and me somehow have even less chance than the small investors. It's a rigged game, and we're the pigeons. Bang... bang... bang.
nysports4evr
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join:2010-01-23

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+1.. please do not take away our ability to use owned modems.

cork1958
Cork
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join:2000-02-26

cork1958 to EG

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said by plencnerb:

said by PeteC2:

Maybe it is because I have a closet-full of old routers, obsolete modems, etc., that I am not all that enthralled with buying another modem that will be "old school" in a couple of years anyway...but I always side with folks having the choice in the matter.

I agree 100% here. While I am in the camp of renting my cable modem, I do agree that customers should be given a choice in the matter. If you want to go out and spend the money to own your own modem, and with that the added responsibility to keep it updated (firmware changes), and fix it when it does not work, then by all means go for it.

Personally, I don't want the added hassle of that. Sure, I'll do that kind of upkeep and maintenance on my router and PC's in the house. However, if my ISP will supply me the cable modem, and for a small fee each month I can call them with any problems and they will fix it without an added cost by me, I'm all for it.

--Brian

said by EG:

That's another subject. My point basically is that an end user CAN'T do it nor does he have to think about it.

A user does not have to think about the modem what so ever, whether owned or leased, no matter what. The ONLY time you ever need to think of it is when it's not working. ISP does EVERYTHING, including the thinking about it, for you!

I've been with Charter for 14 years and never had a problem with it, but they sure seem to be ran by complete morons! Very easy to see why they went bankrupt and I do not see this practice helping them at all.

jlivingood
Premium Member
join:2007-10-28
Philadelphia, PA

2 recommendations

jlivingood to koitsu

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said by koitsu:

Normally I don't post things as generic as this, but I wanted to make my opinion on this matter known, as I imagine there is a very large customer base that shares my view.

Comcast, please do not follow the recent trends of Charter and Sonic:

* »Charter Stops Supporting Customer Owned Modems [128] comments
* »Sonic Imposes Mandatory Modem Rental Fee for New Users [89] comments

There are those of us, your customers, who prefer owning our cable modems rather than renting them from you. It's not just an issue of saving money (not paying rental fee), it's also an issue of ownership, segregation of responsibility (much like the issue of inside wiring), and preference to have a choice of what product to buy. We do so knowing in advance the complexities that can arise from this configuration and that in many cases the problem can be on our end (again, think of inside wiring).

Thus, preemptively and a bit paranoid nonetheless: PLEASE do not follow in the footsteps as your competitors.

I urge other customers who share identical or similar beliefs on this matter chime in and state their two cents, no matter how brief. Normally I would not advocate a "me too!" posts, but companies seem to pay more attention when they have metrics/numbers by which to judge how much of their customer base such a choice would affect.

If there are Comcast employees here (jlivingood See Profile, SteveTeow See Profile ? ) who can make sure this opinion is relayed to those within the company that take these things to heart, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.

Customers seem to like to have the option to buy devices in retail if they wish. Pretty soon we'll also update Http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net to make it easier to find and buy retail devices. Speaking of which, if any of you own a D1.1 device -- time to upgrade to D3.0.

See also »Comcast, Zoom Settle Modem Feud [12] comments