 pflogBueller? Bueller?
MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA
1 edit |
pflog
MVM
2013-Feb-21 12:15 pm
[RANT] Res gets 2x speeds FREE|biz pays $10 for small changeSo by now we've all seen the reports that speeds for residential in many areas will become: - 25/4 - 50/10 - 105/20 As far as I know the business speeds equivalent are: - 17/3 (formerly 12/2) - 27/7 (formerly 22/5) - 50/10 (no change) - 100/10 Our prices went up $10/mo for these minor increases, yet residential is getting 2x the speed for the same price? What gives?  And those paying a huge premium for 100/10 get half the upload speeds of residential on a connection where they actually might NEED that upstream bandwidth? |
|
hhahn
join:2011-06-25
Marlton, NJ |
hhahn
Member
2013-Feb-21 12:54 pm
Re: [Business] Speed changes for residential but minor improvemeAnd on top of it all, they axed Powerboost for the Business plans. For me, that was the only reason the slow upload speeds were tolerable. Before, when working over a VPN, my files would save instantly. It would be like working on the local network. Powerboost would instantly shoot up to a 30-50 Mbps upload and my file save would be done in less than a second. Now, the connection speed slowly creeps up to 7 Mbps and it takes at least 5-10 seconds for any small files. They treat their Business subscribers like crap. Comcast sucks. Christ, I'd sign up for Residential service if they would freakin' let me, even if "has worse customer support" or "has no guarantees" or whatever. It's better. |
|
|
ch1c0
join:2003-06-03
Belvidere, NJ |
to pflog
weak. loving my home connection with the increase, but been waiting for comcast to upgrade the upstream on my business account. would love to see 50/50 or 50/25 ...10 just isn't enough. |
|
| |
to pflog
I priced similar packages in my area and it does seem that Business Class users are getting gouged. I don't mind paying a premium for Business Class service but shouldn't we be getting faster speeds than residential? Especially for uploads?
Xfinity Home
20/4 $49.95
30/6 $59.95
50/15 $99.95
105/20 $199.95
Comcast Business
16/3 $69.95 28% more expensive
27/7 $109.95 45% more expensive
50/10 $199.95 50% more expensive
100/10 $369.95 46% more expensive |
|
pflogBueller? Bueller?
MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA |
pflog
MVM
2013-Feb-21 1:21 pm
said by Chester2:I priced similar packages in my area and it does seem that Business Class users are getting gouged. I don't mind paying a premium for Business Class service but shouldn't we be getting faster speeds than residential? Especially for uploads?
Xfinity Home
20/4 $49.95
30/6 $59.95
50/15 $99.95
105/20 $199.95
Comcast Business
16/3 $69.95 28% more expensive
27/7 $109.95 45% more expensive
50/10 $199.95 50% more expensive
100/10 $369.95 46% more expensive
I think those bottom two tiers reflect power boost though, right? I think their sustained speeds are: 16/2 25/4 So in that case they're slower than the biz class. If the rumors of a major portion of Comcast customers getting upgrades to 25/4, 50/10 and 105/20 are true, then that means the discrepancy is even worse! |
|
AVonGauss
Premium Member
join:2007-11-01
Boynton Beach, FL |
to pflog
Re: [RANT] Res gets 2x speeds FREE|biz pays $10 for small changeWouldn't it make more sense to wait until it actually happens and see what the complete picture looks like before starting a thread to bitch about, what you think might happen? |
|
pflogBueller? Bueller?
MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA |
pflog
MVM
2013-Feb-21 1:29 pm
said by AVonGauss:Wouldn't it make more sense to wait until it actually happens and see what the complete picture looks like before starting a thread to bitch about, what you think might happen?
Well seeing as how they've already changed the business class speeds and are in the process of changing the residential speeds, no I respectfully disagree. Though Comcast doing something asinine like changing the business class speeds just to change them again wouldn't surprise me. Why spend the time/money/effort to upgrade people when you can do it twice and in turn charge your customers for it! |
|
1 recommendation |
to pflog
With pricing you also have to keep in mind you get better customer service/guaranteed service and you're not capped on data. These "little things" don't come free. |
|
pflogBueller? Bueller?
MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA |
pflog
MVM
2013-Feb-21 1:34 pm
said by ExoticFish:With pricing you also have to keep in mind you get better customer service/guaranteed service and you're not capped on data. These "little things" don't come free.
I would argue the customer service is not much better anymore since they changed their call centers. The expedited tech visits are nice, but not worth 2x the price IMHO. I also don't use that much data, personally. I want business class for the ability to run servers and to have a static IP. I realize business class comes with a premium cost for a reason. Up until now (and yes, I am making assumptions here, but since Comcast never communicates anything it's anyone's guess), the speeds have been mostly on-par with residential. So the premium cost was for the things you mention. Now we're paying the same premium for the same perks, yet potentially getting 1/2 the speeds. |
|
 tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA |
to pflog
Welcome to the business world.
"Business" has always paid a premium price for telecommunications among other things.
In return they expect a higher level of service, and faster response time and a dedicated contact system.
I think you'll find that the cap or volume-tiered will be returning soon to residential an powerboost fading away for everyone.
Just because comcast started their Business sevices at a low premium over residential, it is unlikely to remain at such a narrow price differential forever.
They are and should be products judged on a much different basis. |
|
| |
to pflog
Here, the Performance (25/4) price went up $3 last month. |
|
 gar187erI DID this for a living
join:2006-06-24
Seattle, WA |
to pflog
not the same perks.
its a different set of techs that handle business services, not to mention essentially 24hr 4hr etr. ive been called out at 1am cause a bar's modem was offline, 4 am for a hotels modems going offline, etc....
if price is your number one concern, get residential service, but seeing as you NEED statics and server access, try shopping around for similar service at the current price point. you wont find it. |
|
pflogBueller? Bueller?
MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA |
to tshirt
said by tshirt: Just because comcast started their Business sevices at a low premium over residential, it is unlikely to remain at such a narrow price differential forever.
They are and should be products judged on a much different basis.
And this is not bait and switch how exactly?  I guess it's not since you're in a contract and price should not change while in a contract? |
|
| pflog |
to gar187er
said by gar187er:if price is your number one concern, get residential service, but seeing as you NEED statics and server access, try shopping around for similar service at the current price point. you wont find it.
Right, this goes back to the monopoly point. Comcast knows they can gauge customers because there's no competition. The difference is that they were upgrading on a regional basis where competition was there. Now, if we're to believe the news, residential will be getting speed upgrades in areas where there is no speed-competition while business is left in the dust. |
|
tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA |
to pflog
The contract price should not change until the next renewal UNLESS allowed by the contract.
The initial price points were intended to grow market share, and while in many areas they started with the same techs and vehicles services both in most major cities Business service has grown in to entirely separate fleets and service personal to match the separate phone techs and sales staffs.
It's the difference between best effort and guaranteed/SLA type services, for which the pricing will always end up very in a very different range.
Sorry you didn't see this coming, I know it can be a shock. |
|
pflogBueller? Bueller?
MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA |
pflog
MVM
2013-Feb-21 2:07 pm
Well, I'm not going anywhere. Comcast knows I can't go anywhere if I want a static IP and want speeds faster than DSL piddly offerings. It still sucks to pay 2x for 1/2 the speed when for 3 years I've had relatively the same speed for the premium. I'm sure others with business class who aren't a large company will feel equally betrayed. |
|
| |
Get used to it. LoL Gas prices... Need I say more ? |
|
 ContentsContents
join:2003-04-10
Circle Pines, MN |
to pflog
I switched over to Business Class last year due to the enforcement of bandwidth caps. My family easily uses over 300 gigs a month with streaming
Last year there was little price difference in price/speed between the residential Blast to the Business Class medium tier so it was a no brainier to make the change.
Business Class customer support is FAR worse than residential for me in Minnesota. My account manager only cared about making the sale and then wouldn't help with anything after. Calling the dedicated line first patched into the residential were I would then be placed into a transfer/hold fiasco. Maybe things have changed the past year, but it was a complete joke that this is what they would offer a professional business.
Now the caps have been removed from the residential service (could change though) and the price is a couple bucks cheaper. I don't see the reason to have business class for the folks that were worried about being cut off due to "excessive" bandwidth use. I know I am not the only one that switched due to bandwidth caps, so I would assume their business class division will see an increase of contract losses.
The dedicated IP would be great if it had a better upload speed included. |
|
tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA |
tshirt
Premium Member
2013-Feb-21 3:04 pm
said by Contents:...so I would assume their business class division will see an increase of contract losses.
Which means for actual business users who want and need to perks this is about to become a better deal with more available support staff per user. I could see new perks being added such as more balance speed tiers or additional cloud/managed services being offered. |
|
 ropeguru
Premium Member
join:2001-01-25
Mechanicsville, VA |
to ExoticFish
said by ExoticFish:With pricing you also have to keep in mind you get better customer service/guaranteed service and you're not capped on data. These "little things" don't come free.
Guaranteed service? I have no guaranteed service or SLA. I am at the same mercy as residential customers. As far as I know, Comcast doesn't even have a package that offers an SLA. |
|
tshirt
Premium Member
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA |
tshirt
Premium Member
2013-Feb-21 6:49 pm
As yet (other than metro-E---maybe?)they don't? but at some point at least in the business core, they will/should.
Remember SLA's don't guarantee instant fixes, it just defines "reasonable repair window" and who pays who how much for lost time.
generally the cable plant in most areas is reliable enough to offer an SLA in return for a premium price during uptime. |
|
ropeguru
Premium Member
join:2001-01-25
Mechanicsville, VA
1 recommendation |
ropeguru
Premium Member
2013-Feb-21 6:56 pm
said by tshirt:As yet (other than metro-E---maybe?)they don't? but at some point at least in the business core, they will/should.
Remember SLA's don't guarantee instant fixes, it just defines "reasonable repair window" and who pays who how much for lost time.
generally the cable plant in most areas is reliable enough to offer an SLA in return for a premium price during uptime.
But the fact is they do not have a written or even implied SLA for what we pay. I could care less what the future MAY hold. Hell, they MAY even triple or speeds for the same price. We can sure speculate about any option. And they are not always forth coming on their repair windows either. I have had several instances in the early evening hours where I have required a tech visit and was told nothing was available until sometime the next morning because all the techs had gone home for the night. And yes, they were aware that it was a business class service. Looking at their site I could not find anything in their terms, with the exception of Trunk customers and some individual states like Maryland, that defines any kind of repair window. |
|
AVonGauss
Premium Member
join:2007-11-01
Boynton Beach, FL |
said by ropeguru:I could care less what the future MAY hold. Hell, they MAY even triple or speeds for the same price. ... but, this whole thread is about what Comcast MAY do.  |
|
pflogBueller? Bueller?
MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA |
pflog
MVM
2013-Feb-21 7:21 pm
said by AVonGauss:said by ropeguru:I could care less what the future MAY hold. Hell, they MAY even triple or speeds for the same price. ... but, this whole thread is about what Comcast MAY do is already doing in some areas. FTFY |
|
AVonGauss
Premium Member
join:2007-11-01
Boynton Beach, FL |
Oh? What has Comcast already done, in some areas? |
|
pflogBueller? Bueller?
MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA |
pflog
MVM
2013-Feb-21 7:39 pm
said by AVonGauss:Oh? What has Comcast already done, in some areas?
Upgraded residential from 25/4 to 50/10 while upgrading business class from 22/5 to 27/7. |
|
AVonGauss
Premium Member
join:2007-11-01
Boynton Beach, FL |
Sigh. Why don't you wait until March (most likely April) when this actually goes down and see what really happens. You're making a lot of assumptions. Comcast (or any other big corporation) generally doesn't need are help to make a snafu of things. |
|
pflogBueller? Bueller?
MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA |
pflog
MVM
2013-Feb-21 7:49 pm
said by AVonGauss:Sigh. Why don't you wait until March (most likely April) when this actually goes down and see what really happens. You're making a lot of assumptions. Comcast (or any other big corporation) generally doesn't need are help to make a snafu of things.
Well maybe if Comcast actually communicated to their business class customers I would be willing to do that. Instead, we have no idea what they are planning. So they would send these notes to business class users about 27/7 and notes to residential about 25/4 to 50/10 and then what? Send another note 2 months later about another upgrade? This isn't the only case of this, they don't communicate firmware updates or in many cases outages, etc. It may vary by area, but I've seen quite a few complaints about it. Feel free to ignore this thread, it is labelled a rant. I'm basing it on their past behavior and the current changes being made. If you don't like the speculation, that's your prerogative and annoying yourself by reading the thread isn't doing anyone any good. |
|
 PeteC2Got Mouse?
MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT |
to pflog
Actually pflog, I get your rant. At first blush it is at least confusing, and has to be irritating to business customers to see residential service offerings sprint ahead on speeds on somewhat equivalent tiers. At the same time, I suggest at least considering that residential versus business packages are two different product lines, despite both being HSI. It is less important comparing relative "value" between packages designed for two disparate groups of customers, as it is determining if the product stands as useful and fairly priced on its own merit. Truth to tell, I never really bothered worrying about what business customers got, I was only concerned that the package that I was interested in represented a fair value for my intened usage. It is a bit amusing that for a long time now residential users have been the ones bemoaning the fact that business users had the advantages of no caps as well as better CS...and indeed despite the fact that caps really are not currently being enforced, Comcast policy still fully indicates that they will be a part of residential packages. Further, although there is always the "bad" story to counter, business customers still do have better customer service for the most part than their residential counterparts...and yes, that support costs money. I think that if Comcast business customers feel sufficiently disenfranchised then they have every right to voice their disatisfaction...however, it is clear that Comcast will never make everyone happy |
|
Thordrune
Premium Member
join:2005-08-03
Lakeport, CA |
to pflog
I've decided that once my contract is up in roughly a year, I'm going to go back to residential. It seems like the business support has gotten worse over the last few months, both over the phone, and on-site visits.
They've started giving me grief for owning my own modem when calling them for my current ongoing issue, even though I bought a second one to swap with. The last service call I scheduled over the phone was for a week later, and this was with my modem rebooting 4-10 times a day.
Most of the techs that show up, aside from the maintenance supervisor that I'm currently dealing with, are "normal"/residential service techs, that usually don't have access to business-class accounts. They're basically flying blind if I'm not at home (and this usually results in little to no follow-up), and if I am, I have to re-explain everything that I told over the phone. They can't do too much anyways before forwarding it on to a supervisor. I guess I can chalk this one up to living in a sparsely populated area.
The lack of modem choices is the icing on the cake. I'd really like to get a Zoom 5341J or a similar 8x4 modem, since the newer chipsets seem to be more tolerant of crap coming down the wire. I absolutely refuse to use any kind of combo/gateway unit, which means I'm stuck with older modems. Hopefully the SB6121 will continue to be sold for a while longer. |
|
And those paying a huge premium for 100/10 get half the upload speeds of residential on a connection where they actually might NEED that upstream bandwidth? 
I guess it's not since you're in a contract and price should not change while in a contract?
