Drop Comcast Now!

[Skotty]

After reading this I wish I had Comcast. Even testing different servers on SpeedTest I can't break 20 down or .5 up. Also, RoadRunner has been throttling us for at least a couple years now.

[Yugl]

Why wouldn't other cable companies do this as well? I'm going to play the persuasion game for FIOS, so I need you guys to give me everything you know!

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

All that has to happen is Congress pass a bill giving the FCC the authority to regulate whatever the court just said it couldn't.

[Meian]

Forgot to mention we switched to the cheaper Comcast to see the difference. While I can not remember what the numbers were previously per say but I do feel a large difference in speed.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/774086691.png

http://results.speedtest.comcast.net...t/36205782.png

[aers]

Which speed tier is that? 1.5/386?

Edit: Oh, the tier is 1mbit down and doesn't have powerboost. If you're on that tier those speeds are accurate.

[Boyiee]

Wow kinda funny I just happened into this thread when just earlier today me and my dad decided we were going to switch from comcast to fios.

We have been using comcast for years, getting 15/5 service in a triple play package. Last week a verizon guy came to our door and said fios was just put in this month in my neighborhood and show'd me some prices. Turns out that for the exact same plan we have now (a few more hd channels) with 15/5, it'll be like 40$ less a month lol. We signed up today and are getting it installed in 2 weeks.

They offered me 25down/25up for still less than what we pay comcast, and 35down/35up for the same as we pay comcast. I don't torrent that much mostly just online gaming so not sure I'd need either of those plans, but it is tempting.

[Rellikard]

This is my current Comcast connection...

http://www.speedtest.net/result/774441385.png

Speeds were great at the start then about 4 months ago it started going to shit.

[6souls]

lets see, right now I'm getting

http://www.speedtest.net/result/774459860.png

and i'm paying $60 for 12-15 mbps service

[Komm Suesser Tod]

I'm trying to picture how someone could swing an ax, cut through somebody's arm, and then somehow hit themselves in the back with it in one motion. On a more serious note, I had comcast when I lived in Sacramento and it was shit. Torrenting speeds were always terrible and I disconnected all the time.

Imagine them swinging upwards, from the ground.

[SaviorSelf]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/774532921.png

Thought my download speed was a reflective number.

[Norellicus]

Fucking fuck FUCK

Comcast is my only option, but more infuriating than that is the fact that FIOS is available in pretty much every zipcode around mine...I'm in this little voidzone or something, and it's not even like some rural area they won't touch.

Fuck.

[Boyiee]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/774861887.png

Meh I guess I shoulda went with Fios's 25/25 plan, I know I have 15/5 now and thats a "powerboosted" number... but I don't know if Fios's 15/5 will actually be faster than comcasts 15/5 or not.

[Minions]

Comcast won't really do anything for awhile. Even if the do legislation will be passed allowing the FCC to govern the internet, and then they will do the same shit they already did. Pretty much this means nothing other than a change in legislation in the near future... which could be a very bad thing.

[Amastacia]

There is simply no way the minority (torrent users) suck up enough bandwidth to outweigh the majority (people who just surf the net) who don't even come close to capping out their bandwidth. This is a simple case of a company trying to cut out users who suck up a disproportionate amount of resources. They can't advertise "unlimited" internet or certain levels of bandwidth and then turn around and say "yeah, but you can't use it all the time!"

That's why the FCC got involved in the first place. If they offer a fair price increase for true unlimited internet, then so be it, that's economics for you. But right now it's just an unfair singling out of heavy bandwidth users.

You would think this, but you'd be wrong.

The problem isn't so much in the backbone part of the network, since Comcast, like all other major ISPs, overbuild their main links for redundancy. That being said, the load on the network is not inconsequential, and the real-world cost to size the network appropriately to handle heavy BitTorrent traffic is considerable.

On the edge, though, it can be an issue. Whether you have Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, Verizon, or anyone else, the edge is heavily oversubscribed. It has to be. Doing anything else is unfeasibly expensive. A few users pumping hundreds of gigs a month of BitTorrent on an edge node can seriously degrade the quality of experience for other users, and the problem is exacerbated in a DOCSIS environment due to the time-divided nature of the technology.

I don't think that Comcast should be choking all BitTorrent traffic, but I don't think it's unreasonable for them to take steps to curtail the impact of a poorly designed, bandwidth-hogging protocol, if the most obvious alternative for them to remain profitable is to totally overhaul their network and pass that cost onto users by jacking the hell out of monthly rates.

There certainly are several alternatives to consider, which Comcast and other ISPs are looking into, but there is no magic bullet that ensures a quality experience for all users, protects all traffic, and keeps costs for the provider and consumer "reasonable".

With FiOS you're not sharing your bandwith with others in the community. Like I live in an apartment for instance and Comcast has the lock-down on service for this building, even though FiOS is available to houses in the neighborhood, and during "Prime time," the speeds will drop and stay low until almost midnight. I have never gotten the advertised speed, but it is my only option outside of DSL.

Untrue. FiOS is oversubscribed, it just tends to be less oversubscribed than cable. Interestingly, cable companies typically have much more backhaul bandwidth from the network edge than FiOS does, but they also service a much higher number of users per node.

Why wouldn't other cable companies do this as well? I'm going to play the persuasion game for FIOS, so I need you guys to give me everything you know!

They did, they just didn't get caught.

The irony through all of this is that while FiOS dominates Comcast for speed and overall quality, Comcast is still generally better than their cable competitors (aside from maybe Cox, which benefits majorly in some ways from being a private company). They deserve all the shit they get for customer service and network congestion, but they handle a greater number of customers and provide a better quality HSD service than any other cable company I've had to deal with.

If the choice is cable or FiOS, it isn't even a choice. FiOS in a heartbeat.

Through this big ugly essay of a post, I'm not trying to say that Comcast is great, merely that just like with Toyota and the unintended acceleration crap, the situation tends to be overblown, and a lot of people tend to hyperbolize issues (or straight up not understand some of the factors involved... like sheer cost).

[Souj]

Just got a letter from Comcast saying that if I use peer-to-peer file sharing I may be eligible for a refund or credit.
Apparently there was a lawsuit; Hart v Comcast.
Comcast promised certain speeds, but limited speeds to some peer-to-peer sites.
Comcast got sued, and decided to give refunds/money back instead of keeping the case in court.
To be eligible, you must have used Ares, BitTorrent, eDonkey, FastTrack or Gnutella P2P protocols from april 1, 2006 to dec 31-2008 and were unable to share files or have reason to believe your speed was impaired.
Comcast agreed to pay out 16million dollars, but a single household can, at the most, only get $16.00. and of course, They add that the settlement is not an admission of guilt.

further info: 1-877-567-2754
www.P2PCongestionSettlement.com

$16.00 if you can prove your internet was slower while using 1 of 5 specific torrent sites between 06 and 08 alright!