ISP's That Really Suck Or Are Really Good

My local cable and internet company just got bought out by Comcast and my connection now.... Well lets put it this way. I spend more time on the phone with Comcast tech suppport then I do on the fricking internet now.

Connection goes down weekely and then takes them 2 to 3 days to get somebody to fix it.

I wanted to drop them for DSL but the box out in my area is full right now so I am stuck. So it got me wondering. How would you rate your ISP... Who is it and how is their service?

Mine is Verizon. I had DSL a few years from them, and earlier this year, when they made fiber optic available in my area, I switched to it. I was fortunate: By the time I had switched to DSL, they had straightened out the monumental screwups and mismanagement that had hurt them badly in my area when they first started and didn't yet know what they were doing. My installation of DSL was self-installed off a CD and a brief set-up manual with little or no trouble except for one matter. The default format incuded a feature called interleaving that makes connections more stable, but slows them down, sometimes drastically. Online gaming did not work under this. When I finally told them, fix this or I go to Cablevision, they dropped the interleaving (it is done at the switching station not the client), and after that I had zero problems. When fiber optic became available, I asked around, and found others were having no problem. It required a several-hour visit from their technician to install and set up, but so far (six months and counting) it has been even smoother and quite trouble-free - and fast. It's rated at 20mbps download speed and according to on-line testing sites I'm consistently getting 16 mbps. And the price is very reasonable.

And boy, am I glad I didnt have to go through with my threat to switch to Cablevision. I used to have them for cable TV, years ago, and they were a real PITA.

COMCAST SUCKS BALLS!!!!!!!!!


I hate comcast so much, was so much better when it was AT&T broadband!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wellll http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=1573

Cox

http://www.CoxCommunications.com

Pretty much 99.9%+ reliable

however, now that I say that, my internet will probably go down in the next week for a long period of time.

Great so when my connection does come back I might as well hang up using BitTorrent anymore. Ass Clowns. GGGGRRRR I hate Comcast. This sucks. I would love to get fiber but its not in my area. I have even thought about sat but its soooo damn much money and I hear its not that good.

Might be a little off topic (no comcast in oz) but related to ISP's.
I have reliable, above average speed, wireless net access.
My ISP wants to upgrade their network and for me in particular from 256K/up/down to a satisfying 20Mb rate. They have the equipment ready to go.

The AU Gov announced some time ago about a partnership with telcos to "Enable Broadband Access Across the Country" I hear you laughing.

My ISP now cannot get a licence and have been told to wait for frequency allotments in 2009.

By then, Im told things may be harder for them than now.

Hey thanks for the space. And yeah VB, Im pissed off too.

Comcast customer service is rated worse than the IRS. Really.

One of many good stories: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/88272

Am I the only person that has never had a problem with Comcast? o.O

CableOne here, a small company by cable standards I guess, but they rock... I live in a small town in south Texas that still has no access to DSL, and only in the past few months access to wireless net, but have had cable access for several years. When I first signed up they ran all new wire to my house, and around my house. Trouble and they are always here in the same day as the call, usually within an hour. They are out of Arizona. Have no complaints at all...

I have Comcast for my ISP. I very rarely have problems. The only serious problem I've had occured during a hurricane a few years ago, Isabell, and my service was out for a couple of days. I had power but most of the people around me didn't so my modem and cable were both out. I've thought about switching to DSL but Verizon doesn't have FiOS available in my area yet. My DSL connection would be about a 1/3 of my cable modem speed so I haven't changed.

I don't like the customer service I get from Comcast. Neither does my brother and he lives in another state. None of my friends like their (lack of) customer service either.

My recommendation to you is to speak to a supervisor, mention how many times you've had to call for service and ask for an actual Comcast person, not a subcontractor, to come to your house. Tell them they need to check the spliter to make sure it's not turning your signal down too much. Also tell them to go outside and make sure all your connections are attached properly and not rusting out (this happened to me once when the service was new, someone left the box on the pole open and the wires rusted and thus shorted out). They need to check the connection right at your house and at the pole (or box depending if your wires are above or below ground).

If none of that is the problem then ask them to test your wires to make sure you're getting a signal inside your house. They have some way to measure that and don't let them tell you they can't. I just can't remember the technical term for it right now but they've measured mine before and had to adjust the signal strength. I hope some of this is helpful to you.

Well they know what the problem is they just don't fix it. They only patch it. The issue is with a amplifier in our block. There is something wrong with it so when it gets to cold or to hot it goes out. The tech told me last time something about the signal number being at 62 and it should be in the 40's. He said when it gets above 60 your modem will not pickup the signal then. So they keep coming out and readjusting this damn thing rather then just replacing it. I have talked to so many so called supervisors at Comcast I should be on the payroll. They are sending out some line tech this time to look at the issue but I am sure that will take at least 2 damn days before they do it. So here I sit paying for a service that I am not getting.

they should credit you the days it reads above 45. keep track!

i have comcast. and not only have i never had an unsolvable issue, the customer service has been stupendous for me. go figure. *shrugs*

Dang VooDoo. You need to definately ask for a credit for all the days you haven't been able to use your service. Then gather up your notes and contact your State's Attorney General's office and ask for help. If they know what the problem is and they aren't actually fixing but rather patching it then it's time to take this to next level. Be sure to include dates, times and names if possible. If you haven't been notating this info start doing so. You might also go on Comcast.com and see if you can get in touch with their corporate offices and file a complaint that way. If you can't get their contact info that way send me an IM and I will call my local Comcast office and see if I can get you a name and number that way.

I started doing some research from work here tonight and wow is there a ton of people that have had it with Comcast. Even found this site: http://www.comcastwatch.com/

I agree, I have been collecting all the information since this started and in fact when I got to work tonight I did send e-mails to not only the A.G. but also all the local news media as well about it. It's not even just me its the whole block I live on.

I would have to agree, about two months ago i moved out of range for cox with whom i almost never had issues with to comcast area. I thought the probs i was having was just me, nice to hear that i am not alone, most issues resolved now and i think its smooth but it was a long couple of months on the phone with tech support, and alot of visits.........hope i didnt just jynx myself (lol)

I had to switch mine because they had routed me through all over the world to reach LL. I couldn't teleport because of the bad routing. Now I am perfectly fine and have no major complaints.

Comcast is known as the modern AOL of broadband. Absolutely horrible.
For DSL, SBC/Yahoo is excellent. Earthlink is known as one of the best for cable.

My local ISP also got bought out by Comcast. I didn't vote here though for several reasons.

1) My last ISP was...umm..well, retarded. The actual connection and speed got better when Comcast took over *knocks on wood*.

2) However, getting service from Comcast is about on the same level as Cusomer Service from LL. In other words, hit-r-miss on reliability.

3) They're F***ing expensive!!!! My cable bill has doubled since they took over, and due to my location out inthe country, there's no other alternative other than 56k.

So while the service is "okay", I have to rate them as "piss poor" overall.

Really wish AT&T would just buy them out or put in compitition here. Now THERE is a company that works for the customers.

~Jessy

My only choice for broadband (until Verizon brings FIOS to my neighborhood) is Comcast. I can't get DSL because I'm too far away from the nearest CO. Comcast can be a mixed bag when it comes to performance and customer service. Once when my broadband was acting up, the clueless script guy actually tried to tell me that the service had been canceled 8 months earlier. It turns out that my problem was outside the house, up on the pole. On the other hand, they once sent out a tech who actually traced a problem to substandard cabling inside the house (not installed by Comcast) that was the source of a problem. It seems that in my area, the techs who do service calls know more about the service than the ones who answer the phone and read scripts.

My ISP is Charter, and overall I'd rate them quite good. The speed (5meg) is a bit less than some other ISP's offer, but how much do I really need? Unlike Comcast, Charter has actively promoted full bandwidth gaming, sharing, and downloading media. They've gone fiber in my area and even during peak hours i get all of that 5meg i pay for. Outages are rare and customer service is respectable.

For the weak signal problem, try a 1000Hz in-line signal amplifier (coaxial) from someplace like Radio Shack, best buy, or wal mart. Should be good for about 20 points or so depending on the line conditions and background noise.

Not jsut your area, and not just Comcast.

Look at LL *smirks*

~Jessy

I used to think DSL provision in the UK was the worst in the world, but I was surprised to find that choice is pretty limited to many customers in the US. We were discussing this over at SLUniverse recently:

http://www.sluniverse.com/php/vb/showthread.php?t=1698

Some Comcast fans there too. =D

I'm with http://www.bethere.co.uk

Best ISP eva. =)

I have Cablevision, and have had no isuues in the 4 years I 've had them. I listened to the sales spiel from Verizon recently concerning FIOS, but don't see much need to switch, it would actually cost a little more for me since I don't have a long distance phone package. For my needs Cablevision is fine.

Voodoo, if this is the case then you need to get your whole block to complain as well along with their notes and stuff. The local media can be good but sometimes they refer you to state resources first. If you don't get resolution that way then they embarrass them on the news. And boy can the local news make their life not so nice. You might also try the local newspaper as well.

I didn't know about the Comcast Watch website. I'm going to check that out.