http://consumerist.com/2015/03/25/new-homeowner-has-to-sell-house-because-of-comcasts-incompetence-lack-of-competition/
tl;dr
Guy wants to buy house, asks Comcast if there is internet service, Comcast says yes previous owners were connected
Guy buys house, asks Comcast to connect him, tech comes finds no box, open ticket
Then, begins a ballet of techs coming to the house unexpectedly to find that there is no box and that nothing can be done
Comcast tells guy that ticket has expired
Then it's the usual responsability shifting
Later, Comcast decide to estimate the cost of building access, guy is ok for paying a good share, estimation vary over time (50k to 60k), no offer is put on paper
Finally, Comcast contacts him to tell him that they are not interested after all
(You'll find more details about all of that in the article, my version is very abridged)
At the end is a little reflection on the current state of ISP market in the US.
I have to say that I am quite surprised. For quite some time you had it better than us french. Now, it appears that it might have shifted completely in only a few years ...
Or is it specific of the state of Washington ?
No, telco and cable companies were ALWAYS this way. That's what you get when government gives them monopoly power.
Dude, don't even get me started on this. I have friends who have Verizon DSL, but it's like 10+ times faster than mine, while I'm stuck with this: http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3960580342?fb_ref=Default
My only other options: Satellite: I'm told is even slower than DSL, and even if it isn't, the lag is so terrible, that if I ever want to do gaming, calls, etc, it's not viable for that.
Verizon FiOS: Not available in my area.
Comcast: They're worse, service wise than the IRS, and this crap, so NOPE.avi
Dial up: I'd rather stick my dick in an ant hill.
It's why I want to move to Chat. TN. I've heard from folks that "well I have 50 Mbps, and even I can't use that." I. Don't. Care. Unless they can show, mathematically, that I won't be able to use all of it, (or that 100 Mbps would be 'enough') then no.
Quote from: Travis Retriever on March 29, 2015, 10:20:03 PM
Dude, don't even get me started on this. I have friends who have Verizon DSL, but it's like 10+ times faster than mine, while I'm stuck with this: http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3960580342?fb_ref=Default
My only other options: Satellite: I'm told is even slower than DSL, and even if it isn't, the lag is so terrible, that if I ever want to do gaming, calls, etc, it's not viable for that.
Verizon FiOS: Not available in my area.
Comcast: They're worse, service wise than the IRS, and this crap, so NOPE.avi
Dial up: I'd rather stick my dick in an ant hill.
It's why I want to move to Chat. TN. I've heard from folks that "well I have 50 Mbps, and even I can't use that." I. Don't. Care. Unless they can show, mathematically, that I won't be able to use all of it, (or that 100 Mbps would be 'enough') then no.
Satellite is faster than DSL, for like a half-hour of Netflix, then it's slower than dial-up. Unless you buy the "super-premium package" @~100$/mo, then you get "fast" for about an hour. They have really seriously low bandwith limitations. Like around 100M/day.
Quote from: dallen68 on March 30, 2015, 12:40:23 AM
Satellite is faster than DSL, for like a half-hour of Netflix, then it's slower than dial-up. Unless you buy the "super-premium package" @~100$/mo, then you get "fast" for about an hour. They have really seriously low bandwith limitations. Like around 100M/day.
Oh yeah. I forgot about those data limits. *eyetwitch*
Quote from: Travis Retriever on March 29, 2015, 10:20:03 PM
My only other options: Satellite: I'm told is even slower than DSL, and even if it isn't, the lag is so terrible, that if I ever want to do gaming, calls, etc, it's not viable for that.
Satellite is DEFINITELY faster than what you have. And while you're right about the lag making it not good for online gaming, it is good for things like streaming video.
Do you have 4G in your area? There are some good 4G-only data packages, and the big advantage is you can access it from anywhere.
Does your area get WiMAX? It provides similar capabilities to 4G, and does up to 1 Gb/s to fixed installations as of the 2011 revision. It's sometimes available from cellular phone companies, as one common use for it is connecting cellular towers. (Up where I am, WiMAX service was available from a partnership between Rogers and Bell, two of our three large cellular providers. Now, you only have 4G/LTE services available from them.)
How much do the prices rise for additional data in the US when using 4G and for what volumes ?
Interestingly, I had never heard of Wimax before but it is available in some area in France. The max bandwidth is 10Mbps though (most of it is 1 or 2), and the price tag is terrible ... Well, I might be a little harsh : It's not very good :)