Comcast in the mire (again)

[Handley_Page]

Remember that tale of a fired accountant who blamed Comcast?
It's kinda true, says telco

Comcast has publicly apologized to Conal O'Rourke, the accountant who claims he was fired for moaning about the ISP's lousy service.

See Here.

 

[FantasyXY]

Comcast blows goats.

You could write that into a Lit story, but it would definitely belong in the non-erotic section.

A recent poll shows that Comcast is the most hated company in America. It took a lot of hard work to become number one in the list of number twos, but they have earned it.

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't know one person that is not fed up with comcast, how the hell they are where they are business wise is a head scratcher.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Is AT&T any better? AT&T U-verse sucks.

 

[someoneyouknow]

The sad thing is, I dropped Comcast cable because I couldn't justify the cost but recently went with them for broadband because Verizon was even more expensive and would have had to install all their equipment.

The weird thing is, I had zero problems signing up with them except for the nonsense that you either hand over your SS number or pay a $50 deposit which they will eventually refund.

Right now, I have nothing bad to say about them but give it time.

 

[Hypoxia]

Not available to me. This mountainous rural region is served by a local media monopoly, Volcano Communications, which is the ONLY provider of phone, cable, DSL etc in the area. Sure, there's DirecTV, but that needs a VolComm landline to work. VolComm usually makes the list of the most despised companies in its two-little-county service area. VolComm's appropriate home base is Amador County CA, aka Amateur County because nobody here knows shit. I could kvetch about the spotty cell service upcountry too, but what's the use? Anyway, ComCast might be an improvement -- but I'll likely never know.

 

[sr71plt]

I dropped Nextel because it couldn't get me a signal half the time and switched to Comcast, which has been fine. (I refuse to look at the monthly bill, though.)

 

[49greg]

We lived in a small south central Illinois town for a few years, ATT was the only game in town for phones or for wireless internet. Got a wireless dohickey that plugged into our laptops. It was when they first offered them and advertised their G4 speed all over the TV. It sucked, slow slow and slower.

The area had one tower for cellphones. It went out during a T- Storm and the whole town was without cellphones or internet. Even the Wally World couldn't take credit cards and the bank was shut down. Never again.

 

[Swilly]

They all suck. This still rings true today for all of these "service" providers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHgUN_95UAw

 

[BuckyDuckman]

There's a real problem with how we allowed cable companies to gain monopolies in exchange for service. Much like how Ma-Bell was once a monopoly, I think the idea has run its course. None of these companies are struggling for $$$. Worse, they do a GREAT job at lining the pockets of government officials with their lobbies and fear-mongering.

Part of the problem is their near utility status without any real oversight concerning their practices.

I have two internet choices where I live - the cable company or the phone company. If I got with DSL (the phone company) I get okay speeds and unlimited service. If I go with the cable company, I can get GREAT speeds, but a cap on how much I'll to download. Why? Because the cable company doesn't want me to use Netflix, Crackle, YouTube, or any other video streaming service. So, they cap how much I'm allowed to download to protect their video business.

Meanwhile, if you live outside the primary service area, good luck getting any kind of service worth having!

I'm not a fan of government intervention, but I think this BS has run its course and we need politicians with big enough balls to stand up to them!

 

[PennLady]

I agree there are problems with the way cable works, with limited options, but I have to say that I've had Comcast for years -- in two states -- and most of the time, everything works fine. Even the billing is fine; I have to call every so often to adjust our package, but that usually goes smoothly and sometimes I even get credits back.

We've debated FiOS, but my husband works from home and we've been told that Comcast is faster (which I suppose it may not be), but the one thing is that it has been reliable, so we have no reason to swtich. Our cable/phone/internet rarely cuts out (we have the bundle package).

I feel badly for the people who have these nightmare issues, but like so many things, I think they get press or go viral because they are not the usual. But what happened to this guy is flat-out wrong.

 

[Swilly]

There's a real problem with how we allowed cable companies to gain monopolies in exchange for service. Much like how Ma-Bell was once a monopoly, I think the idea has run its course. None of these companies are struggling for $$$. Worse, they do a GREAT job at lining the pockets of government officials with their lobbies and fear-mongering.

Part of the problem is their near utility status without any real oversight concerning their practices.

I have two internet choices where I live - the cable company or the phone company. If I got with DSL (the phone company) I get okay speeds and unlimited service. If I go with the cable company, I can get GREAT speeds, but a cap on how much I'll to download. Why? Because the cable company doesn't want me to use Netflix, Crackle, YouTube, or any other video streaming service. So, they cap how much I'm allowed to download to protect their video business.

Meanwhile, if you live outside the primary service area, good luck getting any kind of service worth having!

I'm not a fan of government intervention, but I think this BS has run its course and we need politicians with big enough balls to stand up to them!

We already HAVE government intervention, which is a necessity I guess. No one wants 68 different sets of cables strung around our neighborhoods. In the city, it would be even worse. The streets and sidewalks are torn apart often enough already. If we add a bunch of new providers, fuggedaboutit!

One thing you're right about is that the politicians who are involved need to get with it. At my weekend house, we have one option-Cablevision. Verizon wants to bring FIOS into the town, but the town supervisor won't let them in unless they can turn every customer in the town on at the same time. They won't let them do it in sections, which adversely affects their willingness to do it. You think the town government has the residents in mind here?

 

[someoneyouknow]

We already HAVE government intervention, which is a necessity I guess. No one wants 68 different sets of cables strung around our neighborhoods. In the city, it would be even worse. The streets and sidewalks are torn apart often enough already. If we add a bunch of new providers, fuggedaboutit!

One thing you're right about is that the politicians who are involved need to get with it. At my weekend house, we have one option-Cablevision. Verizon wants to bring FIOS into the town, but the town supervisor won't let them in unless they can turn every customer in the town on at the same time. They won't let them do it in sections, which adversely affects their willingness to do it. You think the town government has the residents in mind here?

There is a very simple solution to the issue of multiple cables. It would be the same way power companies compete for business. There is one line coming into your home and you get to pick your provider.

Same way with broadband. One line into the house, you pick from several different providers.

Considering ISPs have gotten billions of taxpayer dollars over the years in subsidies and direct monetary injection, there is no reason for them to bring up the supposed government interference ploy.

It's like the banks and Wall Street firms. "Oh no, don't regulate us! You'll kill our competitiveness. Too much government interference is bad for business."

"Help us government! Our own incompetence is going to kill us. We need you to interfere in the free markets and hand over $3 trillion of taxpayer money to keep us alive."

 

[Swilly]

Too much government interference IS bad for business. Is there a less efficient beauracy than anything operated by Federal, state or local government?

But good point about the shared cables...to a degree I guess...if it's done right.

Coax and fiber optic isn't the same thing. Can't share those.

 

[someoneyouknow]

Too much government interference IS bad for business. Is there a less efficient beauracy than anything operated by Federal, state or local government?

But good point about the shared cables...to a degree I guess...if it's done right.

Coax and fiber optic isn't the same thing. Can't share those.

You haven't dealt with Comcast, have you?

Let me say, to get a bit off topic, I deal with both government and private industry on a daily basis. In short, there is very little difference between the two. The amount of wasted time and dollars private industry puts out, the running around to get an answer from someone, the lack of information and responsiveness to customer needs we generally don't hear about because private industry isn't required to report this stuff.

If people knew, for instance, how many millions of dollars the banking industry loses every day to fraud, theft and general mismanagement and which they refuse to do anything about, there would be real riots in the streets when one considers how much shafting these same institutions give to their depositors.

Anyway, even if you have two lines to every place, or just replace everything with fiber at this point, you would still have better service than we do now. There's a reason the U.S. ranks almost at the bottom of the industrialized world for broadband speed and at the top for price, and it's not because of government interference.

 

[sr71plt]

IS bad for business. Is there a less efficient beauracy than anything operated by Federal, state or local government?

That is really so pea brained. I think dumb fucks like you should get what you apparently want--dropped on a deserted island to fend for yourself--since you're so superior at doing everything yourself.

 

[lovecraft68]

That is really so pea brained. I think dumb fucks like you should get what you apparently want--dropped on a deserted island to fend for yourself--since you're so superior at doing everything yourself.

Very mature response, as always.

How many posts before you claim to have created digital cable and cell phone service?

 

[sr71plt]

Very mature response, as always.

How many posts before you claim to have created digital cable and cell phone service?

I think it's the "little-mind" crap reactionary folks like you and Swilly spew on what it takes to make a complex society work that's immature. But, luckily, you aren't much a player in life, so it doesn't matter all that much.

And you didn't bother to read the posts before your typical knee-jerk response. The topic wasn't digital cable or cell phone service, you dumbshit.

 

[Swilly]

That is really so pea brained. I think dumb fucks like you should get what you apparently want--dropped on a deserted island to fend for yourself--since you're so superior at doing everything yourself.

Spoken like a true bureaucrat, pilot.

May you rot in eternity on an endless line at the DMV.


Oh. BTW...go fuck yourself.

 

[Handley_Page]

Oh dear Lord,
Do I hear the sound of Handbags at 20 paces - again ?

 

[Zeb_Carter]

*pops some popcorn and gets a beer from the fridge*

 

[Zeb_Carter]

There is a not so little town in Georgia called Marietta. They provide their residents high speed internet. The township has its own servers connecting to the backbone.

When I left Georgia they were just finishing up wiring every residence to the fiber optic network.

You needed no modem, no router(unless you wanted to use one), you plugged you computer into a wall network outlet with a cat5 cable directly to your NIC.

Speeds when I left were 100mbits. There was talk about upping the speed to the gigabit range.

The cost was a line item on you electric bill as they provided the electricity too. Sure they bought both from other vendors and added a %, but it sure was nice not to have to deal with the big two (comcast and att).

No, it was actually Kennesaw that required all residents to own a handgun.

 

[lovecraft68]

Oh dear Lord,
Do I hear the sound of Handbags at 20 paces - again ?

Yes, maybe we could have comcast show the.....oh, wait it would probably have technical issues.

But yeah when some fool comes out of nowhere to call someone a dumb fuck for no reason other than he is feeling exceptionally snarky for the evening I will respond in kind.

I was raised to stick up for people I consider friends.

Sorry, if you weren't.

 

[Swilly]

Yes, maybe we could have comcast show the.....oh, wait it would probably have technical issues.

But yeah when some fool comes out of nowhere to call someone a dumb fuck for no reason other than he is feeling exceptionally snarky for the evening I will respond in kind.

I was raised to stick up for people I consider friends.

Sorry, if you weren't.

C'mere for a bro hug, LC.

Obviously, I touched on quite a nerve here with pilot. As I've suspected in the past, he is likely some mid level government employee that hates his job and his life. The way he takes swipes at people in some odd doublespeak told me that a long time ago. For the record, I'm not saying that government employees are bad people. It's more the structure and nature of the beast that makes it what it is.

At one point I thought I'd figured out who pilot really is. Frank Abagnale. But now, nah.

Put away the popcorn kids. I'm done. Pilot will come and pile 64 posts on this thread before he moves on, just like he usually does. Have fun with that dude.

 

[lovecraft68]

C'mere for a bro hug, LC.

Obviously, I touched on quite a nerve here with pilot. As I've suspected in the past, he is likely some mid level government employee that hates his job and his life. The way he takes swipes at people in some odd doublespeak told me that a long time ago. For the record, I'm not saying that government employees are bad people. It's more the structure and nature of the beast that makes it what it is.

At one point I thought I'd figured out who pilot really is. Frank Abagnale. But now, nah.

Put away the popcorn kids. I'm done. Pilot will come and pile 64 posts on this thread before he moves on, just like he usually does. Have fun with that dude.

You give him mid level?

I say low level and its a job his daddy or his wife's daddy got him.

So he comes here and tells tall tales to try to escape the vanilla mediocrity of his existence.


He is also that sneaky punk ass kid that makes a snide remark then gets upset when people give it back.

But yeah put away the popcorn. There's no fight here just a petulant child being put in his place.