4 ms·

Oh really? The Comcast alternatives in Seattle are Qwest's elderly DSL, and Clearwire Wimax which can struggle to get over 1mbps. Compared to a lot of US citie

by irons 16y ago

Oh really? The Comcast alternatives in Seattle are Qwest's elderly DSL, and Clearwire Wimax which can struggle to get over 1mbps. Compared to a lot of US cities, even those options look good. High-speed internet service in the US does not resemble a functioning market.

run4yourlives 16y ago
But Quest is an option, as is Verizon and Earthlink. The fact that Comcast may be the best option and the market state aren't the points I'm arguing. Would you stay Comcast if it meant losing Netflix? I bet many times the answer is no. I'm not arguing that it's a wonderful thing to you, I'm arguing that by pissing you off, you'll be much more likely to act.
- irons 16y ago
  Would you stay Comcast if it meant losing Netflix? I bet many times the answer is no. Anyone in my area code switching to Qwest for Netflix will be disappointed. Friends a few blocks away with DSL can't finish a streamed program without dropouts and rebuffering. AT&T delivers better service to my phone. The "pretty easy" option you alluded to entails moving out of the city to one of the suburbs with FiOS.
- alttab 16y ago
  How crap, I haven't heard anyone say Earthlink in years. Next thing you know someone busts out Sprynet.
Groxx 16y ago
Only AT&T provided non-dialup access where I live, until (apparently) very recently when RoadRunner finally ran wires. Swapping's not easy. I do work and research online - dialup isn't an option. I'm a student - pricier cell-based solutions aren't an option. I do a bit of gaming - ping time matters.
brfox 16y ago
I watch 1 hr of Netflix every evening in Seattle with Qwest and it is very reliable.
amock 16y ago
There are also a couple of very small providers who provide really cheap fast connections. If you have access to one of them you can get either 30Mbps symmetric for $40/month or 100Mbps symmetric for $60/month. Hopefully more of these will spring up if the bigger players don't change their ways.
- dedward 16y ago
  Those smaller providers will be paying for transit with someone larger, no?
  - amock 16y ago
    Yes, but I think that since the wholesale bandwidth market is more competitive it won't be as much of a problem.

by irons 16y ago

run4yourlives 16y ago

But Quest is an option, as is Verizon and Earthlink. The fact that Comcast may be the best option and the market state aren't the points I'm arguing. Would you stay Comcast if it meant losing Netflix? I bet many times the answer is no. I'm not arguing that it's a wonderful thing to you, I'm arguing that by pissing you off, you'll be much more likely to act.

irons 16y ago
Would you stay Comcast if it meant losing Netflix? I bet many times the answer is no. Anyone in my area code switching to Qwest for Netflix will be disappointed. Friends a few blocks away with DSL can't finish a streamed program without dropouts and rebuffering. AT&T delivers better service to my phone. The "pretty easy" option you alluded to entails moving out of the city to one of the suburbs with FiOS.
alttab 16y ago
How crap, I haven't heard anyone say Earthlink in years. Next thing you know someone busts out Sprynet.

Groxx 16y ago

Only AT&T provided non-dialup access where I live, until (apparently) very recently when RoadRunner finally ran wires. Swapping's not easy. I do work and research online - dialup isn't an option. I'm a student - pricier cell-based solutions aren't an option. I do a bit of gaming - ping time matters.

brfox 16y ago

I watch 1 hr of Netflix every evening in Seattle with Qwest and it is very reliable.

amock 16y ago

There are also a couple of very small providers who provide really cheap fast connections. If you have access to one of them you can get either 30Mbps symmetric for $40/month or 100Mbps symmetric for $60/month. Hopefully more of these will spring up if the bigger players don't change their ways.

dedward 16y ago
Those smaller providers will be paying for transit with someone larger, no?
- amock 16y ago
  Yes, but I think that since the wholesale bandwidth market is more competitive it won't be as much of a problem.