4 ms·

> But I don't have a choice. It doesn't matter how good, or bad, Comcast is. They're the only game in town. To extend that, Comcast is on my street but refuses

> But I don't have a choice. It doesn't matter how good, or bad, Comcast is. They're the only game in town. To extend that, Comcast is on my street but refuses to run a line up to my house because they consider it to be too cost prohibitive. At the same time, they block anyone else from making money in my region. I'm stuck with whatever cell signal I can acquire and that is as good as 5mbps during the day and might double that at night on a clear evening.

jfoutz 4y ago
somewhat cynical, but I think effective. Look into wireless internet service provider gear and mesh networks. It won't be faster than Comcast. 50Mbit maybe. Make flyers and talk to your neighbors. Call around and ask about pricing for fiber backhauls. Of course you don't want to run your own ISP. But, you could. It's not really that hard. Your neighbors could chip in for gear and be part owners. or a co-op or whatever. If you can create a plausible threat to the $5000 a month they're collecting around you, I suspect they'll greatly enhance performance in your area, and might even offer to connect you up.
- justinjlynn 4y ago
  Either that or they'll send a C&D and then file multiple lawsuits to strategically prevent others from having the same idea, sure.
  - nine_k 4y ago
    I suppose their monopoly extends to offering service for money, not for having it for yourself (or a collective of neighbors who own the gear and share costs). Were it nit so, they could sue you for sharing the cellular internet around your house.
- mawise 4y ago
  Related reading: https://startyourownisp.com/ https://startyourownisp.com/
- mulmen 4y ago
  What a nightmare. What if we had to do this for everything. Hey everyone hook up to my rainwater collector. Don’t forget to refuel the generator. Sorry it’s so loud. Keep digging, we have to put the trash somewhere! The Internet is a utility.
  - jfoutz 4y ago
    Politically, it's a popularity contest. If you're friendly and responsive, even if not particularly effective, you'll win. Maybe raincast is less noisy, but if they're jerks and expensive?
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
epmatsw 4y ago
Talk to your local government. We were in the same situation, and it turns out Comcast was legally required to service our house, they just didn’t want to (because of the expense). A few days after getting the government involved we had a trenching crew on-site.
- imoverclocked 4y ago
  I’m not sure who to begin talking to for that. That would be amazing though…
  - epmatsw 4y ago
    In our case googling “Comcast service <town name>” pulls up a page from the city government’s site that has contact info for our Community Connectivity Manager. That person, when contacted, got us hooked up.
alfalfasprout 4y ago
Often if they're the only option in your area AND they're on your street they've signed an exclusivity contract with the town. Part of that contract is they must service you. I know multiple people they've done this to and in all cases getting the city involved swiftly got them an installation.

jfoutz 4y ago

somewhat cynical, but I think effective. Look into wireless internet service provider gear and mesh networks. It won't be faster than Comcast. 50Mbit maybe. Make flyers and talk to your neighbors. Call around and ask about pricing for fiber backhauls. Of course you don't want to run your own ISP. But, you could. It's not really that hard. Your neighbors could chip in for gear and be part owners. or a co-op or whatever. If you can create a plausible threat to the $5000 a month they're collecting around you, I suspect they'll greatly enhance performance in your area, and might even offer to connect you up.

justinjlynn 4y ago
Either that or they'll send a C&D and then file multiple lawsuits to strategically prevent others from having the same idea, sure.
- nine_k 4y ago
  I suppose their monopoly extends to offering service for money, not for having it for yourself (or a collective of neighbors who own the gear and share costs). Were it nit so, they could sue you for sharing the cellular internet around your house.
mawise 4y ago
Related reading: https://startyourownisp.com/ https://startyourownisp.com/
mulmen 4y ago
What a nightmare. What if we had to do this for everything. Hey everyone hook up to my rainwater collector. Don’t forget to refuel the generator. Sorry it’s so loud. Keep digging, we have to put the trash somewhere! The Internet is a utility.
- jfoutz 4y ago
  Politically, it's a popularity contest. If you're friendly and responsive, even if not particularly effective, you'll win. Maybe raincast is less noisy, but if they're jerks and expensive?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

epmatsw 4y ago

Talk to your local government. We were in the same situation, and it turns out Comcast was legally required to service our house, they just didn’t want to (because of the expense). A few days after getting the government involved we had a trenching crew on-site.

imoverclocked 4y ago
I’m not sure who to begin talking to for that. That would be amazing though…
- epmatsw 4y ago
  In our case googling “Comcast service <town name>” pulls up a page from the city government’s site that has contact info for our Community Connectivity Manager. That person, when contacted, got us hooked up.

alfalfasprout 4y ago

Often if they're the only option in your area AND they're on your street they've signed an exclusivity contract with the town. Part of that contract is they must service you. I know multiple people they've done this to and in all cases getting the city involved swiftly got them an installation.