4 ms·
They are the HOA of the Internet world. I’ve had the exact same equipment scam happen. I ended up paying the first time. The second time I had a full video of
by happytiger 3y ago
They are the HOA of the Internet world.
I’ve had the exact same equipment scam happen. I ended up paying the first time. The second time I had a full video of me walking into the office (because at the time you had to return the equipment to the actual office, couldn’t ship it) and it took only a few months to get resolved.
I don’t think there are many places that aren’t Comcast only. I briefly lived in an area with fiber-to-the-home. It was the same general cost as Comcast, but so much better and the service was rock solid reliable.
They are a national disgrace, especially after all the money put into rural broadband initiatives and fiber optics rollouts somehow managed to produce basically… nothing. But I’m sure they weren’t involved.
And what’s happening is plain as day. Check this quote out:
> Comcast’s lack of broadband growth started last year, when the largest U.S. internet provider reported no additions in the second quarter of 2022 for the first time in the company’s history. Since then, Comcast has reported net broadband losses in three of the last five quarters.
> Comcast executives have pushed investors to focus on broadband’s rising average revenue per user (ARPU) growth, driven by price increases and upselling packages, rather than net additions. Comcast’s residential broadband ARPU rose 3.9% in the quarter.
> “As we continue to manage this balance, we expect ARPU growth to remain strong and our primary driver of broadband revenue growth with somewhat higher subscribers losses expected the fourth quarter compared to the 18,000 loss we just reported in the third quarter,” Comcast Chief Financial Officer Jason Armstrong said during the company’s earnings conference call Thursday.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/26/comcast-broadband-worries.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/26/comcast-broadband-worries.ht...
They’re not even interested in expanding broadband footprints anymore, just getting more revenue out of existing customers. And they are completely upfront about it.
Sorry, but I haven’t had one good interaction with this company, and I don’t think I’m alone.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/comcast-is-americas-most-hated-company https://www.pcmag.com/news/comcast-is-americas-most-hated-co...
- pxeboot 3y ago> I don’t think there are many places that aren’t Comcast only. Really? There are entire states (and countries) without a Comcast presence.
- happytiger 3y agoI’m sorry I was only speaking of the US, as this is a US company. > You already knew that home broadband competition is sorely lacking through much of the US, but a new report released today helps shed more light on Americans who have just one choice for high-speed Internet. > Comcast is the only choice for 30 million Americans when it comes to broadband speeds of at least 25Mbps downstream and 3Mbps upstream, the report says. Charter Communications is the only choice for 38 million Americans. Combined, Comcast and Charter offer service in the majority of the US, with almost no overlap. > Yet many Americans are even worse off, living in areas where DSL is the best option. AT&T, Verizon, and other telcos still provide only sub-broadband speeds over copper wires throughout huge parts of their territories. The telcos have mostly avoided upgrading their copper networks to fiber—except in areas where they face competition from cable companies. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/07/comcast-or-charter-is-the-only-25mbps-choice-for-68-million-americans/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/07/comca... Also, “broadband” being 25 mbit is their lobby’s choice and definitely should not be a legitimate threshold in the modern world. Then add that even though others operate in different regions, they generally do not compete for high speed service or are very poor at delivering it, thereby not actually presenting an alternative even though they “officially” do. Also, be clear that these two companies, that dominate areas of the US, collude. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/05/comcast-and-charter-agree-not-to-compete-against-each-other-in-wireless/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/05/comca... https://corporate.charter.com/newsroom/comcast-charter-announce-mobile-operating-platform-partnership https://corporate.charter.com/newsroom/comcast-charter-annou... https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-charter-flex-nationwide-streaming-xclass-tv https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-charter...
- epcoa 3y agoWhile 30 million is too much, that’s less than 10% of the population. In the most populated areas it’s most common to have a duopoly. Sucks but “I don’t think there are many places that aren’t Comcast only” is not close to being accurate. They’re not even the dominant provider in Texas and New York. If anything it makes it easier for them to survive, antitrust below the national scale is much harder to apply.
- smegger001 3y agoI bought my own router and modem before I signed up for their service as they were the only internet provider in my apartment building at the time. I viewed it as a preemptive measure against bullshit equipment rental fees. Everytime I have had to interact with them since they have tried offer me extra services (none of which I want) for free or reduced price if i would use their shitty box.
- happytiger 3y agoDid you get hit with the “no bandwidth cap” if you use their equipment or the $15 a month charge for using your own equipment or a combination thereof? Because that’s their official policy in many places (it’s insanely unethical and barely hidden consumer exploitation of fees).
- dcplaya 3y agoI have that where I am... Total bullshit. But I make sure I use it as much as I can, download tons of stuff to just delete it 30 seconds later.