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This is going to be a comment that needs to know a bit about the Seattle area, so if you're out of town, I'm sorry :). I currently live near the top of the hil

This is going to be a comment that needs to know a bit about the Seattle area, so if you're out of town, I'm sorry :). I currently live near the top of the hill of Queen Anne, my options for internet are Comcast, or Comcast essentially. Century link is also up there with a plan for a whopping 7mbps of speed down and less than 1mbps up. Comcast offers a plan for 50mbps down and 10mbps up, I need more upload speed, but I can make do with an upload running for hours a day. This wouldn't be bad if Comcast actually worked, but it doesn't. Probably 2 or 3 nights a week my internet becomes near unusable during peak times, I resort to putting my cell phone on LTE and seeing what I need to that way, I can't even keep up with the buffer rate on the lowest quality Youtube videos. Downtown though, there are a number of apartment and condo buildings that offer 100mbps up & down internet for $60 a month (compared to my $75 for Comcast), or 1gigabit up and down for $120 a month(not available from Comcast at all). So, we do have some gigabit internet, and I've actually found a few places I'd consider living and likely will affect my decision when I eventually move. At least in my neighborhood, Comcast has terrible(often broken) service with absolutely no alternative. I suppose maybe the density of Queen Anne can't justify the cost of gigabit fiber to the top of the hill, but given how many Microsoft and Amazon people live up here I'd be shocked if there weren't huge interest. This seems damning as to the economic viability of fiber that a relatively dense upper income neighborhood can't get fiber without government subsidy.

dubfan 13y ago
Have you called Comcast about the connectivity issues? I was having problems with connections dropping and packet loss. I called them, they sent a tech out who replaced a bad wire connecting to the building. Apparently others in the building had the same problem, but I was the only one who had a tech come out.
- Amadou 13y ago
  When damaged, coax (and POTS-based DSL for that matter) are both susceptible to environmental changes, so a cool-down in the evening can significantly change the characteristics of the wire, higher levels of humidity don't help either. In other words, yet another reason fiber to the premises is superior.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - voltagex_ 13y ago
    Someone better tell the conservative Australian government... our fibre rollout got canned in the name of saving money.
Locke1689 13y ago
I assume you're referring to CondoInternet. Just got em, and all thumbs up from me. They're all over seattle and have a few new spots in downtown Bellevue. I assume the problem is that either your building or much of the housing around you is relatively old. CondoInternet only has offerings in places that have been fully wired with ethernet already, as far as I can tell.
- WizzleKake 13y ago
  I moved so I could get CondoInternet. It rules: http://www.speedtest.net/result/3068154836.png http://www.speedtest.net/result/3068154836.png I'd been a Comcast user for ~10 years before getting fed up with them. At my last place, they started hiking the price every two months after six months. When I canceled I was paying ~$100 for internet and cable tv (which I never used or wanted, although apparently it made my service cheaper). It seems that they REALLY want to keep their TV subscriber numbers up. Interestingly, CondoInternet uses microwave links to connect the buildings they service. They do install in older buildings without CAT5e/CAT6 wiring, but they have to use vDSL over the phone lines. They still call it 100mbit although it's more like 70 or 80.
justrudd 13y ago
Small world :) I live down at the bottom of the hill in Queen Anne. I recently got rid of Comcast as well because unlike your 2 or 3 nights a week, I had 7 nights a week of slowdown. I had their 20Mbps down, and from 1900 till 2230, I could get maybe 1 or 2Mbps. Called and complained several times a week. Other than basically getting my "service" for free for 3 months, they never did anything to fix the speeds. Luckily, I can get the 40Mbps down and 20Mbps up from CenturyLink. Other than having to wait a month for them to turn it on, it has been rock solid. Even during peak times I have no issues with speed. Like you, my lease is up in a few months. I'm going to try to move to one of the Gigabit areas...
liquidcool 13y ago
When I was in Orange County, CA not too long ago, I noticed people's take on Time Warner Cable varied widely. Then I moved and discovered the issue: everyone who hated TWC was in a "legacy Comcast" area. It's clear Comcast had purchased bargain basement equipment and TWC declined to replace it, despite the added customer service costs (which must have been significant).
mathattack 13y ago
The joys of working with a monopoly.

dubfan 13y ago

Have you called Comcast about the connectivity issues? I was having problems with connections dropping and packet loss. I called them, they sent a tech out who replaced a bad wire connecting to the building. Apparently others in the building had the same problem, but I was the only one who had a tech come out.

Amadou 13y ago
When damaged, coax (and POTS-based DSL for that matter) are both susceptible to environmental changes, so a cool-down in the evening can significantly change the characteristics of the wire, higher levels of humidity don't help either. In other words, yet another reason fiber to the premises is superior.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- voltagex_ 13y ago
  Someone better tell the conservative Australian government... our fibre rollout got canned in the name of saving money.

Locke1689 13y ago

I assume you're referring to CondoInternet. Just got em, and all thumbs up from me. They're all over seattle and have a few new spots in downtown Bellevue. I assume the problem is that either your building or much of the housing around you is relatively old. CondoInternet only has offerings in places that have been fully wired with ethernet already, as far as I can tell.

WizzleKake 13y ago
I moved so I could get CondoInternet. It rules: http://www.speedtest.net/result/3068154836.png http://www.speedtest.net/result/3068154836.png I'd been a Comcast user for ~10 years before getting fed up with them. At my last place, they started hiking the price every two months after six months. When I canceled I was paying ~$100 for internet and cable tv (which I never used or wanted, although apparently it made my service cheaper). It seems that they REALLY want to keep their TV subscriber numbers up. Interestingly, CondoInternet uses microwave links to connect the buildings they service. They do install in older buildings without CAT5e/CAT6 wiring, but they have to use vDSL over the phone lines. They still call it 100mbit although it's more like 70 or 80.

justrudd 13y ago

Small world :) I live down at the bottom of the hill in Queen Anne. I recently got rid of Comcast as well because unlike your 2 or 3 nights a week, I had 7 nights a week of slowdown. I had their 20Mbps down, and from 1900 till 2230, I could get maybe 1 or 2Mbps. Called and complained several times a week. Other than basically getting my "service" for free for 3 months, they never did anything to fix the speeds. Luckily, I can get the 40Mbps down and 20Mbps up from CenturyLink. Other than having to wait a month for them to turn it on, it has been rock solid. Even during peak times I have no issues with speed. Like you, my lease is up in a few months. I'm going to try to move to one of the Gigabit areas...

liquidcool 13y ago

When I was in Orange County, CA not too long ago, I noticed people's take on Time Warner Cable varied widely. Then I moved and discovered the issue: everyone who hated TWC was in a "legacy Comcast" area. It's clear Comcast had purchased bargain basement equipment and TWC declined to replace it, despite the added customer service costs (which must have been significant).

mathattack 13y ago

The joys of working with a monopoly.