I feel like this trend will probably unleash shoggoths at some point, but I’ve probably just read too many Charlie Stross and Rudy Rucker novels.
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Ia! I can hear you now.
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What’s your max thruput with cell?
at the high end, it’s indistinguishable from my former cable modem. When throttled a bit it reminds me of DSL. For my work I don’t need endless data, but to watch movies in HD during the periods when i’ve been throttled I just pre-download them in HD. That reminds me of napster except I’m paying to rent them.
I can stream game of thrones at an acceptable video quality even when it am in the part of the month where i’m “not capped”. I truly do get unlimited data though.
I get 20mbps up, 250mbps down. I need all 250 for work… When it gets below 200, I’m a-hurtin! I really need to think about a gigabit line, but probably can hold off on that for a year or so.
They still have a monopoly. There’s nowhere to go to unless you want to downgrade your internet to DSL or a dialup provider (if you even have those options).
I looked into getting a fiber connection and there is a trunk that runs along a nearby highway, but it’s one of those “If your company wants us to run a line out to your business, have your people call our salespeople to discuss it.” which translates to “If you want to know about the price, you can’t afford it.”
We tried the same, but it didn’t quite end up as expected. Have Prime, Hulu, Netflix, and HBO Go, but have to pay Comcast to access them since Comcast controls the cable line. And the way that they price things, it’s cheaper to get basic cable with internet than internet alone. So we also have some commercial-filled low-res TV channels that we never watch. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Pro-tip: their live chat personnel seem to have triple the IQ of phone support and can actually get things done. Plus when they offer you a special deal or something you can save a transcript of it so you have a record of the price they stated and when it would go into effect. My experiences with various corporations have been worlds better since live chat support became a thing.
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Like the hotel/motel industry in the 1950s-60s: Yes, the hotel/motel costs $40. BUT the key to the room rents for $30. Or you can leave but we are all doing the same thing. F-you! >.<
Sadly many many places don’t have a useful ISP other then the cable company. So cut cord or not guess who gets a check each month?
I have Comcast’s craptastic service because it is cheaper to buy their TV I don’t use along with the internet I do then to buy just the Internet plus HBO (having HBO from them, in SD qualifies me for HBOGo, or Now, or however HBO’s lame branding works). Even if I didn’t want HBO I would still pay ComCast because guess who my other choices are? Yep: “what other choices?”
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Even though i’m still sending monthly $$$ to Verizon for Internet access, i was very surprised that their advertised rate is actually what i’m being charged. No tax, no fees, nothing over the actual rate for Internet service.
One of my ‘favorite’ tricks Comcast likes to play is the whole “oh gee, sounds like you’ve got some major trouble on your end we can’t fix remotely, time to schedule a trouble ticket” game. This involves sending someone out in a vague time window that requires you to be home all day long (without internet, of course) until the guy shows up and says “huh! Hey buddy, looks like it’s a problem with your modem/router/etc that the home office can fix. I’ll call it in. Seeya.” Someone in the office pushes a button to turn your internet back on. Done.
And then you get charged $100 minimum on your next bill for their trouble.
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did some looking. my peak rates are about 50d/20u when the ‘not a data cap’ comes into play. 50 down is pretty darn good, but I know it’s not sufficient for everything.
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Heh. I appreciate being included, but I don’t think Comcast does business up here.
telco infrastructure should go back to a model where the last mile (fiber) is public infrastructure, and the multiple ISPs that can light the fiber are private enterprise. conceptually, this would be so easy, but with the entrenched interests it will likely never happen.
Sometimes I miss channel surfing. But I can now chase an endless stream of suggested youtubes if I need to waste some of my time. Cord cutting can be a shakeup of habits around media consumption, which I think it almost invariably a good thing.
Really?
ATT has a great big deadline in large parts of lower Manhattan (just not enough capacity for the demand, not that there aren’t towers) - and it’s been that way for over a decade. T-Mobile is even worse. Verizon is better, but their customer service makes ATT look like LL Bean and I like my phone to work overseas.
Now I’ve moved to rural CT there are a number of big coverage holes on I-95, which would be unimportant apart from the fact that it’s the, you know, main transport artery for the NE of the USA.
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