Got the call from Comcast !

[Paul56]

I guess I'll be looking for a new ISP?

Comcast called and stated that I will get one warning and if I don't drastically reduce my usage I will be cut-off next month without warning. I was told that 6 times during the 4 minute conversation. I was told that out of 12 million subscribers I was using 1,000 times the bandwidth that normal customers use and I was in the top one-tenth of one percent highest users with almost 500 GB monthly (got to keep that ratio up!). I asked what was acceptable usage and was told that Comcast does not divulge that information to it's customers, I asked him how I was to know if I drastically reduced my usage ~ what would I reduce it too? I mentioned that I ordered additioanl service last month for $10 to increase my service from 6M to 8M, and he was kind off ticked off and stated that was for speed and not for usage, I asked if having more speed could perhaps increase usage; and I had to hear about drastically reducing my usage or get cut-off again.

I asked if there was a business service I could subscribe too, and I was told that I would qualify for the enterprise service at $1500. per month. When I asked if there was any service between the $69 service I have now and the $1500 service he said no he does not supply that information. I told him I would contact the business department and he mentioned I could do whatever I wanted too but he was going to cut me off next month if I don't drastically reduce my usage. He really made it seem personal like I was using his own personal bandwidth. So I'll be looking for a new service provider.

I only have two services available in my area.

Is anyone familiar with Covad? They offer Dedicated DSL (Dedicated Loop TeleSoho®) TeleSpeed Internet Services are Covad’s business-oriented Internet Services based on Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (“SDSL”) services provisioned on separate lines from the Customer’s phone service (144kbps up and down for $120 mo.) or (384kbps up and down for $329 mo.)

My other option is Sky Broadband Service offers symmetrical 1 Mbps service. 1 Mbps for both the upload as well as the download. They state, "when comparing to other services, be sure to note whether our competitors are offering symmetric or asymmetric connectivity. ($99 mo, if I let them put a repeater at my home) and $20. more if I don't. Sky Broadband Service uses a transceiver that is both small (12"H X 4"W X 1.1"D) and lightweight (11 ounces.) This transceiver can reach a distance of up to 2 miles. If your location is greater than 2 miles from the access point, then the optional reflector can extend the range up to 10 miles.

Thanks for any help.

[ThurstonX]

Ugh. Guess I'd better be proactive in this dept. And here I thought $10/mo. more would save me. HA!

Short answer: compare the speeds and the prices. SDSL is good for businesses, but not for torrenting (FWIW, Comcast gives out 384 Kbps at their normal fees; 768 Kbps for the extra $10).
1 Mbps SYMMETRICAL at a lower price is by far the better deal. I'd look into the fine print of both offers... if they divulge such sensitive information to prospective customers... oh wait, that's Comcast ;-)

Hope it works out for you. God I hate Cramcast.

[Seth01]

Can't help you with your decisions, bro but I just wanted to give you my best wishes.

That's a hard one for sure so I'll share what I did when I had a similar problem with my ISP. They wanted me to get a ridiculously expensive business account. I staved off the hungry wolves for a while by purchasing a 2nd home account. Obviously it was twice the price and I had to have 2 different cable modems (one I bought and one I rented) but they connected to the same cable (not at the same time). I kept a tight eye on my usage through their online utility and then when I reached the limit with modem 1 I switched to modem 2. It was stupid and expensive but it kept me going.

Well, Finlay I found a solution that was still expensive (but less than my 2nd account) and gave me the flexibility I needed. I signed up for a webseeder and haven't looked back then. Basically, my downloading and uploading are done remotely using someone else's very fast bandwidth and then when it's done I just dl it. So I still have the "bandwidth cost" in bits of the dl but none of the transfer. On top of that it helps my ratio as it's very fast. If I want to do a seed, it's the same thing in reverse. I have to upload my files to the site and then start the seed there (all done through a web interface). It's a nice but not perfect solution. Some months I'm using way over my ISP's limits but I guess I'm not in that"top one-tenth of one percent highest users" so I haven't been bothered since.

If this sounds like something that interests you, let me know through a PM. There usually aren't too many openings but I'll put you in contact with he who runs this. BTW, I have NO affiliation with this other than that I'm a happy customer.

[door71]

Try Verizon Fios for $29.99 a month.

[awaker]

insight's been on my ass for two years last summer hey suspended me for two weeks.i have to wait and not jump on early,my share ratios suck but theres not much i can do

[direwolf-pgh]

Covad is a huge provider/reseller & offers decent service. they are worth a price comparison imo.

[fubar]

Originally Posted by Paul56

I only have two services available in my area.

Is anyone familiar with Covad? They offer Dedicated DSL (Dedicated Loop TeleSoho®) TeleSpeed Internet Services are Covad’s business-oriented Internet Services based on Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (“SDSL”) services provisioned on separate lines from the Customer’s phone service (144kbps up and down for $120 mo.) or (384kbps up and down for $329 mo.)

that pricing is terrible.

[mike1061]

Keep us posted as to what you do. Several other people (I think) would like to know. I've spent a lot of time checking out internet providers. I still don't have an answer.
Thanks Mike

[door71]

Check out Verizon Fios..................$29.99 a month..............seriously.

It may not be available in your area yet, I don't know.

[rosc2112]

Did comcast disclose any megabyte limit? Nope.. Therefore, they're full of shit. You pay for bandwidth, not megabytes. Tell them to not call you again or you'll sue them for harassment.

[dcbullet]

Originally Posted by rosc2112

Tell them to not call you again or you'll sue them for harassment.

Good luck with that.

[rosc2112]

Ohh I used to have Covad in California, but it was only $60/month for 5 static IP's and 1.5/728 down/up.

Seriously, comcast is full of shit if they're not disclosing megabyte limits - you are using the service you pay for - bandwidth is already limited by their system, you are simply utilizing what you're paying for. They advertise you can watch movies and stuff on the net, so that's what you're doing - watching movies & tv shows that are freely available. Tough titties for comcast if they don't like people using their service as provided.

[rosc2112]

Originally Posted by dcbullet

Good luck with that.

Send them a cease & desist letter, just like any other bill collector/harassor. Anything they have to say, should be in writing. Which will be part of evidence in your case against them for not providing the service you're paying for.

[lgerard]

I was sympathetic towards your plight untill I noticed the 600/250 figure in three months

jesus, no wonder they are pissed.

Anyway, the reasoning that the are giving you is just bullshit. So you are in the top .001%, big deal, someone wil always be in the top .001%

As for not telling you what the consider acceptable ussuage..thats nonsense too.

Comcast may have all kinds of arcane TOS, but they do not operate in a vaccum. They have a franchise, and somewhere in your community there is a political entity responsible for enforcing their agreement with your community.

I suggest you find out who that is and start putting pressure on them to get comcast to disclose what they consider reasonable ussuage and under what circumstances they can fail to provide service. If you don't get an immediate answer, recruit some other customers (everybody hates comcast) and bombard them with letters.

If you push hard enough, politicians will respond.

[willndmb]

Originally Posted by door71

Check out Verizon Fios..................$29.99 a month..............seriously.

It may not be available in your area yet, I don't know.

till your intro runs out and they jack the price to $48
still way better then time warner road runner though and lots of time you can get deals for phone and or tv as well