Comcast internet VS verizon HSI (not fios) (Arlington, McLean: 2009, apartment)

[gth790r]

I am moving to Arlington in a high rise apartment. It has Verizon high speed internet (but not FiOS) or Comcast cable internet. I want to know two things: if Comcast really does have bad connection issues (getting disconnected a lot) as I have heard, and what the speed difference is. I cant get the information from them because they rant on about their PowerBoost which I already researched and its basically B.S. (see here)

Verizon - max 3 Mbps download speed
Comcast - what is your download speed if you have it? the Power Boost thing only happens for certain periods of use not all the time. try this and tell me what you get: Speakeasy - Speed Test

Does comcast have good reliable internet connection? I have heard they don't. I also heard their customer service sucks.

Also, being in a high rise, does that mean cable internet is a bad idea ? (most people in the building have comcast internet, not verizon)

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by gth790r

I am moving to Arlington in a high rise apartment. It has Verizon high speed internet (but not FiOS) or Comcast cable internet. I want to know two things: if Comcast really does have bad connection issues (getting disconnected a lot) as I have heard, and what the speed difference is. I cant get the information from them because they rant on about their PowerBoost which I already researched and its basically B.S. (see here)

Verizon - max 3 Mbps download speed
Comcast - what is your download speed if you have it? the Power Boost thing only happens for certain periods of use not all the time. try this and tell me what you get: Speakeasy - Speed Test

Does comcast have good reliable internet connection? I have heard they don't. I also heard their customer service sucks.

Also, being in a high rise, does that mean cable internet is a bad idea ? (most people in the building have comcast internet, not verizon)

I live in a high rise and have Verizon internet and Comcast Cable TV. Verizon is not 100% great but i would pick it over Comcast anyday. Verizon is pretty realible if you dont have any self-inflicted issues (using cheap phone lines, losing wall mount filters, etc.)

Comcast (sometime nicknamed C***cast by locals) has very low quality customer service and connections. Avoid them at all costs. They are not worth the extra $$ over Verizon.

[Samara11]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

Comcast (sometime nicknamed C***cast by locals) has very low quality customer service and connections. Avoid them at all costs. They are not worth the extra $$ over Verizon.

I second that. Their billing is very shady too, they'll keep adding weird charges to your bill and it will take you forever to sort it out.

[Azmordean]

I'd almost lean Verizon. Cable internet has higher theoretical speed than DSL (Verizon's "HSI" is DSL), and SHOULD be faster, but it is shared bandwidth. DSL is slower, but it is all yours. Personally, I prefer a connection that is always "pretty fast" than one that is sometimes "blazing fast" and sometimes "blah."

That said, there are negatives to DSL. The big one is, at least in the past, you have to have a home phone line. If like many people you want a home phone, that's no biggie. That said, if you are like me, and otherwise would not have a land line (I use my cell for everything), its a not insignificant extra cost ($20/mo minimum). Further, if you DO want cable TV, then you can probably get a discount on a "double play" bundle deal from Comcast.

So if you are like me, and DON'T want a home phone, but DO want cable TV, Comcast may actually be cheaper overall.

If that's the case, I'd personally probably give them a try. If it sucks, you can cancel the internet part, and switch to Verizon.

[flrnova]

Hmmm.... that's a bit worrying. I live in McLean and am thinking about moving to Arlington. I find Cox internet to work very well.

This thing about "sharing bandwidth" is a thing of the past for cable internet.

I have passionate hatred for Verizon.

[gth790r]

Wow thanks for all the responses guys! I am going to go with Verizon then. I have had trouble with their phone customer service so far (since they are 2 different companies its kind of confusing if you use cellular and home phone, they don't really understand that on the phone, go figure), but I trust the reliability will be better.

Originally Posted by flrnova

Hmmm.... that's a bit worrying. I live in McLean and am thinking about moving to Arlington. I find Cox internet to work very well.

This thing about "sharing bandwidth" is a thing of the past for cable internet.

I have passionate hatred for Verizon.

How so? Cable internet is a cloud, so there is a huge pool of bandwidth for a large number of connections, and they bet on the fact that everyone isn't using it at one time. This generally works, but has the potential for problems if everyone does actually try to get on at the same time (like FDIC and banks). It all depends on location, which is why i asked what other peoples experience with it was. Arlington is a much more dense area than McLean, so that may be why your experience is diff. Who knows, maybe i'll switch to comcast some day, but not now!

Thanks all!

[slim04]

Originally Posted by Azmordean

That said, there are negatives to DSL. The big one is, at least in the past, you have to have a home phone line. If like many people you want a home phone, that's no biggie. That said, if you are like me, and otherwise would not have a land line (I use my cell for everything), its a not insignificant extra cost ($20/mo minimum).

As long as you have a landline wiring, you can still sign up for Verizon DSL without having home phone service. I think they charge you a higher rate though, but I think it was in the $5 to $10 range.

Anyways, they charge me $38 per month for DSL without regular phone service.

[ndfan33]

My wife and I switched from Comast to Verizon almost two months ago. We got the full package (Internet, Phone and TV). Verizon's service is terrible! Do not SWITCH with whomever you have! Their customer Service is awful! I recommend that you stay with who have or find anyone else than Verizon. Everyone should get rid of Verizon immediately. This is the worst f****** company in the entire world!