Internet in Uptown (Denver: credit, home, pros and cons) - Colorado (CO) - City-Data Forum

ryanism85 · 05-11-2010, 03:15 PM

So I have Comcast internet right now and I hate it. My connection drops all the time.

I'm thinking of switching to Qwest and Direct TV..what are your thoughts on this?

maximusmgm · 05-12-2010, 10:19 PM

I've had Qwest for over four years now and have been happy with my service. I'm an IT guy (read: picky about my internet connection) and I recommend it!

zenkonami · 05-13-2010, 02:04 AM

I'll balance maximusmgm's post with my not so good experience so far.

Caveat, I've had great luck with some notoriously crappy companies and vice-versa, so your mileage may vary. Also, the way American ISPs offer bandwidth is stupid. "Up to xx Gb" is a really poor deal. My "up to 7" is actually closer to "4.5", but it's as good as I can get for the price. Note: Qwest is by no means the sole abuser of this marketing gimmick.

Long story short -- Ordered Qwest online. Got my confirmation. Got my modem/router. Got my first bill. Was for full price. Called customer service. Told me it was an Internet only deal and they couldn't give it to me...explained that I signed up on the internet. Provided confirmation, etc...took ages to get someone who could help me. Finally got help. Issue resolved.

Next month, next bill. Full price. Rinse and repeat. Was told the usual stuff about how billing works (I work in a customer service role with billing, so I understand but had to explain that their math was wrong several times.) Finally got through to somebody, but the best they could offer me was a bizarre mess of credits that roughly equated to my initial discount and deal...all expiring at odd times.

That's the situation I'm left in now. I might leave if not for the initial investment. Didn't want to be locked in to two years so I opted to pay some more up front and a bit more per month. Glad I did so at least I have the option.

I've never found an honest ISP. Seriously. When you're as big as Qwest or AT&T or Comcast, etc...you'll get lucky sometimes and just have smooth sailing...but just as often, well...

Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug.

cowboyxjon · 05-13-2010, 08:14 AM

Sorry to hear you're having problems with Comcast. I live in SE Denver and while Comcast isn't my favorite company, I have had NO problems with my internet service for as long as I've lived in Denver (~4 years).

chilicheesefries · 05-13-2010, 09:59 AM

I too have had Comcast and Qwest (Qwest right now). Comcast was fine but dropped connection a lot for me too. I had to restart the modem several times a week. I had the same billing problems with Comcast where I had signed up for the special 'online' price and it kept billing at the regular rate. And then I had called about adding some service and they had quoted me a price. When I called back to get that deal they had no idea what I was talking about! I talked to several people and nobody knew! The final straw was when they raised to cable prices again so I split up my services - Dish Network and Qwest for internet.

Qwest has been alright. Speeds are better than with Comcast for similar 'levels' that I've had. There was a period of about 2 weeks when the connection would reset a few times a day but before that and since then I have not ever had to reset. No billing problems - just the same amount every month. Don't like having to have signed a contract though. It shows as being up in December 2010 although I would argue that it should be up already. I had started with them with home phone also in March 2008 and then dropped the phone. They 'restarted' the internet as a new 'stand-alone' account and restarted the counter. Before I dropped they had told me that it wouldn't extend the contract. I haven't felt the need to call and argue because I haven't had a reason to drop it yet. That may change if Dish kills their DVRs. We hardly watch live TV so this would cause me to drop them the next day. And then I might consider going back to Comcast for internet/cable (at least the intro price would be good).

emgalvin1 · 05-13-2010, 10:34 AM

I had Qwest when we first moved here; I was paying almost $100 for just internet and it was extremely slow. I switched to Comcast and got cable and internet and my bill is about $87 every month. For the most part the internet is fine, but we have had some problems with comcast ordering pay-per-view events and them charging us twice, or it not working at all and having to pay for it anyway. I think they both have their pros and cons, but ultimately it's just choosing the lesser or two evils (which one that is is yet to be determined). I think you will have good and bad experiences with both.

I'm curious if anyone has satellite does it drop out when there's a storm? Do you prefer satellite over cable?

chilicheesefries · 05-13-2010, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emgalvin1

I had Qwest when we first moved here; I was paying almost $100 for just internet and it was extremely slow.
I'm curious if anyone has satellite does it drop out when there's a storm? Do you prefer satellite over cable?

How were you paying almost $100 per month???? Do they even have a package that expensive? I have stand-alone 7 mbps for $46.99. I would be fine with either service but Comcast is really expensive without a cable package so I won't carry them stand-alone.

The satellite does go out when there's a storm sometimes. Actually what happens is the 'dish' gets blocked by the snow and won't reflect the signal. The solution is to get out a broom and ladder and clean it off (don't get it put high up on your roof!). I definitely like the programming and DVR better than with Comcast (don't know why since the channels are similar - I just like it better). I like the Sirius/XM radio stations as well. Of course I don't like it that much better that I would not switch to Comcast if the price was right or the DVR was gone. Don't have experience with DirectTV.

emgalvin1 · 05-16-2010, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chilicheesefries

How were you paying almost $100 per month???? Do they even have a package that expensive? I have stand-alone 7 mbps for $46.99. I would be fine with either service but Comcast is really expensive without a cable package so I won't carry them stand-alone.

The satellite does go out when there's a storm sometimes. Actually what happens is the 'dish' gets blocked by the snow and won't reflect the signal. The solution is to get out a broom and ladder and clean it off (don't get it put high up on your roof!). I definitely like the programming and DVR better than with Comcast (don't know why since the channels are similar - I just like it better). I like the Sirius/XM radio stations as well. Of course I don't like it that much better that I would not switch to Comcast if the price was right or the DVR was gone. Don't have experience with DirectTV.

I don't know; I was wondering that myself. My boyfriend was the one who actually called and ordered the service. I think that the advertised price was $69.99, but for two months in a row my bill was $100.

Thanks for the info about satellite!

Currency Pair Crocodile · 05-17-2010, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maximusmgm

I've had Qwest for over four years now and have been happy with my service. I'm an IT guy (read: picky about my internet connection) and I recommend it!

They need to grow up and do fibre optics everywhere. They are still dodging me on it that they have it only in a few select areas.

Otherwise, they are good.