Comcast vs Qwest for internet (in Uptown) (rental, how much)

[Isabel_009]

I'm with Comcast but I'm moving soon and I'm considering a switch. Comcast just keeps trying to gauge me like crazy...I'm fed up. Can anyone tell me about their experiences with either company? Qwest seems to charge more when one doesn't also order phone service. Also, I would be getting the 7mbp speed...they don't advertise it as being fast enough for Skype but hey, maybe that's just marketing. Any insights would be appreciated!!

Thanks..

[Radical_Car]

My sister has charter and they charge her more to for just internet then they do with internet and cable.

[Norsky1]

I have Qwest and new customers can lockin a price for life for just internet.

[gweilo845]

7 mpbs is more than fast enough for Skype. I have that plan and I'm easily able to do things like Skype, Netflix streaming, online gaming, etc.

Qwest does charge more if you don't have phone service, but their price isn't that much more than Comcast, and they don't have a bandwidth cap like Comcast.

One thing you might want to try is to call Comcast and tell them you're going to switch. Usually that will get them to give you a discounted rate, at least for a few months.

[DaPerpKazoo]

I've certainly fought my battles with Comcast...

Their business practices are so horrid, and their customer service so bad, I feel guilty for being a customer.

There have been times where they've throttled my supposedly 20 mbit download speed to around 500kbs for extended periods, times where the service would go down completely for REGULAR periods (same time every day), threatening to cut my service because when their technician came out to replace their modem (which they wanted to make me pay for, even though it was their tech who put the signal amp on the line) he discovered that I had several "unauthorized" modems hooked up to the line (so if you're not renting a modem from them, it's unauthorized to hook it up to your line), ect. One not to mention that they are constantly battling the FCC over how much control they can have over their customers' data.

What a crappy company. Too bad I need to use their service if I want to continue hosting LANs.

[Radical_Car]

Originally Posted by DaPerpKazoo

I've certainly fought my battles with Comcast...

Their business practices are so horrid, and their customer service so bad, I feel guilty for being a customer.
What a crappy company. Too bad I need to use their service if I want to continue hosting LANs.

This sounds like every cable company in existance. I hear everyone complain about Charter here in Central MN but if they were able to switch to a different company they would still have the same problems and still would complain. If you were able to switch to a different company like Charter you would still have problems and crappy customer service and everything.

[Thegonagle]

I've used both at two different addresses. At the moment, I prefer and use Qwest.

Comcast has always had more available speed, but the service has gone out on me (from a few hours to a day or so) more than once at each address, and they charge a premium. Comcast also sneaks in a rental fee for the cable modem.

Qwest seems more reliable to me than Comcast (I can't remember a single outage that resetting the modem didn't fix immediately), and I pay less per month. The speed is definitely good enough for me. I'm paying for 7M down/896K up, and a quick speed test just gave me 6.7/820, so it's pretty close. Qwest included a "free" DSL modem with a nice built-in wireless router (YMMV, I think they normally charge about $100 for the wireless model, but they had a promo for me), so there is no rental fee, and I was able to unplug my separate Linksys wireless router.

Comcast, when it's working properly, has really got it going on. That Comcast SpeedBoost is no joke... unless it's funny how seldom it works as advertised. Qwest just frustrates me less. There's no speed boost, but the service has been consistent, and slightly more affordable.

Qwest also seems nicer over the phone, but for all I know, that's just window dressing. Reliability, pricing, and speed (in that approximate order) are most important, and Qwest meets my needs, so I plan to stay with them for the time being. It just works.

[adamforum]

I've used both and I have both good and bad to say about each.

Good things:
Qwest (who I am with currently) has been reliable in all three locations I've used them -- no outages for several years *knock on wood*

Qwest will allow you to subscribe to DSL without requiring you to subscribe to phone service or any of their other products.

Qwest: Offers 896k upload rates on their 1.5Mbps and 7Mbps plans. Typically I have received what they advertise.

Comcast: If you want cable TV, you can get it with your Internet at a fairly decent price.

Bad things:
Qwest: Completely incompetent and/or dishonest when transferring service account to a new address. I will NEVER transfer an account. Highly recommend you always close an account and re-open a new account if you want to continue service.

Qwest: I'm paying $50 a month for 1.5MBps down/896k up -- that is a trash connection for that money. I have a buddy (different state) paying $40/month for 15MBps down, 5 Mbps up (Verizon FiOS) -- freaking faster and $10 cheaper!

Comcast: Only has ~390k upload speeds (last I checked), unless you subscribe to their business packages -- the base business package is $60 (only $10 more than I pay now) and offers significantly better speeds than DSL or home cable.

Comcast: I had a very hard time getting them to CLOSE my account when I moved. It literally took them 3 months (I was refunded for the billing) but had to drive to their office and fill out a bunch of nonsense paper work, show ID, etc. to certify that yes, those 20 phone calls where I said "CLOSE MY ACCOUNT" I really meant it.

Comcast: I had Time Warner's business Internet service before Comcast took over. Comcast did not have the reverse DNS for their IPs setup correctly and I found it impossible to get in touch with anyone at Comcast that had a clue or even the means to escalate the issue to someone that might.

All in all, they've both cheesed me off. I've been contemplating going to Comcast just so I can qualify for the promotional rates from Qwest again in the future (I hate playing that game, but they love it). Also, I recommend avoiding all contracts -- they are designed to screw y0u over.