# Comcast Bastards **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 13, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248 "2014-02-13T15:02:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/41 "2014-02-15T04:10:48Z")
1st world problems. Wah! I want my cable TV to be faster! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/42 "2014-02-15T08:56:14Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Lieberman better not take Comcast’s side or the junior Senator from Minnesota will shut him down like last time. Would that be “Fightin’ Joe” Lieberman, the ex-Senator? Who’s name is not mentioned in the cited article? Some other Lieberman, who’s name is also not mentioned? What the hell are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/43 "2014-02-15T09:32:05Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > 1st world problems. Wah! I want my cable TV to be faster! Oh my GOD YES!!! ::rents garments:: Surely I can lead a more pious life! Thank you, Good Sir, for shining the light on this seething underbelly of turpitude that haunts us all! FORSOOTH! [We must repent!](http://youtu.be/zvU4CC6s2e4) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/44 "2014-02-15T14:58:47Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > 1st world problems. Wah! I want my cable TV to be faster! Its not just to download media faster, a faster internet in cities in the US that have them have seen internet entrepreneurs become drawn to those cities to set up shop (Kansas city, Chattanooga, etc). Besides, the fact that we in the US have to pay more for inferior service because our government has been captured by moneyed interests is a pretty serious problem. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/45 "2014-02-15T16:02:19Z")
Its their country. We just rent. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/46 "2014-02-15T16:40:31Z")
Hey, let’s go one better. This morning I was unable to sign onto this board. For some reason my password wasn’t working. I tried the password reset email. Didn’t get an email. Tried it twice more. Still no emails. Went for a walk for over an hour (5 degrees. Hey, I’m a Minnesotan, dammit!) Came back, tried the Lost Username/Password link. Still no dice. Emailed TubaDiva. She passed it on to Jerry Davis. _ **Jerry determined that Comcast was blocking the password reset emails.** _ :smack: Thankfully, he was able to reset my password for me and send it to me. \*\*FUCKING COMCAST!!! \*\* And much much thanks to TubaDiva and Jerry! ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/47 "2014-02-15T17:09:27Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Of all the places where I might have guessed you have a choice of cable providers, “a small town in South Dakota” was not one of them. I didn’t think you people even _had_ cable. 😃 > > Why would you have lost your cell number? Because I would rather go back to using tin cans and string than have my cell service through AT&T. Disclaimer: I do have my home internet through U-Verse. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/48 "2014-02-15T17:10:40Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Yeah, but they spend most of their time working to prevent another Janet Jackson Superbowl Nipple Tragedy. We still have not fully recovered from the JJSNT, another one would tear this nation apart! And you know… Janet Jackson does come equipped with TWO nipples. We’ve only seen one so far… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/49 "2014-02-15T17:15:55Z")
Keeping us all abreast of the latest news, I see. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/50 "2014-02-15T17:28:19Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Its not just to download media faster, a faster internet in cities in the US that have them have seen internet entrepreneurs become drawn to those cities to set up shop (Kansas city, Chattanooga, etc). > > **Besides, the fact that we in the US have to pay more for inferior service because our government has been captured by moneyed interests is a pretty serious problem.** It is. Isn’t there some merit though, to the argument that the USA, with it’s size, is difficult to “hardwire”? Large urban centers don’t have a good excuse, but what about the other 85% of the country? ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bruce\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/51 "2014-02-15T17:49:34Z")
I believe that is part of the problem. I’ve been hearing lately that South Korea has the fastest average download speed of any other country in the world. Considering about 20 percent of the South Korean poplulation lives in Seoul and that the country itself is half the size if Minnesota, I can see how that is possible. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/52 "2014-02-15T19:01:12Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > _ **Jerry determined that Comcast was blocking the password reset emails.** _ Oh, Time Warner is way ahead of you there! They’ve been blocking SDMB emails to my Roadrunner account for years. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/53 "2014-02-15T20:32:29Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > It is. Isn’t there some merit though, to the argument that the USA, with it’s size, is difficult to “hardwire”? Large urban centers don’t have a good excuse, but what about the other 85% of the country? But no-one is arguing, as far as i can tell, that people living in small towns and remote areas should expect that they will be as well served by cable internet as people in large cities. The problem with the US is that even the large cities, for the most part, can’t compete with the price/speed combinations available in other cities of comparable size and wealth around the world. About a year and a half ago, the New America Foundation published a study titled [The Cost of Connectivity](http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/the_cost_of_connectivity), which compared cable and internet services available in a range of American and foreign cities. They compared the cost in each city of a “triple play” package that bundled TV, internet, and telephone, and they also looked at the fastest available internet service that you could get for the equivalent of $US 35. In terms of the “triple play” package, no package available in American cities makes the list until position number 30. Additionally, the first four American triple play packages (positions 30-33) offer internet download speeds of under 10 Mbps, while cheaper packages in cities like Seoul, Paris, Riga, London, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Hong Kong offer internet connections ranging from 16-500 Mbps for much less money. In terms of the best internet available for $35, the only US city to make the top 10 was San Francisco, where some residents (a very small percentage of the city) can get 200 Mbps fiber for that price. No other American cities appear until number 15 on the list. Interestingly, the study had this to say about San Francisco: > [@](#): > > One key factor is the presence of local ISPs. Compared to the other U.S. cities surveyed in this report, the Bay Area broadband market is the most diverse, boasting several popular local ISPs that deliver high-speed wireless and fiber access to residences and businesses. In addition to offering faster speeds than Comcast and Verizon, these ISPs tend to have lower prices and do not bind their customers to lengthy contracts. These ISPs have injected a competitive, innovative element to San Francisco’s broadband market. And, continuing the discussion about competition: > [@](#): > > Although various factors contribute to the cost and speed of Internet access in a community, a critical factor is competition. In markets where connections tend to be more affordable and faster, customers have access to at least three competitive ISPs offering similar plans. In the majority of U.S. cities, most consumers have a choice between a local telephone company and local cable company. According to the 2010 National Broadband Plan, 78 percent of households in the U.S. have a choice between two providers, while an additional 13 percent have just one option. It’s worth noting, too, that even in places where there is nominal competition between cable and telephone, someone who wants decent internet speeds often only has a single choice. If your phone company (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) hasn’t rolled out its fiber network to you place, there’s a good chance that the best internet you can get from them is much, much slower than similarly-priced cable. I could get AT&T for $29.95 a month but, as i said in an earlier post, the highest speed they offer to my building is 1.5 Mbps. I get almost 20x that speed with cable, and i’m on the third tier of cable speed. For all intents and purposes, AT&T is not really competing with Cox for internet customers in my area. This is not just about speed, although 1.5 megabits is completely inadequate for anything beyond basic web browsing. It’s about costs, and about the principle of competition. My 25 Mbps connection is plenty fast enough for me. I can watch MLB streaming in hi-def upstairs while my wife watches Netflix streaming in hi-def downstairs. That’s about as hard as we ever hit our connection, and we’ve never had any trouble. When i’m downloading large files, any lack of speed generally seems to be more a product of the server at the other end than of my internet speed. A 100 or 500 megabit service probably wouldn’t noticeably improve my internet experience. But, as i said earlier, the complete absence of real competition means that i have to bend over and take it whenever Cox decides to raise their rates, as they did this month. It also means that, for people whose service suffers from outages or other quality problems, there is really no way to solve the problem because they’re trapped with their provider. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/54 "2014-02-15T20:47:31Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > It is. Isn’t there some merit though, to the argument that the USA, with it’s size, is difficult to “hardwire”? Large urban centers don’t have a good excuse, but what about the other 85% of the country? I’m not an IT expert, but if Kansas City, Provo UT and Chattanooga TN can have fiber optics that cost $70/month and at that price the companies are still afloat then it should work in many other places. The US has a very dense urban population about 10% of the country lives in the metro area of LA and NYC alone. Provo UT only has 100k people but google fiber was able to set up shop there. The 3 cities listed are medium sized cities. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/55 "2014-02-15T21:08:50Z")
As an addendum in these cities with 100k people that have google fiber, google offers a 5mbps download/1mbps upload connection for a flat $300 one time fee, then it is free for 7+ years (and possibly free forever). In many parts of the country you have to pay $50/month for 5mbps down/1mbps up speeds. That is money that people aren’t able to spend on food, medical care, education, etc. because they have to pay $600/yr every year instead of a one time $300 fee. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/56 "2014-02-15T21:47:10Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I’m not an IT expert, but if Kansas City, Provo UT and Chattanooga TN can have fiber optics that cost $70/month and at that price the companies are still afloat then it should work in many other places. Chattanooga’s fiber network was built by the city. Provo’s fiber network was built by a [public-private partnership](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IProvo), which basically went out of business and was bought by Google. And the Kansas City fiber network was built by Google. IN other words, all three examples were subsidized. It’s not clear that any for-profit company would have created a fiber network in any of those places (although I doubt it). Now it may make long-term sense for the cities to build these networks if they attract residents and businesses but it’s difficult to justify on its own. (Sort of like the way that the interstate highways cost a vast amount of public money but have encouraged economic activity.) ---
**Author:** ![compositejoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/compositejoe/32/7232_2.png) [@compositejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/compositejoe)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/57 "2014-02-15T22:15:56Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > But no-one is arguing, as far as i can tell, that people living in small towns and remote areas should expect that they will be as well served by cable internet as people in large cities. The problem with the US is that even the large cities, for the most part, can’t compete with the price/speed combinations available in other cities of comparable size and wealth around the world. > > About a year and a half ago, the New America Foundation published a study titled [The Cost of Connectivity](http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/the_cost_of_connectivity), which compared cable and internet services available in a range of American and foreign cities. They compared the cost in each city of a “triple play” package that bundled TV, internet, and telephone, and they also looked at the fastest available internet service that you could get for the equivalent of $US 35. > > In terms of the “triple play” package, no package available in American cities makes the list until position number 30. Additionally, the first four American triple play packages (positions 30-33) offer internet download speeds of under 10 Mbps, while cheaper packages in cities like Seoul, Paris, Riga, London, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Hong Kong offer internet connections ranging from 16-500 Mbps for much less money. > > In terms of the best internet available for $35, the only US city to make the top 10 was San Francisco, where some residents (a very small percentage of the city) can get 200 Mbps fiber for that price. No other American cities appear until number 15 on the list. Interestingly, the study had this to say about San Francisco:And, continuing the discussion about competition:It’s worth noting, too, that even in places where there is nominal competition between cable and telephone, someone who wants decent internet speeds often only has a single choice. > > If your phone company (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) hasn’t rolled out its fiber network to you place, there’s a good chance that the best internet you can get from them is much, much slower than similarly-priced cable. I could get AT&T for $29.95 a month but, as i said in an earlier post, the highest speed they offer to my building is 1.5 Mbps. I get almost 20x that speed with cable, and i’m on the third tier of cable speed. For all intents and purposes, AT&T is not really competing with Cox for internet customers in my area. > > This is not just about speed, although 1.5 megabits is completely inadequate for anything beyond basic web browsing. It’s about costs, and about the principle of competition. My 25 Mbps connection is plenty fast enough for me. I can watch MLB streaming in hi-def upstairs while my wife watches Netflix streaming in hi-def downstairs. That’s about as hard as we ever hit our connection, and we’ve never had any trouble. When i’m downloading large files, any lack of speed generally seems to be more a product of the server at the other end than of my internet speed. A 100 or 500 megabit service probably wouldn’t noticeably improve my internet experience. > > But, as i said earlier, the complete absence of real competition means that i have to bend over and take it whenever Cox decides to raise their rates, as they did this month. It also means that, for people whose service suffers from outages or other quality problems, there is really no way to solve the problem because they’re trapped with their provider. Never mind speeds ranging from 16-500 Mbps in London, in some areas of London, you can get speeds at a maximum of 1000 Mbps! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/58 "2014-02-15T22:24:47Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > This is not just about speed, although 1.5 megabits is completely inadequate for anything beyond basic web browsing. It’s about costs, and about the principle of competition. My 25 Mbps connection is plenty fast enough for me. I can watch MLB streaming in hi-def upstairs while my wife watches Netflix streaming in hi-def downstairs. That’s about as hard as we ever hit our connection, and we’ve never had any trouble. When i’m downloading large files, any lack of speed generally seems to be more a product of the server at the other end than of my internet speed. A 100 or 500 megabit service probably wouldn’t noticeably improve my internet experience. A 100 or 500 megabit service might not improve your internet experience as you’re now using it, but if such speeds were more commonly available (or if gigabit service was available), your experience might change, as services and programs become available to take advantage of those fast speeds. In other words, 25 Mbps is good enough now, because the services you’re now using are optimized for that speed. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/59 "2014-02-15T22:49:33Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > A 100 or 500 megabit service might not improve your internet experience as you’re now using it, but if such speeds were more commonly available (or if gigabit service was available), your experience might change, as services and programs become available to take advantage of those fast speeds. In other words, 25 Mbps is good enough now, because the services you’re now using are optimized for that speed. Sure. But how about baby steps? Right now, i think there would be more general benefit in improving choice among providers, which might allow a higher percentage of the population to have even adequate speeds. And greater real competition might actually encourage the building out of faster, better networks. Anyway, i think that more competition would end up producing more choice _and_ lower prices _and_ better speeds. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248/60 "2014-02-15T23:45:25Z")
Competition would be nice, but I’m not sure how many companies would be interested in building out the infrastructure. I think what is important is that the broadband providers like Comcast, AT&T Uverse and Verizon Fios have to treat all content equally, so that they’re offering true “network neutrality”. Otherwise, Comcast might choose to throttle Netflix, Amazon or Hulu’s service to encourage people to stick with Comcast’s cable service instead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comcast-bastards/681248.md?page=4)