Review by redhatnation 
UPDATED: 246 days ago
member for 4.4 years, 1326 visits, last login: 1 days ago
 Woodbridge,Prince William,VA
 Business customer
 $89 per month (36 month contract)
 about 7 days
 "Delivery time, professional installer, cost of service, equipment, and absurdly fast speed!"
 "36month contract (can probably get it for less), static IP is expensive"
 "Comcast Business Internet is a winner for power-users"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
UPDATE: 3/27/09
I upgraded to Comcast Business Class Internet and VoIP about 10 days ago. The Business Class Internet package is called "Preferred" and comes with 16Mbps down / 2Mbps up. It costs $89.95/month. I added a single static IP for $14.95/month (too expensive in my opinion). The VoIP package is "Business Class Voice" costs $49.95/month. (Still cheaper than a local Verizon line). Total monthly recurring cost for everything is $138.95.
Total delivery time was less than two weeks. That included time required to port my Verizon telephone number to Comcast. During the porting process, Comcast contacted me regularly with status updates. The Comcast installer tech was professional and got the job done quickly. He even managed to handle my home alarm system and finding the Verizon demarc to my home.
The service itself has been just awesome! The speed increase (from 8/2 to 16/2) has been wonderful. Using the Comcast speedtest site gets me between 16 to 20Mbps down and 2-3Mbps up. Informal voice testing using friends and family have generated comments like, "your voice sounds deeper" and "voice sounds great". The static IP was setup remotely by a Comcast tech in less than 5 minutes. The VoIP connection includes voicemail and caller ID.
Comcast installed an SMC 8014 router (set to bridge mode) and an Arris eMTA box for VoIP. The SMC was, practically, a drop-in replacement for the older residential cable modem. Those of you with your own routers (Cisco, Juniper, etc) will have NO problems with the SMC 8014. Just ensure you ask that it be set to bridge mode BEFORE Comcast installs it.
The one time I called Business Tech Support was to get the static IP setup. Even that was a pleasure. There were no hoops to jump through, no tier-1 techs asking me to reboot my modem or read some troubleshooting 101 flowchart. Within 2 minutes, I was connected to someone who could assign the IP, test it, and ensure everything was working.
The only drawback, besides the contact length and the cost of the static IP, was the heat generated by the SMC router. The bottom of it, around the area of the SMC sticker, gets very warm. Do not leave the router sitting on anything important or a carpet. My fix was to raise each end of the SMC router so that air can flow underneath it. Problem solved.
It's only been about 10 days but I'm having a blast with this service. Highly recommended.
UPDATE: 12/22/08
The fastest residential service in the area still delivers exceptional uptime and reliability. No downtime since Comcast split the local nodes. None. For a residential product, that is just absurd. I'm paying $55/month for the Blast! package -- which offers up to 20Mbps down / 4Mbps up with PowerBoost. Normal speeds are 8Mbps / 1Mbps (I think). No complaints here. Service just works. Comcast HSI in 22192 zip code is becoming as reliable as the power company. It's always on and always there.
UPDATE: 3/24/08
Still going strong in 22192 zip code. Ever since Comcast swept through the neighborhood and upgraded/split nodes, things have been wonderful. I've had the same IP for months now. Very reliable. Can't remember the last time Comcast HSI was down. Would recommend.
UPDATE: 9/24/07
I just rejoined Comcast with the 8Mbps package. Price is about $52/month. They recently finished upgrading nodes in my area. Service is faster than before. An absolute joy to use. Blisteringly fast speeds. The cable modem is the standard RCA DCM6xxx. Nothing fancy about it. Service was provisioning at a local Comcast office in 22192 zip code.
Self-install kit has a new look but comes with the same gear. The install CD is just awful though. Halfway through the self-provisioning process -- where it connects to comcast, creates my accounts, and provisioning my modem -- the CD quits with a 404 error message complaining about unable to reach a certain comcast site. (No Joke). I power cycle my gear, wait a minute, then start again. This time I get a different error. After trying the install CD on several different computers -- both PC and Mac -- I reach an impasse. 24hrs later, I try one last time. Same error. I cycle my gear one last time. Now things are working. Go figure.
Once service was up and running, it's been fast, fast, fast. Whatever upgrade work Comcast performed in my neighborhood was worth it.
I switched from Verizon DSL. Main reason for switching was for on-line gaming. With Verizon, I was getting higher than normal pings and RTTs. With Comcast, it's game-on, baby!
UPDATE: March/April 2007: Comcast started upgrading service nodes in my area. My neighborhood received no advance notice of the upgrades. No telephone calls. No postcards in the mail. Nothing. Service just went off-line. Upon calling Comcast, I was told service could be disrupted for up to 2 weeks and that I could "apply for a credit" after the work is complete.
Traded in my Comcast cable modem for Verizon Online DSL the same day.
June 2006:
Recently moved to 22192 zip code. Picked up a Comcast self-install kit in the morning. Was online by the afternoon. Speed has been greasy fast. Connection has been always on since installation. It has only been a month though. The self-install kit was extremely easy to use. Local Comcast staff at the Dale City, VA office were extremely friendly. Local Usenet provider is comcast (no giganews accounts here) and access is very fast. Unsure about any Usenet cap. I don't use Comcast email so I can't comment on it. I am an online gamer and speed/ping time has been exceptional.
Download speed ranges from 460-500KBps. Just an amazing provider in the 22192 zip code.
Ordered standard tier service, which I thought was 3Mbps/256k. Looks like the 4Mbps upgrade is already here though. Price is $29.95 but I didn't sign up for a promotion -- might have got one anyway because the Comcast staff was so darn helpful. I heard the usual price is around $40/month. Cable Modem is a Motorola SB5120. Dynamic IP.
I haven't tried Comcast technical support. Haven't had the need.
9 month review: A few outages. Nothing more than a couple of hours though. Two involved CATV. Speed is still good. No problems with the cable modem. Called Comcast Tech Support once during an outage. They already had an automated status message with estimated repair time. Very happy with service.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Comcast |
|
Comcast
