Search:  

 
 
   News
newer
story category Comcast Vs. Fios
Comcast Rep: 'It's not the speed....'
(old news - 12:14PM Monday Feb 07 2005)
tags: Fiber · competition · bandwidth · cable
"We like to say that it’s not just the speed, but what you can do with it," suggests an Indiana Comcast spokesman in response to Verizon's Fios (fiber to the home) deployment plans in Fort Wayne. "We think we’re in a pretty good position to compete with Verizon already; they’re just getting around to what we’ve been doing for six years now," he says. Verizon claims they'll spend up to $75 million to pass 65,000 homes in that area within two years.

Related:
  1. Cable Has Prime Cellular Backhaul Opportunity
  2. Who Wins: Fios or DOCSIS 3.0?
  3. Verizon to Comcast : Beat 400Mbps FiOS
  4. Symmetrical FiOS Expansion Official
  5. Verizon In No Rush To Go Pure IPTV
  6. Cox: DOCSIS 3.0 Upgrades By Third Quarter
  7. Thursday Morning Links
  8. Thursday Evening Links
Forums » Comcast Vs. Fios
view: topics flat text 
Post a:
page: 1 · 2

rockinturbo

join:2001-12-21
Fort Wayne, IN


edit:
February 7th, @12:55PM

limited newsgroup usage

"We like to say that it’s not just the speed, but what you can do with it," suggests an Indiana Comcast spokesman "
comcrap has limited newsgroup think 1-2 gigs a month.

3/256 that slows down when more people are on it the week ends are terrible.yeah I'd say they can compete with FIOS 5/2 (the slowest speed) maybe this guy has drifted down the street to the rock (bar down the street from there ft. Wayne office)for his lunch to many time.If he actually thinks comcast has been providing the same thing for the last 6 years.
edited because I just woke up and typed 768 instead of 256.was thinking of my old roadrunner tele worker acount in Ohio.

dadkins
Go For It
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast

Re: limited newsgroup usage

3/768? From Comcast? If you are still getting 3mbps, then your upload is 256k. If you either have the speed upgrade or the $10.00 extra without the upgrade, it's 4mbps/384k. If you have the $10.00 extra *AND* the upgrade, it's 6mbps/768.

I have the $10.00 extra without the upgrade(yet) and get:

TCP/Web100 Network Diagnostic Tool v5.2.1e
click START to begin
Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done
running 10s outbound test (client to server) . . . . . 371.88Kb/s
running 10s inbound test (server to client) . . . . . . 4.08Mb/s

...rather consistantly, any time of the day - any day of the week. YMMV.

As to FIOS, maybe in a few *YEARS*, Verizon will decide to make it's way to my area... but by then, Comcast will likely have me to 10mbps.
Keep in mind, FIOS is in a VERY limited deployment. In the 3-5 years it will take Verizon to reach most of us, and if doesn't choke, there will probably be other players in the Fiber playground.

I'm not holding my breath.
--
No Firefox here, move along!

rockinturbo

join:2001-12-21
Fort Wayne, IN

Re: limited newsgroup usage

Most of the town will be done at the end of 2005

(scheaduled)ft.wayne newhaven and wayndale

deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast Workplace
·DSL EXTREME

said by dadkins See Profile:

running 10s outbound test (client to server) . . . . . 371.88Kb/s
running 10s inbound test (server to client) . . . . . . 4.08Mb/s

...rather consistantly, any time of the day - any day of the week. YMMV.
That's exactly the problem. Cable is a crap shoot. In my neighborhood, before DSL was available, everyone had Comcast since it was the only option. It was horrid. 200ms pings, fluxuating speeds, long periods of down time, etc. My friend on the other side of town (close to a CO where DSL was readily available) used to have ZERO problems. That's my beef with cable, you NEVER know what you're going to get. And it go down the toilet at any time. If 10 of your neihgbors all the sudden decide to get cable, you may be SOL.
--
"I drank what?" -Socrates

dadkins
Go For It
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast

Re: limited newsgroup usage

ALL of my neighbors *Do* have Comcast. DSL @ 384k down for $69.99 per month is not an option. DSL is also area/distance dependant! My pings to DSLR:
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\David Adkins>tracert www.dslreports.com

Tracing route to dslreports.com [209.123.109.175]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 2 ms 1 ms 3 ms 192.168.0.1
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 21 ms 19 ms 29 ms 12.244.97.97
4 14 ms 14 ms 10 ms 12.244.67.86
5 24 ms 13 ms 9 ms 12.127.32.65
6 10 ms 12 ms 12 ms tbr1-p012301.sffca.ip.att.net [12.123.13.173]
7 52 ms 52 ms 53 ms tbr1-cl1.cgcil.ip.att.net [12.122.10.5]
8 76 ms 74 ms 71 ms tbr1-cl1.n54ny.ip.att.net [12.122.10.1]
9 71 ms 72 ms 70 ms gar1-p3100.nwrnj.ip.att.net [12.123.214.181]
10 74 ms 71 ms 72 ms att-gige.esd1.nwr.nac.net [12.119.140.26]
11 71 ms 71 ms 71 ms 3.ge-3-0-0.gbr2.nwr.nac.net [209.123.11.189]
12 72 ms 71 ms 74 ms 0.so-0-3-0.gbr1.oct.nac.net [209.123.11.233]
13 87 ms 74 ms 74 ms www.dslreports.com [209.123.109.175]

Trace complete.
Works for me.
--
No Firefox here, move along!

deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast Workplace
·DSL EXTREME

Re: limited newsgroup usage

You can't tell just by how many of your neighbors have it. You have no idea how Comcast has their node structure organized.

ping yahoo.com 25 times in a row and look at the ping fluxuations. Mine used to be horrible, with spikes during the night up in the triple digits. Makes for crappy performance in real-time applications and gaming.


$ tracert www.dslreports.com

Tracing route to dslreports.com [209.123.109.175]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 <1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 10.0.0.1
2 11 ms 11 ms 11 ms adsl-66-218-55-1.dslextreme.com [66.218.55.1]
3 11 ms 11 ms 11 ms f0-1-1.cr1.sjc1.dslextreme.com [66.218.44.57]
4 11 ms 11 ms 11 ms GigabitEthernet4-3.GW2.SJC7.ALTER.NET [157.130.241.237]
5 11 ms 11 ms 11 ms POS4-0.XR1.SJC7.ALTER.NET [152.63.51.46]
6 12 ms 11 ms 11 ms POS5-0.XR1.SJC1.ALTER.NET [152.63.52.133]
7 11 ms 12 ms 12 ms 0.so-0-0-0.XL1.SJC1.ALTER.NET [152.63.55.114]
8 15 ms 15 ms 15 ms 0.so-3-0-0.TL1.SAC1.ALTER.NET [152.63.53.250]
9 78 ms 79 ms 78 ms 0.so-1-2-0.TL1.NYC9.ALTER.NET [152.63.10.77]
10 78 ms 78 ms 78 ms 0.so-5-0-0.XL1.NYC9.ALTER.NET [152.63.0.174]
11 78 ms 79 ms 80 ms POS6-0.GW1.NYC9.ALTER.NET [152.63.99.177]
12 80 ms 80 ms 80 ms nac-nj-oc12-gw.customer.alter.net [157.130.60.182]
13 81 ms 81 ms 80 ms 0.ge-0-0-0.gbr1.oct.nac.net [209.123.11.49]
14 81 ms 80 ms 80 ms www.dslreports.com [209.123.109.175]

Trace complete.


Granted, this is during the day so your numbers may be better than they would at night when more people are on and people have their TVs on and whatnot.

Look at the variance even now in your tracert. Not really anything bad at all, but I would regularly see all hops with variations of 50ms or more. In your case, either your neighbors are light users, or there are multiple nodes in your area, reducing the load at the aggregation point.

--
"I drank what?" -Socrates

PTA

@comcast.net

I have Cable Internet and there are a lot of people in my area that do. I have No problimes with Comcast. It is faster that Qwest's DSL Service. It also helped when AT&T Broadband upgraded our area, they put power boosters in when they first started with the upgrade to help with the problem.

deblin
Dark Side of the Moon
Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
Middletown, DE
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast Workplace
·DSL EXTREME

Re: limited newsgroup usage

What part of "it varies" am I not clearly communicating? No matter how many people report that it works great for them (or not), the fact remains that cable is a crap shoot. Thank you for proving my point. Nowhere did I say it was bad in all areas. And in heavily populated areas, some of the local cable companies go the extra mile (no pun intended) to "split nodes" or mitigate congestion. But many areas (mine notoriously) do not. Sucks for me, but luckily I have DSL available. Some in my area aren't so lucky.
--
"I drank what?" -Socrates

DadeMurphy
Rbettenc
Premium
join:2002-07-25
Lowell, MA
clubs:
·Comcast

Re: limited newsgroup usage

I know that in my area Cable is less of a crap shoot than DSL.

Verizon DSL in Danvers is notorious for their lack of uptime and constant crap pings.

With comcast I get stable pings and stable speeds, as does all my friends that live throughout the town.

My only issue was when Comcast upgraded to QAM 256 from QAM 64 and I had to throw a splitter on my line to stabilize the signal levels.
--
BLAHHH!

Wats it all about Al




from:
rrz103 See Profile

Um... if it's not about the speed... then what in the world is it about???

The portal? - nope

The Email - Nope

The wonderful; helpful; kind; courtious and knowledgable technical support - Nope

The Competitive prices for speeds - nope.

The ability for a provider to charge more than it's worth - YUP
Deathsadvoca

join:2003-08-20
South Lyon, MI
clubs:

Re: limited newsgroup usage

its about the invisible caps you hit on comcast's network. apparently they think thats a + (at least to there bottom line).

Voyager2K2

join:2001-10-04
Wayne, PA

TCP/Web100 Network Diagnostic Tool v5.3.3a
click START to begin
Checking for Middleboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Done
running 10s outbound test (client to server) . . . . . 735.92Kb/s
running 10s inbound test (server to client) . . . . . . 2.90Mb/s
Your PC is connected to a Cable/DSL modem

click START to re-test

That's me 24/7/365.
Unlimited newsgroup 7-10 days retention/completion/speed as good as the big boys an added $14.95/mo value included.
VOL DSL and FIOS is on the way this year in my area.
gamer999

join:2004-10-27
Richardson, TX

Re: guess again

since the upgrade i get 4236/365 and it's usually the same all the time sorry that your conncection sucks...

HotRodFoto
Premium
join:2003-04-19
Denver, CO

LOL

Ya that sounds like AOL lol Comcast, face it, is IS the speed! Cause without speed you can't do anything Face it, FIOS is gonna kick yer booty where it competes with you, in terms of speed and price. If it ever comes here, which I doubt, I would be gone in a second to FIOS.
--
All Things Arthttp://kkart.deviantart.com
DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19


edit:
February 7th, @12:12PM

Re: LOL

I use none of Comcast's "free" extras (email, usenet, video email, ftp, webspace, their "fan", or anything else on their portal). I don't even use their DNS server. Everything else I need I get from other providers.

What's left?
- reliability
- $$
- speed

In that order.

HotRodFoto
Premium
join:2003-04-19
Denver, CO

Re: LOL

same......I don't use anything that they offer. Not an ounce. For me its simply a connection. And speed for me matters greatly.
--
All Things Arthttp://kkart.deviantart.com

Tzale
Proud Libertarian Conservative
Premium
join:2004-01-06
NJ, USA
·Verizon FIOS
·Optimum Online

said by DonLibes See Profile:

I use none of Comcast's "free" extras (email, usenet, video email, ftp, webspace, their "fan", or anything else on their portal). I don't even use their DNS server. Everything else I need I get from other providers.

What's left?
- reliability
- $$
- speed

In that order.
You're far from the average user! Nine out of ten subscribers do not even know what a DNS server is. While I do agree Comcast is going to LOSE big time in this one, and this guy is just trying to keep the subscribers / media from going wild about how Comcast will be forced to give into FIOS in a few years.

-Tzale
--
"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."--Benjamin Franklinhttp://www.megaherz.com

fegul
Premium
join:2004-08-23
united state

I'm in Littleton too and I'd have to agree. What do they think customers want?
How many of you use the portal often?
How many of you use their photo slideshow software?
How many of you use video mail?
How many of you use the "free" trials of Mcafee they have on their site?

WHAT DO THEY THINK WE WANT?

b_zen
Premium
join:2002-07-24
Saint Louis, MO
clubs:

Re: LOL

It is not about what you want, but about the amount they can offer with their advertisement, justifying their price, or in their terms, their "value".
--

UWB over Wire is the future!

ficken
don't get any bright ideas
Premium
join:2000-10-07
11111
·RoadRunner Cable
·Vonage
·CableOne

It is the speed!

If FIOS or another fiber based service could be delivered where I live, Comcast would be gone. But since SBC management wants to sit on their hands I really doubt I will have a fiber to the node or curb service for a long, long time. I do hope that the fiber roll out prods the other telcos to get the idea about speed.
--
Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die

ogar

join:2001-12-05
Ephrata, PA
clubs:

it's Not the Speed?

Wow I have been a big supporter of comcast over the years and have been very cirtical of Verizon. But if that is the attitude of Comcast then I have a feeling that they will become the next AOL. Comcast can come up with any kind of flashy website and offer connent for download but this will not increase thier user base. There are other sites that will currenty offer better content for free then COmcast does and will continue to grow. When I look for an internet provider it is strictly for the maximum speed with a price point under 60$. Lets all hope Verizonz Fios will be a reality for many of us in the near future.

J D McDorce
Premium
join:2001-12-29
Westland, MI

Re: it's Not the Speed?

It's Not The Speed is a situational response. If the topic is comparison to Fios, the response is used. If the topic is comparison to DSL, it certainly appears that Comcast's response is It's The Speed of their product that differentiates it from DSL. Who says you can't have it both ways?
Yetskii

join:2002-03-01
Hazel Park, MI

Upload and price will win

I can do more with 2 meg upload than I can with Comcast piddly one.....especially at a cheaper price...

I hope they get to Michigan soon....
--
www.homelanfed.com
SoilFlames
Premium
join:2002-03-17
Andover, MN
clubs:

heh

That's what men who have small genitals say.

That's basically comcast saying that they can't compete with the speed so they are going to milk the content.

HotRodFoto
Premium
join:2003-04-19
Denver, CO

Re: heh

Yep! Sounds like AOL as I said.....lol

Derch
Premium
join:2004-10-16
Tulsa, OK

Bye bye Cable...

I'm going to agree with everyone against cable. There is more into fiber than cable.

b_zen
Premium
join:2002-07-24
Saint Louis, MO
clubs:
·TTNet


edit:
February 7th, @05:27PM

Re: Bye bye Cable...

Funny, but "cable" or "anything COAX" can get you up to 1.2Gbps over "wire" (coax)... And that's available now...

Edit: And no one has to give $50.- / foot to dig it either...
--


UWB over Wire is the future!
SoilFlames
Premium
join:2002-03-17
Andover, MN
clubs:

Re: Bye bye Cable...

yeah if you get rid of all the tv channels....comcast can't bank just on phone/internet yet anyway, unless they decide to do all tvondemand

b_zen
Premium
join:2002-07-24
Saint Louis, MO
clubs:
·TTNet

Re: Bye bye Cable...

said by SoilFlames See Profile:

yeah if you get rid of all the tv channels....
No, actually it's on top of your TV-channels...

»www.pulse-link.net
--

UWB over Wire is the future!
SoilFlames
Premium
join:2002-03-17
Andover, MN
clubs:

edit:
February 9th, @12:48PM

i appolegize for my ignorance...

That is nice news to hear that there is some competition to fiber that may cause faster rollouts of both technologies.

xdeadhead
220, 221, Whatever It Takes.
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Mechanicsburg, PA
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast

for many the bottom line will be

which greedy, non-caring, mega huge corporation do you want to give your hard earned money to? i for one hate having to pay the damn cable company any more than i have to (for example, i dont have digital cable and zero pay tv channels) and i run into people all the time who detest paying comcast anything but the bare minimum. other side of the issue is there are plenty of folks who say the same thing about verizon. there comes a point where the huge download speed issue is moot when all your kids care about is hogging up the computer with aol or bubster, or kazaa, or bearshare or whichever illegal file sharing app their friends are using. i will take the fios if it becomes available in my lifetime. til then i reluctantly use comcast cause right now i have no other viable broadband alternative. of course regulation for cable companies isnt far off either. so that is someting else to consider and prolly is being discussed right now in a different forum.

AthlGrond
Premium,MVM
join:2002-04-25
Aurora, CO
·Comcast

Re: for many the bottom line will be

I recommend that you boycott Comcast altogether that way you aren't giving any greedy mega huge corporations anything.

When they ask why you are canceling service, just tell them that they are a greedy mega huge corporation and you won't do business with them until they are both smaller and no longer greedy.

xdeadhead
220, 221, Whatever It Takes.
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Mechanicsburg, PA

Re: for many the bottom line will be

lol ok and i recommend you stfu, comcast shill.

AthlGrond
Premium,MVM
join:2002-04-25
Aurora, CO

Re: for many the bottom line will be



That's corporate shill to you boyo!
--
"I drank what?" -Socrates

xdeadhead
220, 221, Whatever It Takes.
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Mechanicsburg, PA

Re: for many the bottom line will be

boy? look around and see who joined here earliest then stfu again.

AthlGrond
Premium,MVM
join:2002-04-25
Aurora, CO

Re: for many the bottom line will be

So you don't want to stand on your principles and tell Comcast to shove it?

I guess you love them after all.

XBL2009
------

join:2001-01-03
Chicago, IL

15 megabits down and 2 megabits upload for $50

What a deal !!!!!!!!!!!!!
pan0k2

join:2004-08-07
Falls Church, VA

Re: 15 megabits down and 2 megabits upload for $50

Yeah, but nothing beats 4mbps/384kbps for $60.
achuchma

join:2001-04-11
Tampa, FL

SWEET!

Verizon has been deploying a lot of fiber down county roads in my area for the past several months (and they are not trunk lines to COs - They just terminate in the middle of nowhere).

Since I am not too far from Ft. Wayne, hopefully my area will be one of the next ones to be serviced!

WOO HOO! Go FIOS!
--
Playing the Tuba isn't an art, it's an adventure! http://www.lakesidepride.org

prestonlewis
Premium,MVM
join:2003-04-13
Sacramento, CA
·VoiceStick
·Comcast
·Pacific Bell - SBC
·DSL EXTREME
·Vonage
·VoicePulse

Sure I'd like FIOS but . . .

Comcast here in Sacramento used to be Sacramento Cable so I'm not sure if that is why I have excellent service and speeds (4200/384). No noticed outtages, everything seems perfect. SBC on the other hand is a horror with an old infrastructure, outtages due to water in the lines somewhere, and slow DSL because almost everyone is "too far from the CO".

We do have Roseville Telephone (Surewest now) laying fiber in SBC neighborhoods but alas, not in mine. I'd switch to Roseville Telephone in a heartbeat if they ever do lay fiber in my neighborhood. As for SBC, they expect to locate an RT in my nieghborhood in 2007 but that's a telco promise which is about as good as a snowball in you know where.

Telco promises in the last decade or two have largely been hot air. I'll believe widespread fiber implementation when I see it. They're already in debt from their mega mergers and laying fiber will cost billions but on the other hand, they'll go down like AT&T with the consumer market if they don't do anything. In the meantime, Comcast is offering local telephone service to me this year and I'll probably switch. At least where I live, Comcast is much superior to our telco, SBC.

See 10 replies to this post
xlimitx

join:2001-12-31
Wilkes Barre, PA

HDTV over FIOS

I just want to see how much of the 5Mbps pipe is left after 1 or 2 HDTV sessions are being pushed down that feed.

See 7 replies to this post
vic102482
Premium
join:2002-04-30
Upper Marlboro, MD
·Verizon FIOS

EXACTLY

Its not the speed but what you can do with it! Verizon doesnt offer caps, and has free newsgroup service! Comcast is like that car insurance place that gives lower quotes from competetors!! Except they do it out of stupidity!
--
I tie a rope around my penis and jump from a tree, don't you wanna grow up to be just like me!!!!

PGHammer

join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
·Comcast

Re: EXACTLY

CHSI *includes* newsgroup service (in fact, they resell GIGANEWS) with gigabyte monthly caps (since raised to two GB/month). The *only* time I ever cracked the caps is when I was snatching a lot of binaries (primarily porn, not MP3s, and *yes*, I'm over 21 by quite a bit) via USENET; since then, I have found a much more cap-friendly way of getting them (and no, it's not IRC). In fact, since I abandoned mining USENET for binaries, I've never come *close* to violating the old caps (let alone the newer caps).

Further, FIOS also prohibits servers under their TOS.

Yet, despite having had very little trouble out of CHSI (and I'm actually customer one in my small PG County, MD town!) for nearly five years, they reason that I *would* leave CHSI for FIOS has to do with bandwidth for the buck (FIOS' top-end residential tier is no more than I am paying today, yet I woud have three times greater bandwidth).

To paraphrase the current Bush's dad, "It's the bandwidth, stoopid."

Not the extras, but the core.
vic102482
Premium
join:2002-04-30
Upper Marlboro, MD
·Verizon FIOS

Re: EXACTLY

I understand that, but its also what you can do with that bandwith. I think newsgroup servers will be a huge selling point for verizon. Comcast newsgroup service is a joke. 1 gig cap is nothing nowadays.
--
I tie a rope around my penis and jump from a tree, don't you wanna grow up to be just like me!!!!

WaxPhoto
I AM SAM
Premium
join:2004-04-08
Roanoke, IN

Local Telco Politics

Please Read for the local telco politics situation:

»Project 1: Defeating Indiana House Bill 1148

I have both comcast and verizon, at 2 seperate locations (1 each place). Comcast is rated at 4 down 384 up. Verizon, because of the distance from CO (or so they claim) is at 768/128. Hopefully since they're building quarter million dollar homes down the street from us, there will be some incentive for FIOS to come to my location. The residence with comcast will be annexed by the city of Fort Wayne in 2006. The verizon location will not. BTW, Fort Wayne, once the annexation is completed will have around ~280,000 people. So if the house number is even vaguely close, the chance is pretty good we'll see FIOS through most of Fort Wayne. 280,000 people - nursing home residents - apartment or condo dwellers divided by 65,000 homes. Not too shabby if Verizon's claims hold up.
--
To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle. -George Orwell

jkelley199
Premium
join:2003-10-19
Wylie, TX
clubs:
·Verizon FIOS


edit:
February 7th, @12:54PM

Comcast Vs. FIOS

I can tell you this... I was on Comcast 3/256 for $52/month. Never had any issues except for the price. FIOS came in and I switched to 5/2 for $35/month. Duh Comcast, your problem IS speed AND cost! I know several people that have given Comcast the boot.

Oh yea, newsgroup caps don't exist as far as I know. On Comcast I blew through 1gig in less than an hour. Then you have to wait another month!!

PGHammer

join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
·Comcast

Re: Comcast Vs. FIOS

And I know why. It's the only reason I *ever* cracked the caps. *Binaries*. Once I found other sources for them, I stopped banging my head against them. (Yes, they're out there. And you don't have to resort to USENET mining to get them.) Because I don't frequent the binary newsgroups, I don't even come *close* to cracking the newsgroup caps.

If you stick strictly to non-binary newsgroups, you shouldn't come *close* to cracking the USENET caps.
Zorglub

join:2000-11-18
Fremont, CA

Comcast is afraid

that they won't be able to milk the broadband cow once fiber is there.

That's probably their biggest fear that prices will go down across the board on broadband access. That would hit their bottom line pretty bad. Damn, I just can't wait for it!!
LiLJohn

join:2003-01-05
Bowie, MD

Ditching Comcast

Once Verizon Fios comes to Bowie, Maryland, im ditching comcast ASAP.

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Site5.com
·AT&T Midwest
·Comcast

Re: Comcast is afraid

said by Zorglub See Profile:

that they won't be able to milk the broadband cow once fiber is there.

That's probably their biggest fear that prices will go down across the board on broadband access. That would hit their bottom line pretty bad. Damn, I just can't wait for it!!
There is a lot of dark fiber all over the place. The main reason why it hasn't been lit is because of the huge prices of the "last mile". Comcast has nothing to fear. FIOS isn't going to be mainstream anytime soon. In another 5 years, if FIOS becomes mainstream, Comcast may have something better out by then.

As for the prices going down, they have been about the same for a while. Back in 1997, you could get @Home for $35-$40 a month. Now, it costs just a little more than that about 8 years later. I would have to say that is a pretty good bargain. If you qualify for DSL, you can get off even cheaper than that. I love my SBC DSL and the price is quite nice. Wish I qualified for extra speed though.
--
My Domain
Nightfall's Hockey and Life Journal
Zorglub

join:2000-11-18
Fremont, CA

Re: Comcast is afraid

Isn't Comcast $45 for cable subscribers and $60 for non subscribers?

While I agree that Comcast is pretty safe right now, the coming years could (emphasis on could) be trying. AFAIK, fiber is the best thing out there performancewise, and that probably won't change in the next 10 years. So, once fiber is rolled out, the cable companies will have to make do with an inferior technology (coax).

Of course, in the case of SBC and its fiber to the node, that's pretty much the same as Comcast, so they should be pretty safe...
bchoate

join:2004-02-17
Logan, UT

In another 5 years, if FIOS becomes mainstream, Comcast may have something better out by then.
Of course they'll have something better out by then. 5 years is a long time in this industry. Do you remember where we were at speed-wise 5 years ago? In my town cable/DSL was just becoming available at 1500/256 for cable, now we're almost to 6000/768 (come march)... also consider that the last two increases have been withing about a year and a half. Now, almost anyone has access to cable, DSL, wireless, or any combination of the three.
gateguy
Premium
join:2001-02-12
Reisterstown, MD
·Verizon FIOS
·Comcast

Fiber

I can't even get DSL.

But if Verizon would just give me a spool of fiber, I would hang it from the poles, dig the trenches... whatever it would take (except I aint 'taking' anything to get it)


--
Lean to the left. Lean to the right. Repeat.Now that is wobbling

aSic
The Ultimate Slutpuppy
Premium
join:2001-05-17
Wakulla, FL
clubs:

Re: Fiber

I feel the same way.

Hell, if I could get DSL from my RT, I'd go install the dslam myself and punch my own lines.
b10010011
Whats a Posting tag?

join:2004-09-07
Bellingham, WA

So what can you do with it?

"We like to say that it’s not just the speed, but what you can do with it,"

WTF can you do on Comcast that you can not do on FIOS?

Its the same internet isn't it?
BosstonesOwn

join:2002-12-15
Everett, MA
clubs:
·Comcast
·Comcast Formerly ..

Re: So what can you do with it?

said by b10010011 See Profile:

"We like to say that it’s not just the speed, but what you can do with it,"

WTF can you do on Comcast that you can not do on FIOS?

Its the same internet isn't it?
Not in AOL errr Comcasts eyes
--
"It's always funny until someone gets hurt......and then it's absolutely friggin' hysterical!"

ColdFiltered

join:2005-01-25
Atlanta, GA

$1154/customer?

$75 Million for 65,000 customers sounds more like a marketing promotion than a real network evolution. And its an $1154 per customer marketing effort.

I would have found it more of an 'effort' had they spent at peast $7.5 Billion on 6.5 million customers.
Ahrenl

join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA
·Verizon FIOS

Re: $1154/customer?

They're spending several billion this year on FIOS networks.. it was just 75m on THOSE 65,000 customers.

The best thing about full fibre networks is the maintenance costs go way down. It's all passive. They're busy wiring here in the Northeast. I currently have the 6/768 comcast package, and my cable bill just went of $120's a month with this years price increases (on my cable portion of the bill). I'll definitely be getting the 5/2 package, as its really about getting the upload. Depending on the state of their DVR boxes I'll consider their cable service. Or if Comcast decides to charge cable users a fee if they don't have cable internet. I already have Verizon for phone, so that another $5's off! $35's for faster net service (almost NEVER use 6mb's, but ALWAYS cap my upload). yay.

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Site5.com
·AT&T Midwest
·Comcast

said by ColdFiltered See Profile:

$75 Million for 65,000 customers sounds more like a marketing promotion than a real network evolution. And its an $1154 per customer marketing effort.

I would have found it more of an 'effort' had they spent at peast $7.5 Billion on 6.5 million customers.
Welcome to the costs of the last mile. That is pretty good bulk pricing actually.

The only problem is if all those customers choose not to buy into the service. How many will buy in? Will the company be able to turn a profit if only 25% of those people buy into FIOS? How much will they charge?

That is the only problem with fiber. I would gladly pay the money for the last mile to get myself connected. Heck, for that matter, I would spend a couple thousand on a nice router, equipment, and such if I could get excellent Fiber service at a low cost. The only problem is the initial cost. We have run fiber in some of the plants I work at, and the equipment to interface with the fiber continues to be the highest cost.
--
My Domain
Nightfall's Hockey and Life Journal
BosstonesOwn

join:2002-12-15
Everett, MA
clubs:
·Comcast
·Comcast Formerly ..

Re: $1154/customer?

said by Nightfall See Profile:

said by ColdFiltered See Profile:

$75 Million for 65,000 customers sounds more like a marketing promotion than a real network evolution. And its an $1154 per customer marketing effort.

I would have found it more of an 'effort' had they spent at peast $7.5 Billion on 6.5 million customers.
Welcome to the costs of the last mile. That is pretty good bulk pricing actually.

The only problem is if all those customers choose not to buy into the service. How many will buy in? Will the company be able to turn a profit if only 25% of those people b