Comcast ripping me off? majorly?

XSeaNX · Post by **XSeaNX** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 9:27 pm

ok so I have Comcast HSI (heh big joke right?) anyway I have a line rated for 1.5megs down/128k up....when I test my speed I always get about 372(down)/118(up) kbps....exceptions to when I first got it and recieved around 1500 down/ 122 up ALL the time...but lately this is the best Ive gotten....ofcourse more usually around 500 down...anyway I did install that comcrap file and DID replace my registry files....but Im still getting this speed and have been for a good 3 months now.....I also rarely download over 125-150 and if I do its a very brief period for like 2 minutes maybe.

Is there something that I can fix myself or does this deserve a call to comcast? what do you guys think?

EDIT NOTE: tested at DSLreports for the 372 right before I posted...but I just received a Speed 894(down)/80(up) kbps on the california line after this post...just thought Id update (not that it changes much)

does this seem slow or is this about right for what Im paying?

ghost · Post by **ghost** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 10:27 pm

Do you have a choice? If DSL is faster in your specific area and is cheaper, change, if it makes you happy.

If you're like me, there's Comcast and 56k dialup, that's it. I'm too far away from the CO for DSL.

Bottom line: I pay for Comcast and whatever speed I can get out of it because I won't go back to 56k. Hopefully YOU have more options than I.

XSeaNX · Post by **XSeaNX** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 10:50 pm

unfortunately I dont because DSL is hella expensive (49 dollars for a base 5something line down) and I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO 56k however you did just open my eyes.

but I will tell you this...if I can call and squeeze a lil more bandwidth out of them because Im not happy then I will...I mean I pay for 1.5 down 128 up and thats not what Im getting....and Ive heard of peak and off peak hours....but whatI get is rediculous..lol

anyway....I agree with you but its not right them treating us bad because they have the monopoly of the market

ghost · Post by **ghost** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 11:06 pm

Yeah, I know what you mean, I get pissed sometimes myself, but for what I need my access for it's still pretty darn fast. I'm not a gamer, so I don't have to worry about speed as much, all I do is email and surf, and Comcast is still doing quite well for me.

On the other hand, if they promise minimum d/l speeds and are not delivering on that promise, then give them a call. If they promise as much as.... {insert d/l speed here}, then they got ya.

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 11:40 pm

You are lucky that you get 370 down. For the past one week I am getting only 150Kbps down. I might as well be using a 56K modem.

GrandFlash13 · Post by **GrandFlash13** » Sun Feb 17, 2002 12:12 pm

I believe he is getting 370kps not 370 Kps if I understand correctly. If that is so, then he would love to have 150Kps. Any way, have you checked your virus scan settings? Might seem silly but I was having a funky problem with my dl speed and it turned out that I just needed to turn of the web scan and reboot, not just turn of the web scan(go figure). Something to check, who knows.

XSeaNX · Post by **XSeaNX** » Sun Feb 17, 2002 4:17 pm

no thats 372kbps which is around 70 kbytes/sec so yeah THAT SUCKS since the lady at comcast said Id get around 600 kbytes/sec download ON AVERAGE.

I think Ill be making a call...

wee96 · Post by **wee96** » Sun Feb 17, 2002 5:16 pm

600kiloBYTES? Whoever you were speaking to is a moron. 1.5mbps = 187KBps, thats the MAX you will EVER POSSIBLY see on your Comcast connection (excluding bursts) and even that is very unlikely. The average with the new system is usually 1100/120kbps.

Originally posted by XSeaNX
no thats 372kbps which is around 70 kbytes/sec so yeah THAT SUCKS since the lady at comcast said Id get around 600 kbytes/sec download ON AVERAGE.

I think Ill be making a call...

Cable_Dood · Post by **Cable_Dood** » Sun Feb 17, 2002 6:02 pm

We hit the cap here consistently. I've never seen a download average out slower than 150Kps. A lot of systems have more than 200 users on an upstream port.....overloaded nodes are what kill speeds. If the bottleneck isn't at the node then it's at AT&T's POP. One of Comcast's big engineering objectives this year is to split overloaded nodes in markets that are underbuilt. It's a lot easier to do a node split with CHSI than is was with @Home.

Either way....speed test sites suck. Find a fast page and download a big file. I download netscape navigator....they have a fast page and don't get much traffic. hehehe.

TEH WIN · Post by **TEH WIN** » Sun Feb 17, 2002 6:33 pm

Comcast is not monopolizing the market. There is still DSL, 56k, and other cable providers

XSeaNX · Post by **XSeaNX** » Sun Feb 17, 2002 7:02 pm

lol hey I was just telling you what their "wonderfull" customer service said.....anyway thnx

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 9:23 am

I used to get 1.1 to 1.2 MBps all of January and Feb up until a week ago when my speed suddenly dropped down to 150Kbps.

I have tested my speed at three different speed test sites and they all more or less give identical results with minor differences.

Even without a speed test, the slow speed is obvious to me due to the long time it takes for every web page to load. It used to be like this when I used to have a 28.8 dialup connection. Comcast is not as bad as a 28.8 connection but not a great deal better either. I have been a @home user for 3 years now and am completely spoiled by the high speeds I used to get.

Arkie_VI · Post by **Arkie_VI** » Mon Feb 18, 2002 12:22 pm

Test running..........
** Speed 1257(down)/118(up) kbps **
(At least 25 times faster than a 56k modem)
Logged result.
Finish.

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Thu Feb 21, 2002 10:06 am

My speed seems to have increased a tiny little bit today:

Test running.........
** Speed 369(down)/113(up) kbps **
(At least 7 times faster than a 56k modem)
Logged result.
Finish.

[sarcasm mode on] 7 times faster than a 56 K modem. Boy am I lucky! [/sarcasm mode off]

Cable_Dood · Post by **Cable_Dood** » Thu Feb 21, 2002 10:16 am

Dude....escalate your problem. Call tech support 888-793-9800, get a ticket number, get up to tier 2, they will push it on up.

cyberskye · Post by **cyberskye** » Thu Feb 21, 2002 10:38 am

** Speed 280(down)/71(up) kbps **
(At least 5 times faster than a 56k modem)
Logged result.
Finish.

My speeds have hurt since beginning Feb (Alexandria VA). I spoke with some of my neighbors and we are all getting roughly the same speeds. So is a friend of mine who live in a town nearby (Reston VA) who is also serviced by CHSI (cheesy? - sorry Cable_dude, couldn't resist!

). Obviously the problem is systemic and not just my location. We assumed it was just pains from the cutover and will be tuned shortly.

I complained at first when I went from 2800/1200 to 1400/120. Should've kept my mouth shut...

I think I am going to uplink my home LAN to my DSL router. $60 more per month for 768/768 vs $40/month for 280/71...

Skye

Cable_Dood · Post by **Cable_Dood** » Thu Feb 21, 2002 11:57 am

>>(cheesy? - sorry Cable_dude, couldn't resist! )<<

No worries. We were throwing that around a looong time ago. Not sure what's going on out there, but those speeds suck. That's kinda out of my realm of influence. Good luck!

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Mon Feb 25, 2002 7:45 pm

Since I am getting roughly about the same speed as a 56K dialup thru comcast, I am thinking why pay $45 per month for 56K speed with Comcast if I can get the same speed from a local ISP for $15 per month....

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Tue Feb 26, 2002 6:56 pm

Today I hit an all time low:

Test running.........
** Speed 85(down)/106(up) kbps **
About modem speed!
Logged result.
Finish.

I had complained to the lousy comcast techs and they sent two guys to my house who said there is nothing wrong with my modem. They would not look at the speed test either.

I'm mad!

Brk · Post by **Brk** » Wed Feb 27, 2002 1:13 am

Oklahoma City must have some great network or something, because the below test result is more or less what I see on every speed test (this result I got just a minute ago at http://dfw.speakeasy.net/); I've tested on just about every available link at http://home.cfl.rr.com/eaa/Bandwidth.htm and my lowest result from continental U.S. nodes is around 1600kbps.

Test running..........
** Speed 3081(down)/213(up) kbps **
(At least 61 times faster than a 56k modem)
Finish.

Could be the Cox network...maybe it's my modem? Beats me. I've had great success for 3 years now.

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Wed Feb 27, 2002 11:04 am

I complained again yesterday after the 85K result. They are sending techs to my house again tomorrow. Am keeping my fingers crossed.

zxc47 · Post by **zxc47** » Wed Feb 27, 2002 11:16 am

Your download speed : 2072159 bps, or 2072 kbps.
Browsers would show : about a 252.9 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 365096 bps, or 365 kbps.
Your connection rocks .. above the 1mbit barrier!

I am with roadrunner sc.rr.com

earthmofo · Post by **earthmofo** » Wed Feb 27, 2002 11:28 am

Originally posted by Roadbuster
Oklahoma City must have some great network or something, because the below test result is more or less what I see on every speed test (this result I got just a minute ago at http://dfw.speakeasy.net/); I've tested on just about every available link at http://home.cfl.rr.com/eaa/Bandwidth.htm and my lowest result from continental U.S. nodes is around 1600kbps.

Test running..........
** Speed 3081(down)/213(up) kbps **
(At least 61 times faster than a 56k modem)
Finish.

Could be the Cox network...maybe it's my modem? Beats me. I've had great success for 3 years now.

Cox.net is capped at 3000/256 but I have always been over my cap even after the transistion from @home

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Wed Feb 27, 2002 11:34 am

Originally posted by zxc47
Your download speed : 2072159 bps, or 2072 kbps.
Browsers would show : about a 252.9 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 365096 bps, or 365 kbps.
Your connection rocks .. above the 1mbit barrier!
I am with roadrunner sc.rr.com

Stop it fellas! You are making me jealous.

BTW, Am I the only sucker in town who is paying $45 for a 85K connection? Isn't anyone else affected similarly?

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Sat Mar 02, 2002 2:57 pm

I called to complain on the day my connection went down to 85K speed. Comcast sent a technician to my apartment who said that there was nothing much he could do because the wiring in my building is bad.

I told him that I have had @Home since 1999 and I have had speeds in the range of 2 to 3 Mbps all the time until the transition to comcast. Even after the transition I used to get 1.1 Mbps until Feb.
So how come the same wires that used to give me those high speed suddenly give me such low speeds now?
He just scratched his head and said that the new servers that comcast has are incompatible with the wiring in my apartment

I did not argue with him after that. It is like banging my head against a stone wall.

Brk · Post by **Brk** » Sat Mar 02, 2002 3:39 pm

Originally posted by neo960
I called to complain on the day my connection went down to 85K speed. Comcast sent a technician to my apartment who said that there was nothing much he could do because the wiring in my building is bad.

I told him that I have had @Home since 1999 and I have had speeds in the range of 2 to 3 Mbps all the time until the transition to comcast. Even after the transition I used to get 1.1 Mbps until Feb.
So how come the same wires that used to give me those high speed suddenly give me such low speeds now?
He just scratched his head and said that the new servers that comcast has are incompatible with the wiring in my apartment

I did not argue with him after that. It is like banging my head against a stone wall.

Unfortunately, you'll usually get a "tech" come out (P.C. term for installer) and do idiotic things like make sure your coax is screwed in all the way to the wall or click around in your Network Settings in Windows and do absolutely nothing "technical," but more often, they'll replace the "bad modem." I'd say it's hardly ever a bad modem. One, it's the nature of the cable service, but really it's likely due to a problem in the line or the trunk or something.

If the trouble persists, you might call them up and ask them to send a *line tech* to check the box outside, because the only time I've ever had a speed problem was due to some kind of mistake at the outside box. A line tech came out and it was solved immediately. In my experience, if someone comes into your residence to "troubleshoot," it's the same as if you did it yourself.

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Sat Mar 02, 2002 4:59 pm

Originally posted by Roadbuster

Unfortunately, you'll usually get a "tech" come out (P.C. term for installer) and do idiotic things like make sure your coax is screwed in all the way to the wall ...

If the trouble persists, you might call them up and ask them to send a *line tech* to check the box outside, because the only time I've ever had a speed problem was due to some kind of mistake at the outside box. A line tech came out and it was solved immediately. In my experience, if someone comes into your residence to "troubleshoot," it's the same as if you did it yourself.

That is exactly what the guy did. He tightened the cable at the wall outlet.

He also went outside to search for the box. He turned off several switches at the box and came to find out which one was mine. Finally he gave up and told me that he could not find the right switch, or whatever it is called. Then he got my signature and left.

Brk · Post by **Brk** » Sat Mar 02, 2002 5:56 pm

I'm not sure exactly what the correct jargon for it is, but the problem I had was due to a "scrambling" or mix-up when someone in my apartment building switched to expanded cable, and somehow my connection got hosed in the process. I was getting around 40kbps and once I raised a little hell the line tech came out and I got my mojo back.

I think the key is to be as aggressive as possible in demanding advanced assistance...when you call them, make sure they understand that it's not your computer or improper network settings or the modem or even the coax -- insist (nicely and articulately, of course) that you be connected with an advanced tech person and not someone in 'general' support who only looks at a list of common problems/solutions anyway.

And if you're satisifed with your current hardware, don't let 'em switch it out. I don't care what anyone says, I refuse to have any piece of hardware with "BEST DATA" branded on it.

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Mon Mar 04, 2002 9:42 am

Just out of curiosity, I visited a friend of mine who lives in a different building a little far from me in the same apartment complex who also has Comcast Low-Speed Internet. I tested his speed and it was approximately 220 to 230 Kbps down. He did not know about speed test sites and hence he was unaware of the low speeds he was getting except that he noticed that web pages were very slow to download. Cnn.com takes a full 3 to 4 minutes to download.

So my guess is that this is probably a problem with the entire woodbridge area in NJ.

Murman · Post by **Murman** » Mon Mar 04, 2002 1:58 pm

take emm to court and get dialup .. your troubles are over then.

Originally posted by XSeaNX
ok so I have Comcast HSI (heh big joke right?) anyway I have a line rated for 1.5megs down/128k up....when I test my speed I always get about 372(down)/118(up) kbps....exceptions to when I first got it and recieved around 1500 down/ 122 up ALL the time...but lately this is the best Ive gotten....ofcourse more usually around 500 down...anyway I did install that comcrap file and DID replace my registry files....but Im still getting this speed and have been for a good 3 months now.....I also rarely download over 125-150 and if I do its a very brief period for like 2 minutes maybe.

Is there something that I can fix myself or does this deserve a call to comcast? what do you guys think?

EDIT NOTE: tested at DSLreports for the 372 right before I posted...but I just received a Speed 894(down)/80(up) kbps on the california line after this post...just thought Id update (not that it changes much)

does this seem slow or is this about right for what Im paying?

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Mon Mar 04, 2002 3:50 pm

>>> take emm to court and get dialup .. your troubles are over then. <<<

Well Comcast Low Speed internet is still 2 to 3 times faster than dialup. I hate going back to dialup ever again. But if my comcast speed goes below 56K I will get dialup.

Nefarious · Post by **Nefarious** » Mon Mar 04, 2002 4:28 pm

My friend has dsl and the best he has EVER Downloaded at was 30Kbps or around 350kbps!!! Woo Sky Rocket SPEED!!! 70Kbps is fine don't whine. If you were getting what Ghost had then you should be pissed. 7times faster is week as hell. luckly I get 2mbps and im on the same ISP that my friend is on who gets 350kbps and he lives about 3 blocks away.

hatchet · Post by **hatchet** » Mon Mar 04, 2002 9:57 pm

And you think Comcast is ripping you off. Look as these numbers. And the first test was even worse. I forgot to copy it. I use to have great speed until Comcrap took over. I just might go back to dialup if this continues. It's the only other choice I have. No DSL in this area.

Your raw speed was 80459.76 bits per second.
There are 3 meaningful ways we can interpret this number:
Communications

80.5 kilobits per second
How communication devices are rated. Kilo means 1,000 and mega means 1,000,000. Examples include 56k modem and 10Mbit Ethernet
Storage

9.8 kilobytes per second
The way data is measured on your hard drive and how FTP programs measure transfer speeds. Kilo is 1,024 and mega is 1,048,576.
1MB file download

1.7 minutes
The time it would take you to download a 1 megabyte file at this speed.
Cable Internet speeds in Mid US

average

your speed

56K modem

compared to all connection types worldwide yours is poor

freeflying · Post by **freeflying** » Fri Mar 08, 2002 3:36 pm

You guys need to try this new connection I have. Screaming speeds of 8m download and 1m -1.5m uploading.

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Comcast ripping me off? majorly?

Comcast ripping me off? majorly?

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