• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

Comcast won’t give new speed boost to Internet users who don’t buy TV service

Bob Beat

Bob Beat

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,916
https://arstechnica.com/information...st-to-internet-users-who-dont-buy-tv-service/

Last week, Comcast announced speed increases for customers in Houston and the Oregon/SW Washington areas. The announcement headlines were "Comcast increases Internet speeds for some video customers."

Customers with 60Mbps Internet download speeds are being upped to 150Mbps; 150Mbps subscribers are going to 250Mbps; and 250Mbps subscribers are getting a raise to 400Mbps or 1Gbps.

Comcast says speed increases will kick in automatically without raising the customers' monthly bills—but only if they subscribe to certain bundles that include both Internet and TV service.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This will have an impact if you want to cut the cord. With a lot of good options to cable, they are doing their best to stay relevant. How long will they keep the customers on the lower tier of speed? Indefinitely?

This is a big problem with the lack of competition in the US and a troubling sign as we move towards the end of net neutrality. I have 2 options: AT&TT and comcast. So i chose AT&T even though I'm not happy. Google fiber has slowed their expansion. It's like two bad options. Comcast has been pretty bad, long term and in the short term, with net neutrality. Why should they get any benefit of the doubt?

I searched but didn't subscribe to cable. So i didn't find anything
 

Deleted member 11985

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,168
I wouldn't even be eligible, even if I did have a cable bundle, because I'm on the 25mbps down plan. Fml
 
RandomExpletive

RandomExpletive

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,187
Sacramento
Hah, that reminds me, need to call and complain we never saw any speed increase, still stuck around 25-40, supposed to get 150

eh I'll do it tomorrow :P
 
Einchy

Einchy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
42,659
They increased our speed to 110 Mbps a few months ago and we don't have their TV bundle but I guess we won't see the 140 bump then.
 
Pikachu

Pikachu

Traded his Bone Marrow for Pizza
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,402
Related question: am I missing something or why are providers just making that 5G upgrade free? Why haven't they been charging for it from the beginning?

One day a new router showed up from Fios saying you have 5G now have fun

Ok thanks but like y
 
Damaniel

Damaniel

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
6,547
Portland, OR
And the 250->1g upgrade requires bundling phone and home security too! If you *only* have TV and internet service, then you get 250->400. Plus, the existing caps are still in place so you'll just hit your limit all that much faster.

Glad I had the chance to leave Comcast when I did.
 
Illest1

Illest1

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
675
60 down isn't terrible.

Should handle whatever you throw at it reasonably well, unless you're up to shenanigans.
 

PorkandBeans

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
604
As much as I hate Comcast this doesn't bother me as much as everything else they do.

It seems like they're just adding value to their overpriced bundle. People that pay for just internet are still getting what they pay for, right?
 
Einchy

Einchy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
42,659
I'm more interested in knowing when they're going to increase the data caps 'cus 1tb in an era where 4k is steadily becoming more and more relevant is far too little. Spoilers: They'll never increase it.
 
louiedog

louiedog

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,441
I call every year to cancel and they only offer me retention deals with bundled basic cable at a minimum so it's still cheaper than going Internet only for me and not getting speed increases. I just have to store an SD cable box in my closet.
 
Zombegoast

Zombegoast

Member
Oct 30, 2017
14,277
Between Comcast and ATT. It's either getting shit on, or getting shit on by diarrhea.

AT&T added a datacap if you only pay for internet service.
 
MazeHaze

MazeHaze

Member
Nov 1, 2017
8,636
Where do you guys see TV in 10 years? I'm 29 and I have never in my life paid for cable. My parents always had it, but when I moved out in 2006 I had no need for it, and then Netflix hit a little later and I DEFINITELY had no need for it. Nowadays I can get hulu, netflix and amazon (which has prime benefits too) for way less than a cable package. None of my friends have cable either. The only people I know who have cable are either over 40, or reaaaally into Sports.

Also, my cable company called me a bit ago to see if I wanted to add a Land Line . I was like "you know you're talking to me on the phone right now yeah? I'm kinda all set."

Edit: and COMMERCIALS. What the fuck. Every now and then I'll watch TV at my parents on a holiday and it blows my mind every time. 25 percent of the time it's just fucking adds. No way, I won't even watch an online video when I can't skip a 2 minute add. Why the fuck would I pay a shit ton of money to watch commercials.
 
Kthulhu

Kthulhu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,670
Pikachu said:
Related question: am I missing something or why are providers just making that 5G upgrade free? Why haven't they been charging for it from the beginning?

One day a new router showed up from Fios saying you have 5G now have fun

Ok thanks but like y
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Are you maybe referring to 5Ghz?
 
siteseer

siteseer

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,048
MazeHaze said:
Where do you guys see TV in 10 years? I'm 29 and I have never in my life paid for cable. My parents always had it, but when I moved out in 2006 I had no need for it, and then Netflix hit a little later and I DEFINITELY had no need for it. Nowadays I can get hulu, netflix and amazon (which has prime benefits too) for way less than a cable package. None of my friends have cable either. The only people I know who have cable are either over 40, or reaaaally into Sports.

Also, my cable company called me a bit ago to see if I wanted to add a Land Line . I was like "you know you're talking to me on the phone right now yeah? I'm kinda all set."

Edit: and COMMERCIALS. What the fuck. Every now and then I'll watch TV at my parents on a holiday and it blows my mind every time. 25 percent of the time it's just fucking adds. No way, I won't even watch an online video when I can't skip a 2 minute add. Why the fuck would I pay a shit ton of money to watch commercials.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
over the air free tv will last in the near future. other than that it will be packages, packages, packages. just like that other thread where op is describing his 'double-digit' subscriptions. i think apple tried to get an all-in-one service, but tv industry was more savvy than the music industry in hind sight (and no jobs to smooth talk them) and shut them down. the future is ad supported over-the-air and segmented pay-for-your-shows subscriptions.
 
MazeHaze

MazeHaze

Member
Nov 1, 2017
8,636
siteseer said:
over the air free tv will last in the near future. other than that it will be packages, packages, packages. just like that other thread where op is describing his 'double-digit' subscriptions. i think apple tried to get an all-in-one service, but tv industry was more savvy than the music industry in hind sight (and no jobs to smooth talk them) and shut them down. the future is ad supported over-the-air and segmented pay-for-your-shows subscriptions.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
But like, what about cable itself? It still seems crazy to me that people watch TV through a cable connection and rent a box from the cable company to watch it on. I have a phone, a firestick, a PS4, a Tablet and PC. All of these things can play shows and movies on my TV. Why would I rent a cable box to not choose what I want to watch whenever, watch a ton of ads, and still pay for internet on top of that. It just seems like the stupidest fucking thing.

Surely the future is just content creators offering content on streaming services right? Every device in the house has a goddamn netflix app.
 
TheFireman

TheFireman

Banned
Dec 22, 2017
3,918
MazeHaze said:
Where do you guys see TV in 10 years? I'm 29 and I have never in my life paid for cable. My parents always had it, but when I moved out in 2006 I had no need for it, and then Netflix hit a little later and I DEFINITELY had no need for it. Nowadays I can get hulu, netflix and amazon (which has prime benefits too) for way less than a cable package. None of my friends have cable either. The only people I know who have cable are either over 40, or reaaaally into Sports.

Also, my cable company called me a bit ago to see if I wanted to add a Land Line . I was like "you know you're talking to me on the phone right now yeah? I'm kinda all set."

Edit: and COMMERCIALS. What the fuck. Every now and then I'll watch TV at my parents on a holiday and it blows my mind every time. 25 percent of the time it's just fucking adds. No way, I won't even watch an online video when I can't skip a 2 minute add. Why the fuck would I pay a shit ton of money to watch commercials.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I have it right now because its in a fucking bundle. I'll use it one time over the course of the two years I'll have had it-to watch Better Call Saul. I sometimes watch TV when I visit parents too. Outside of that, I have no desire to watch cable television. FX is the only non-premium channel consistently putting out good content, with a few other channels having at most one or two shows to watch. But, I can't get fast internet without it because cable companies are fucking assholes who only deserve bad things to come to them.
 
apieceofstrange

apieceofstrange

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,043
Not surprising in the least. For a while I was paying Comcast for cable tv only because it was cheaper than having an internet only plan. Never even hooked the box up.

Expect to see much more of this BS as they attempt to recoup revenues from cord cutters.
 

Deleted member 8901

Account closed at user request
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,522
OTA + Netflix + YouTube has pretty much given me everything I needed in terms of entertainment. The only thing you really miss is sports. I'd love to be able to subscribe to something like NBA League Pass but - and I'm not sure if this has changed - the fucking local blackouts pretty much kills that as an option. So instead, I've just stopped watching sports and go out to a bar for playoff games.
 
bshock

bshock

Self-requested permanent ban
Banned
Nov 3, 2017
1,394
I only watch sports on TV and usually stream to my Chromecast for that. Still paying Comcast $160 a month for Internet/TV. They've made it where Internet only makes absolutely no sense value wise.
 
bmdubya

bmdubya

Member
Nov 1, 2017
6,557
Colorado
What a despicable company. I am contract tied to them until August. After that, I will be switching to another ISP. $60 for 100 Mbps download. That should be sufficient for me until my city gets muni-fiber up and running.
 
Rivi

Rivi

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
829
I'm paying 10$ for comcast Internet but would love an Internet boots but idk if I can be mad about this but I am upset

Apparently I'm getting 15mbps or around 2mb/s download
 
Last edited:
NineConsonants

NineConsonants

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
5,210
Television had a good run of making money, but it's slowly dying. The telecommunication companies that don't embrace a transition won't be able to fight it forever.
 

Deleted member 5666

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,753
MazeHaze said:
Where do you guys see TV in 10 years? I'm 29 and I have never in my life paid for cable. My parents always had it, but when I moved out in 2006 I had no need for it, and then Netflix hit a little later and I DEFINITELY had no need for it. Nowadays I can get hulu, netflix and amazon (which has prime benefits too) for way less than a cable package. None of my friends have cable either. The only people I know who have cable are either over 40, or reaaaally into Sports.

Also, my cable company called me a bit ago to see if I wanted to add a Land Line . I was like "you know you're talking to me on the phone right now yeah? I'm kinda all set."

Edit: and COMMERCIALS. What the fuck. Every now and then I'll watch TV at my parents on a holiday and it blows my mind every time. 25 percent of the time it's just fucking adds. No way, I won't even watch an online video when I can't skip a 2 minute add. Why the fuck would I pay a shit ton of money to watch commercials.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Sports. Sports are massive. Bigger than movies. Bigger than video games.

Unless the major leagues find a way that is more viable via streaming cable will not come close to dying.
 
Slayven

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
93,761
Hilarious EA was voted worse company over Comcast.
 
El_TigroX

El_TigroX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,231
New York, NY
I've been a customer of theirs for nearly a decade... didn't really have an alternative. Service is good, but expensive. Moving next month and am deciding between keeping Comcast or moving to Fios. This made my decision way easier to finally kick them to the curb. if they are going to muck with service like this, I want none of it.

Fios and DirectTV Now here I come.
 
Eros

Eros

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,715
I have a TV service through them because it's cheaper than just internet. If that ever changes, I'll deal with not getting the boost. I don't give a shit.
 
Book One

Book One

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,849
Sucks, but I will say they've bumped my speeds for free several times the last few years.
 

Deleted member 11626

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,199
RandomExpletive said:
Hah, that reminds me, need to call and complain we never saw any speed increase, still stuck around 25-40, supposed to get 150

eh I'll do it tomorrow :P
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Make sure you take a sick day. Shit will take you 5 hours minimum

zer0das said:
In 2018? Unless you live in a rural area, it's pretty bad.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It sucks compared to other places but I haven't been above 25 mbps since 2014 and it has worked out just fine
 
Hero_of_the_Day

Hero_of_the_Day

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
17,466
Mediacom gave me TV and a landline for $30 cheaper than I was paying for internet alone. These companies are fucking desperate for TV subscribers. Of course it is a 12 month deal, but I'll just cancel the second it goes up in price, at which point they'll probably offer it to me for another 12 months.
 
Compsiox

Compsiox

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,062
We should be able to vote for the break up of corporations as a people.
 
SpartyCrunch

SpartyCrunch

Xbox
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
2,504
Seattle, WA
As much as this is a shitty situation brought on because of the lack of competition, trying to claim that this is happening because of a lack of net neutrality is misplacing blame.

Net neutrality ending is terrible, and a lack of competition is terrible.

Comcast choosing which speeds to bundle and where and for whom is not a net neutrality thing, it's a lack of competition thing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.