Comcast aims to combat cord cutting by limiting major internet speed increases to cable...

[BigBuck]

Why don't they have a company that just sells home high speed internet? Nothing else just high speed internet that would kill a bunch of this nonsense these cable companies are doing.

 

[Tanstar]

I've been with Comcast for 15 years. Every so often over that time they have increased my speeds. All they are saying now is that only those that bundle their cable and internet will get the free increases. As long as that is all they do it's not a big deal. If they eventually only offer the higher speeds to bundled customers it'll be a problem.

 

[RaXoR]

I agree...it is so sad people have no idea

Except in many areas Comcast is the sole provider. Specifically rural areas are the main ones affected by the service monopolies.

 

[BigBuck]

That's why they need a company that just sells high speed internet no cable TV or packges just internet

 

[Toju Mikie]

I work for Comcast. Speed increases were for existing customers already under contract in bundle plans. Higher speeds for internet only customers are available to those that want to subscribe or upgrade existing internet only accounts. No one is being singled out or intentionally left behind. Customers signed contracts for bundles that included specific internet speeds and we just upped those for no particular reason other than we wanted to do something no one else would ever do for existing customers. We no longer reserve the best deals for new customers. ALL customers can take advantage of any of our current promotional plans. Including higher speed internet for internet only customers.

If you really want people to take advantage, then get rid of that data cap. It is a fleeting effort anyways. With 4k streaming on the rise, the percentage of customers that go up past 1tb are increasing.

Comcast is becoming the Blockbuster of today's world. They are trying to earn yesterday's dollar instead of today's dollar. Get with the times

 

[captaincranky]

Except it's not about you. You may be complacent with your connection since all you do is come on here to yap about how others are "entitled" because you use one device to do the yapping.

All about me? Hardly. It's all about you. It's all about you confusing NEED with countless "I WANTS". You don't know the difference, and you never likely will be able to differentiate want and need.

You need a 1080 ti, You need a 48 core CPU, you need gig speed internet, You need online software.

What it sounds like is that you have the internet confused with your mommy's breast.

What it also sounds like, is that you have both, "want and need", confused with addiction.

This is about Comcast pulling off an anti-consumer move by charging the same for lower speeds while everyone else who has their TV service gets the "benefit" of faster speeds.

Comcast is the most hated and ruthless, (next to Apple, but only for the ruthless aspect), company in America.

And, to make it worse, you whimpering about it here at Techspot isn't going to do squat about it. At the end of the day, you don't have a voice, just an internet Jones.

Not everyone is fine with settling for the bare minimum. Many people truly enjoy playing video games (everything has moved from physical to digital, pop in a game into your PS4/Xbox One and you'll be downloading the game, on PC Steam dominates) or watching UHD movies on their home theater setup. 25/25 would've been fine back in 2008 and 2009 but things have transitioned from physical media to digital media only.

No, everyone has been led by the nose to all digital,so that companies can control content through escalating and constantly more complex DRM.

As far as one machine goes, I'm posting from a G-41 based IGP machine. That's simply because I won't hook any of my decent machines up tp the web.

I guess we have different interests, since I have a house full of guitars, AV equipment, A few LED TVs, a bagful of D-SLRs, and 3 cats. To tell the truth, talking with you will be my biggest waste of time for today, and I can do that just fine @ 25/25.

 

[Polycount]

snip

Excuse me, as a proud 1080 Ti and 48-core CPU owner, this message offends me.

 

[MortonWatts]

Nobody needs 250Mbps to 400Mbps when streaming HD Content takes like 5-10Mbps. But cable companies keep bumping you up and your bill up. They are not focused on providing a service, but solely focused on getting you on the hook for more $$$ each month. Every contract renewal is a forced upgrade for crappy throttled service. Their fiber infrastructure is essentially maintenance-free, but they keep turning the screws until your retired mom is paying $250 per month for a crappy old DVR and ancient IR remote. It is criminal and the reason why we need regulation for these savage companies. Protect Net Neutrality, it isn't political, it just protect the consumer so we get what we pay for. Bundle deals are the biggest scam, they have different prices for new or existing customers. They gouge the existing customers and say to hell with customer service. It used to be you paid a set fee of $20-50 for access and you were happy with no surprises. The free market decided on streaming services and the ISPs were way too late to the game in giving the customer what they had been screaming for, they failed but they want us to fix their failure by price gouging, data caps, and throttling. Screw them.

 

[tipstir]

10Mbps is only good for streaming to one device at a time. We are in the era of 4k streaming and have advanced well beyond 60Mbps. The US is behind other countries when it comes to cost per speed for internet. Take South Korea for example, ISPs are rolling out gigabit connections for only $20 a month. That's $5 more than what you pay and it's 100 times faster than what you had. You paid $14.99 for one tenth of my speed. At your price, you'd be paying $150 for 100Mbps while I only pay $65. I stream to multiple devices as well as download digital games onto my PC and consoles. I stream in 4k on my main TV and 1080p on my other TV. Just those 2 TVs alone would eat up the 10Mbps bandwith and much more. I struggled to stream 4k and 1080p simultaneously when I had a 60Mbps connection. You sir, need to keep up with the times and realize that you are complacent and you're still getting ripped off by "FiOS."

I have not got into 4K yet as the is going to be replaced by 8K.. OTA here is only 1080i I am not sold on spending so much for 4K UHDTV yet.. I do want a 75-inch SONY. As for speeds I use have 132 mbps down with Cox Communications price was $59 back then. Again the only reason why I got that so cheap because I was spending like $299 plus a month for everything they had. Each of the 4 rooms and home office and family room had STB/DVR. Again I don't need that thus the last deal was 75 mbps.. I am happy with what I have for now.. I have 30 mbps now never struggle if you wire that box outside correctly and use a direct line even with them or not. 30 mbps for now when I need to go with more maybe be, but my speeds here are quick enough. Connection here where I live is the best around, it's not a jungle here of wires. Everything has been updated and new lines underground.

 

[tipstir]

Nobody needs 250Mbps to 400Mbps when streaming HD Content takes like 5-10Mbps. But cable companies keep bumping you up and your bill up. They are not focused on providing a service, but solely focused on getting you on the hook for more $$$ each month. Every contract renewal is a forced upgrade for crappy throttled service. Their fiber infrastructure is essentially maintenance-free, but they keep turning the screws until your retired mom is paying $250 per month for a crappy old DVR and ancient IR remote. It is criminal and the reason why we need regulation for these savage companies. Protect Net Neutrality, it isn't political, it just protect the consumer so we get what we pay for. Bundle deals are the biggest scam, they have different prices for new or existing customers. They gouge the existing customers and say to hell with customer service. It used to be you paid a set fee of $20-50 for access and you were happy with no surprises. The free market decided on streaming services and the ISPs were way too late to the game in giving the customer what they had been screaming for, they failed but they want us to fix their failure by price gouging, data caps, and throttling. Screw them.

That's too very sad for her the CS or Tech should have drop-ship her newer equipment for aging hardware she's already renting. Remotes are a dime dozen. They can send her our news one. They won't do unless you request it. Sometimes you get factory refresh or new STB/DVR. I agree with you don't need higher speeds even for games or HD. They want you to believe that. There are higher speeds being tested in some markets. FiOS yeah but I am not sold on that expensive. What are we all doing on the internet today browsing TechSpot why in the wall would you need 250mbps, 400mbps or higher to do that. The page could drop open quick if you have the right modem and network tweaks to your system. Still get away with 30 to 50 mbps.

 

[tipstir]

Right? I went to donwload a 50GB+ file on my shitty rural 40Mbps connection (Really runs at like 18) and it took well over 9 hours.

We're gonna need to reclassify broadband speeds before too long, cause this 7 - 12Mbps **** isn't cutting it.

Wait a minute then something is wrong with the line to the box. Are you in crowded area, what do they have you on shared modem, voice and router box. Those are not ideal system.

 

[tipstir]

I stopped reading at 'You don't really need more than 10Mbps'

You obviously don't understand the internet from a perspective that's not single device video streaming. Try downloading a 98GB file on your 10Mbps connection.

Actually it was 12 mbps, who's downloading such a large file today. Save it to the cloud instead oh yes if you have 100 to 200 gb cloud space

 

[cliffordcooley]

Actually it was 12 mbps, who's downloading such a large file today.

Game sizes are commonly larger than 50GB these days. And the games can not be installed or updated unless the whole download has been completed. As far as I am aware, you can't use the cloud as a install location.

 

[captaincranky]

Excuse me, as a proud 1080 Ti and 48-core CPU owner, this message offends me.

It was intended to!

Quick question though, did you really need all 48 cores to vent your outrage?

 

[cliffordcooley]

Quick question though, did you really need all 48 cores to vent your outrage?

He only needed one core, the other 47 cores was for life support after your outrageous comment.

 

[captaincranky]

He only needed one core, the other 47 cores was for life support after your outrageous comment.

So our staff writer is a cyborg? Far out, that's heavy.....!

I usually only need two cores tops, and about 5 migs of Valium to get over me!

 

[Evernessince]

I work for Comcast. Speed increases were for existing customers already under contract in bundle plans. Higher speeds for internet only customers are available to those that want to subscribe or upgrade existing internet only accounts. No one is being singled out or intentionally left behind. Customers signed contracts for bundles that included specific internet speeds and we just upped those for no particular reason other than we wanted to do something no one else would ever do for existing customers. We no longer reserve the best deals for new customers. ALL customers can take advantage of any of our current promotional plans. Including higher speed internet for internet only customers.

Nobody needs 250Mbps to 400Mbps when streaming HD Content takes like 5-10Mbps. But cable companies keep bumping you up and your bill up. They are not focused on providing a service, but solely focused on getting you on the hook for more $$$ each month. Every contract renewal is a forced upgrade for crappy throttled service. Their fiber infrastructure is essentially maintenance-free, but they keep turning the screws until your retired mom is paying $250 per month for a crappy old DVR and ancient IR remote. It is criminal and the reason why we need regulation for these savage companies. Protect Net Neutrality, it isn't political, it just protect the consumer so we get what we pay for. Bundle deals are the biggest scam, they have different prices for new or existing customers. They gouge the existing customers and say to hell with customer service. It used to be you paid a set fee of $20-50 for access and you were happy with no surprises. The free market decided on streaming services and the ISPs were way too late to the game in giving the customer what they had been screaming for, they failed but they want us to fix their failure by price gouging, data caps, and throttling. Screw them.

Well yeah, no one needs that speed assuming it's only a single person and they aren't streaming 4K or high refresh rate content. Otherwise I wouldn't mind going 8K a few years from now and I would definitely love to see sports and esports streamed at 100 FPS or above. It's nice to have the option to download a digital version of my movies with the provided code within a reasonable amount of time and I'd expect VR/AR teleconferencing will be very bandwidth intensive. My point being, higher internet speeds will drive technology.

 

[captaincranky]

Well yeah, no one needs that speed assuming it's only a single person and they aren't streaming 4K or high refresh rate content. Otherwise I wouldn't mind going 8K a few years from now and I would definitely love to see sports and esports streamed at 100 FPS or above. It's nice to have the option to download a digital version of my movies with the provided code within a reasonable amount of time and I'd expect VR/AR teleconferencing will be very bandwidth intensive. My point being, higher internet speeds will drive technology.

And it will all be yours from Comcast, at the amazingly low introductory price of only $499.95 a month. (For the 1st 3 months 8K DVR not included).

 

[TheBigT42]

Except in many areas Comcast is the sole provider. Specifically rural areas are the main ones affected by the service monopolies.

ALL cable internet providers work in a monopoly by law. We need the gooberment to stop allowing these regional monopolies so competition is put into place.

 

[wiyosaya]

Except in many areas Comcast is the sole provider. Specifically rural areas are the main ones affected by the service monopolies.

ALL cable internet providers work in a monopoly by law. We need the gooberment to stop allowing these regional monopolies so competition is put into place.

I would term it an abuse of law. They are abusing laws put in place over a century ago, and the lobbyists are influencing the goobers in gooberment to maintain the status quo. Take Ajit Pai, for instance, his job title should be head lobbyist in charge of the FCC.

Commiecast is not in my area, but there is no way I would subscribe to their TV tier just to get the speeds they are talking about. This is a total BS move just like crApazon lets non-prime member orders sit in their warehouse until the last possible moment that they can ship to make the arrival deadline. Such crApazon tactics have inspired me to look elsewhere for anything that I might buy from crApazon and I almost always find it at a lower price with real free shipping.

My bet is this move by Commiecast will not stop the cord cutters especially in areas where there are alternatives available. 60Mbps would be well more than enough for my needs, and I find it hard to imagine that there are significant numbers of customers out there who need more than that.

But that is the thing. There are those who are not technically astute enough to realize how much bandwidth they need, and Commiecast will be glad to sell them as much as they are willing to buy even if they do not need that much. Spectrum is in my area. Before the switch from TW to Spectrum, they tried to sell my brother 50Mbps service when he had absolutely no need for. Customers in our area have noted that they seem to drop their speeds randomly, and I have to believe that they are doing that on purpose with the intent of trying to convince their customers that they need a faster connection.

 

[wiyosaya]

Well yeah, no one needs that speed assuming it's only a single person and they aren't streaming 4K or high refresh rate content. Otherwise I wouldn't mind going 8K a few years from now and I would definitely love to see sports and esports streamed at 100 FPS or above. It's nice to have the option to download a digital version of my movies with the provided code within a reasonable amount of time and I'd expect VR/AR teleconferencing will be very bandwidth intensive. My point being, higher internet speeds will drive technology.

If it is 4K Netflix, they claim you only need 25Mbps.

Higher internet speeds may drive technology, but will there be customers for it? Moves like this I see as desperation by companies like Commiecast to try to maintain the siphon they have connected to their customer's wallets.

In a couple of years, expect to see ATSC 3.0 rolling out. Among other things, it promises 4K OTA - and is expandable to 8K at least. That is another driver that I bet has cable providers worried.

I work for Comcast. Speed increases were for existing customers already under contract in bundle plans. Higher speeds for internet only customers are available to those that want to subscribe or upgrade existing internet only accounts. No one is being singled out or intentionally left behind. Customers signed contracts for bundles that included specific internet speeds and we just upped those for no particular reason other than we wanted to do something no one else would ever do for existing customers. We no longer reserve the best deals for new customers. ALL customers can take advantage of any of our current promotional plans. Including higher speed internet for internet only customers.

And you are from the marketing department?

 

[wiyosaya]

Why don't they have a company that just sells home high speed internet? Nothing else just high speed internet that would kill a bunch of this nonsense these cable companies are doing.

In some areas, that is actually happening.

 

[wiyosaya]

Nobody needs 250Mbps to 400Mbps when streaming HD Content takes like 5-10Mbps. But cable companies keep bumping you up and your bill up. They are not focused on providing a service, but solely focused on getting you on the hook for more $$$ each month. Every contract renewal is a forced upgrade for crappy throttled service. Their fiber infrastructure is essentially maintenance-free, but they keep turning the screws until your retired mom is paying $250 per month for a crappy old DVR and ancient IR remote. It is criminal and the reason why we need regulation for these savage companies. Protect Net Neutrality, it isn't political, it just protect the consumer so we get what we pay for. Bundle deals are the biggest scam, they have different prices for new or existing customers. They gouge the existing customers and say to hell with customer service. It used to be you paid a set fee of $20-50 for access and you were happy with no surprises. The free market decided on streaming services and the ISPs were way too late to the game in giving the customer what they had been screaming for, they failed but they want us to fix their failure by price gouging, data caps, and throttling. Screw them.

I'll add one thing:

Those who grew up with only cable TV and without knowing about Over The Air (OTA) TV should really look into what an Antenna is and how it can bring a cable-like bundle of TV channels for viewing with absolutely NO monthly fee. It does cost up-front to get one, but in some areas of the country it is possible to get upwards of 50+ channels with great reception, and as ATSC 3.0 rolls out, that great reception will extend to areas like mine where I get 33+ OTA channels for free, although I needed an antenna amplifier to get that. Why pay a cable/satellite provider to give you channels you can get for free?

Cable/satellite TV was a good alternative when OTA TV was analog and the reception was poor for distant channels, however, now that it is digital, the reception for most people will be significantly better than when the it was analog.

A great place to learn about what TV channels are available OTA for free in most areas of the US is http://www.tvfool.com/

 

[Evernessince]

If it is 4K Netflix, they claim you only need 25Mbps.

Higher internet speeds may drive technology, but will there be customers for it? Moves like this I see as desperation by companies like Commiecast to try to maintain the siphon they have connected to their customer's wallets.

In a couple of years, expect to see ATSC 3.0 rolling out. Among other things, it promises 4K OTA - and is expandable to 8K at least. That is another driver that I bet has cable providers worried.


And you are from the marketing department?

Yeah I think I'll pass on the compressed 4K. It's impossible for their to be customers for a product that does not yet exist. The cable companies have to put the work in first.

 

[wiyosaya]

Yeah I think I'll pass on the compressed 4K. It's impossible for their to be customers for a product that does not yet exist. The cable companies have to put the work in first.

Absolutely, I get what you are saying. I rent Blu-ray right now in preference to streaming; IMO, the audio alone is worth it. I would also prefer UHD Blu-ray for 4K.