Comcast in The Villages
 

Fellow Villagers,
Many of you like myself have Comcast as our tv and internet provider. Also many of us are paying extra to Comcast for their Blast internet service, which provides speeds up to 300 mbps. I recently tested my internet speed and found out to my amazement that I was only getting 36 mbps. I called Comcast Internet repair and was told by their technical support person that my Comcast supplied modem was capped at 100 mbps. The Comcast technical support person arranged for a Comcast installer to replace my modem with a new up to date Comcast modem. Once this was completed my internet speed went from 36 mbps to 237 mbps. I called Comcast customer support and asked for a refund for the price of my monthly Blast service back to when it was installed. They refused a refund so I filed an FCC complaint, which is easy to do online. A Comcast senior customer service representative called me and said that their own internet technical support person was wrong about the modern being capped at 100 mbps. But she could not and would not admit or explain why my internet speed increased from 36 mbps to 237 mbps. Something is very wrong here and I believe Comcast does not want the expense to change out these old modems for new a new one unless the customer complains. I encourage all Comcast internet customers to check the speed of their service, which is free and if it is ridiculously slow like mine was to insist on a new modem and ask for a refund and if denied go and file an FCC complaint. If the FCC sees enough of these complaints and there is enough public exposure then Comcast maybe forced to do the right thing by its customers. I have included pictures of my old Comcast modem.

Where is the photo of your modem? Typically, the Xfinity equipment, including modems and cable boxes, is being updated regularly and customers can always exchange it for the newer equipment. For example, many people now have 4K televisions, but do not have an Xfinity 4K cable box, even though they are paying for Xfinity 4K programming. It would be a huge expense for Xfinity to notify and exchange every customer's equipment every time they come out with an updated version of their equipment. I understand your point, but you are paying for the incoming signal, and I think you have a responsibility to verify that you are getting the service you expect from that signal, and exchange the equipment, if you need to. I don't think Xfinity owes you a refund. Some people pay for HBO and never watch it. Should they get a refund?

They just screwed up your account provisioning at their NOC unless your modem was ancient.. When working for DirecTV MDU division years ago our NOC would often do that.

Dumped Comcast and ATT smartest decision I’ve made here in villages.

...

Dumped ATT cellular service.

I'm betting he meant ATT Cellular not internet. It's not available here. They refer you to Comcrap.

Comcast/Xfinity is horrible
 

I had Comcast/Xfinity. It is absolutely a rip off. Would not recommend them at all!

At the two year mark, they jumped up the prices, the telephone agents are terrible (they are very difficult to understand and they give out incorrect information) and their new service, Flex, is the worst! In my opinion.

Thank you for the great information. I'm getting ready to relocate to TV and I work from home so I've had some concern about internet service. I'll be sure to ask for a new modem.

I also work full-time from home. Lots of skype calls, streaming and VPN work for the government.

One option is to go with TMobile home. It is available in TV, costs 50 a month, including taxes. I've got it an have been using it for about 3 weeks now. Note that as of yesterday it is now 60 a month. I just carry the thing with me when I go up north. There is a good article on it here:

I signed up for T-Mobile's $60 unlimited home internet service. Here's what happened - CNET

Absolutely agree. We had them for 3 years. Worst customer service ever. No one spoke intelligible English. Just 4 months after my last "2 year renewal", the bumped my monthly fees by $25. Dropped them for Dish Network and never been happier.

It's not the modem. They throttle Internet service through software at their Network Operations Center. The CSR on the phone may not (probably not) have the technical expertise to know how it is provisioned or his/her script is written to offer the new modem while they correct the programming error. Get your own modem at Amazon or Best Buy and stop paying their monthly charge. The standard id DOCSIS 3.0 and the compatibility is written on the box. Your prices will raise after two years because you are out of the initial contract. Contact them again and see what deals they can offer. You can also try the other providers in the area, and find out what really bad service is all about.

Many northern Villagers are experiencing similar service limits from Centurylink. It’s not the available
Service, it’s the “regulator”. Maybe at switch, maybe at house, maybe equipment/router. Do speed tests regularly. And be prepared to hop from one to the other every couple years. North we have Xfinity or Centurylink, south Spectrum or Xfinity.

Can somebody explain how to do a speed test?

Speed Test
 

Speedtest.net