[62SkiDoo]

I work from home. I have Quantum's base lifetime plan. I'm constantly on Zoom, Teams and Slack, I am uploading and downloading code and large image files and editing resources on line. I'm simultaneously streaming SiriusXM over my own laptop on the same network and periodically checking the news on Roku when I take a break, not to mention checking email and streaming on my phone. In the evenings, I stream over Roku and on my laptop.

Bandwidth is the least of my problems.

Why does anyone need all that bandwidth and speed? Gaming? Well, then maybe. Anything less, start with the base plan and only increase it if actually needed. Applications will scream and providers will always be happy to sell more bandwidth.

As for Comcast, they exemplify corporations out of touch and out of control. I patronize these characters only when I must, when there is absolutely no other choice. I ditch them at the first opportunity when fiber or anther cable provider arrives.

The extraction is always the worst. They seem to keep their hooks in for as long as possible, to really drag out the pain of their Kafkaesque customer service, to make leaving as aversive as possible. This time, just as I thought I was free, I received a bill for an obsolete modem for which they had sent me a replacement over a year ago! I had to go back a second time to the service center and sit there in line for an hour to get that straitened out. They'd have gladly charged me $150 for scrap heap junk had I not pushed back.

Comcast possesses a corporate culture with no conscience.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by 62SkiDoo

I work from home. I have Quantum's base lifetime plan. I'm constantly on Zoom, Teams and Slack, I am uploading and downloading code and large image files and editing resources on line. I'm simultaneously streaming SiriusXM over my own laptop on the same network and periodically checking the news on Roku when I take a break, not to mention checking email and streaming on my phone. In the evenings, I stream over Roku and on my laptop.

Bandwidth is the least of my problems.

Why does anyone need all that bandwidth and speed? Gaming? Well, then maybe. Anything less, start with the base plan and only increase it if actually needed. Applications will scream and providers will always be happy to sell more bandwidth.

As for Comcast, they exemplify corporations out of touch and out of control. I patronize these characters only when I must, when there is absolutely no other choice. I ditch them at the first opportunity when fiber or anther cable provider arrives.

The extraction is always the worst. They seem to keep their hooks in for as long as possible, to really drag out the pain of their Kafkaesque customer service, to make leaving as aversive as possible. This time, just as I thought I was free, I received a bill for an obsolete modem for which they had sent me a replacement over a year ago! I had to go back a second time to the service center and sit there in line for an hour to get that straitened out. They'd have gladly charged me $150 for scrap heap junk had I not pushed back.

Comcast possesses a corporate culture with no conscience.

Very plainly said. Most know I've been helping people sign up for Quantum and helping with installation and wiring needs so, I've met a lot of people here in the Villages especially when Quantum ran that $35 1Gbs offer in December. I was busy every day. What I've found meeting a diverse group of Villagers is almost all are price driven. Meaning, they want the best deal for the longest time and don't often consider the consequences. There is no right or wrong here and I also found many in the Villages have very little choice. In some cases, Xfinity was the only choice along with Dish and fixed wireless services.

In reality, as many have stated, if you don't have a lot of data use, meaning, basic streaming, basic internet surfing, checking your e-mail, 100 Mbs, if that's what you actually get should be adequate. With Xfinity it's $30/month and Spectrum $20/month. Basic router and wifi devices.

I have a friend who got Xfinity Now and it does work. Nice and slow but it works for them. Depending on the night at prime time they do get a little buffering but not much and it's not a problem for them. Where he lives many have Xfinity so being a shared system it get's overloaded sometimes at peak times. Depending on where you live you may not have this problem. The issue he does have is with wifi coverage. Being a basic wifi device the coverage is not great so his lanai TV often looses connection. Same with his computer in the far bedroom. Xfinity does offer a really good Wifi7 device but it's $10/month extra and I'm not sure he can get that with the NOW service. I could also set him up with a nice wifi7 mesh wifi system but he doesn't want to layout the money for that. So in his case he is going back to Quantum becasue for $50/month he doesen't have any of these issues. He get's the Wifi7 mesh network, more speed than he will ever use and he doesn't have to worry about the bill every year. The extra money he's paying for Quantum is so small that it's not worth the aggrivation.

Another person I know can't get Quantum so they use Verizon Fixed wireless. It works pretty good. The Verizon wifi device is excellent so although the internet speeds are not stellar, they get enough bandwidth and wifi coverage and they are happy. But as many have stated you need to be fairly close to their tower for the service to work. Verizon and other's must be expanding because at my home in Osceola Hills, my Verizon phone is getting the faster service recently.

Finally, the other things I see are people moving their perfectly good cell phone service to the cable company. When you do this, the cable company does give you more discount on Internet and TV but now you have your phones bundled so when you go an try to make change, people are more resistent becasue it involves their cell phones. The cable companies know this and make it harder to make changes. Today as an example, at Consumer Cellular, you can get a slightly better cell plan than the cable companies offer at a slightly cheaper price with unlimited data so you don't have to use hot spots, etc.. There are other "discount" providers that have even better "deals".

Sorry for the long post but just wanted to share my experiences to maybe help other's who may be struggling with their services and trying to figure out what to do. At the end of the day you have to get the service that best fits your needs and budget.

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by jrref

Sorry for the long post but just wanted to share my experiences to maybe help other's who may be struggling with their services and trying to figure out what to do. At the end of the day you have to get the service that best fits your needs and budget.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. There is something for everyone out there - it's just a matter of finding it.

We have little choice of internet provider where we are, and Mrs Fox is very happy with Google-Fi as her mobile phone provider, but we are "low maintenance" on both counts.

[kp11364]

It's definitely different in TV, but in NYC, Verizon FIOS is one of the WORST systems available. Cable is fast enough and stable.

[Brighthouse]

If you are able to sign up for Spectrum from one of the door to door reps, you can get 500Mbps for $30 or 1gig for $50. That's all in, with no data caps. I have always dealt with Lysander Jimenez, he is one of the senior reps at Spectrum. His number is 352-239-3538. Plus no contracts and free installation.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by Brighthouse

If you are able to sign up for Spectrum from one of the door to door reps, you can get 500Mbps for $30 or 1gig for $50. That's all in, with no data caps. I have always dealt with Lysander Jimenez, he is one of the senior reps at Spectrum. His number is 352-239-3538. Plus no contracts and free installation.

How long ago did you get this information?

[jrref]

Originally Posted by kp11364

It's definitely different in TV, but in NYC, Verizon FIOS is one of the WORST systems available. Cable is fast enough and stable.

It's funny you say that. Everytime I hear someone say "x" service is terrible, it's always some other reason why the customer is disatisified.

I worked for Verizon and sold FiOS as a retirement job and it's the best most reliable service you can get.

I'm sure you were not happy but i'm also sure there is a "story" around your disatisfaction.

Here in the Villages, many times I'm at a party or see a post here on Talk of the Villages about how bad Quantum fiber is and every person I went to help I found there was a problem with the installation or a setting. Once corrected, the service worked perfectly.

Here is a link to the thread with all the complaints and the resolutions:
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...56-post48.html

The reason why fiber internet is the best and most stable is because every customer has a dedicated link to the ISP. Nothing is shared like with cable. Also, since it's all lightwave, there is no need to power the intermediate hubs located throughout your Village. This means when we have a storm or short power outage, if your home still has powe or you have a battery backup, you will still have your internet connection. Once it works, it stays working.

Now, I understand many in the Villages can't get Fiber internet but the good news is Quantum is installing fiber in some older Villages so there is a possibility that some day you will have an additional choice. For the folks in the new builds down south, every home has fiber pre-installed by Centric Fiber. You close, come home, call them up, give them your payment method and the service is turned On. If you didn't get the smart home package and you want some rooms hard wired, you call Centric, Do it yourself or call me or any friend or neighbor who knows how to install a switch and put connectors on the ethernet cables. Can't get simplier than that.

[Brighthouse]

Originally Posted by jrref

How long ago did you get this information?

Last week. I gave the info to a friend and they are already installed. He even came to their home after installation and help pair their new printer. Never got that kind of support from Comcrap

[jrref]

Originally Posted by Brighthouse

Last week. I gave the info to a friend and they are already installed. He even came to their home after installation and help pair their new printer. Never got that kind of support from Comcrap

I just spoke to him and you are right, the door-to-door Spectrum reps have much better offers than going to the store or calling the call center. But the offer is for 2 years. Also, the $30/month for 500Mbs is if you provide your own modem. If you use theirs, which he recommends becauce Spectrum will be able to troubleshoot remotely, then it's $40/month for the 500Mbs. I think he said you get the modem at no extra charge for the 1Gbs service. Just be aware, if you don't want all this speed, I got an offer in the mail from Spectrum for the 100Mbs service for $20/month for 2 years which seems to be the cheapest so far but you need to be a "preferred cusomer" whatever that means.

Just FYI, I had a couple of neighbors sign up with a door-to-door rep 2 years ago and got a deal for $29.99/month plus tax and fees but after 2 years, Spectrum wouldn't give them another deal and they had to pay full price. I guess if all you can get is Xfinity or Spectrum, Spectrum looks like a better deal not only for the price but you get the regular modem and wifi device that works pretty well and there is no data cap. If you can get Quantum, then that's best because you get bi-directional, dedicated service, Wifi7 equipment and no 1 or 2 year agreement. We don't yet know how long their "price for life" will be so the jury is out on that. The timing was perfect for my neighbors because they switched and got the Quantum $35/month 1Gbs offer that doesn't have a time limit on it.

Interesting how this competition has progressed.

[jrref]

Just FYI, When I spoke to the Spectrum Door-to-Door rep. I asked about the physical cable connection to your home. In some cases they can run a new line and in most they will re-use the same cable already coming into your home. If they reuse the cable and the Spectrum and Xfinity terminals are close enough they just move the terminal side of your existing cable to whichever company you sign-up with. I know someone asked a question about this.

[Byte1]

Originally Posted by jrref

Very plainly said. Most know I've been helping people sign up for Quantum and helping with installation and wiring needs so, I've met a lot of people here in the Villages especially when Quantum ran that $35 1Gbs offer in December. I was busy every day. What I've found meeting a diverse group of Villagers is almost all are price driven. Meaning, they want the best deal for the longest time and don't often consider the consequences. There is no right or wrong here and I also found many in the Villages have very little choice. In some cases, Xfinity was the only choice along with Dish and fixed wireless services.

In reality, as many have stated, if you don't have a lot of data use, meaning, basic streaming, basic internet surfing, checking your e-mail, 100 Mbs, if that's what you actually get should be adequate. With Xfinity it's $30/month and Spectrum $20/month. Basic router and wifi devices.

I have a friend who got Xfinity Now and it does work. Nice and slow but it works for them. Depending on the night at prime time they do get a little buffering but not much and it's not a problem for them. Where he lives many have Xfinity so being a shared system it get's overloaded sometimes at peak times. Depending on where you live you may not have this problem. The issue he does have is with wifi coverage. Being a basic wifi device the coverage is not great so his lanai TV often looses connection. Same with his computer in the far bedroom. Xfinity does offer a really good Wifi7 device but it's $10/month extra and I'm not sure he can get that with the NOW service. I could also set him up with a nice wifi7 mesh wifi system but he doesn't want to layout the money for that. So in his case he is going back to Quantum becasue for $50/month he doesen't have any of these issues. He get's the Wifi7 mesh network, more speed than he will ever use and he doesn't have to worry about the bill every year. The extra money he's paying for Quantum is so small that it's not worth the aggrivation.

Another person I know can't get Quantum so they use Verizon Fixed wireless. It works pretty good. The Verizon wifi device is excellent so although the internet speeds are not stellar, they get enough bandwidth and wifi coverage and they are happy. But as many have stated you need to be fairly close to their tower for the service to work. Verizon and other's must be expanding because at my home in Osceola Hills, my Verizon phone is getting the faster service recently.

Finally, the other things I see are people moving their perfectly good cell phone service to the cable company. When you do this, the cable company does give you more discount on Internet and TV but now you have your phones bundled so when you go an try to make change, people are more resistent becasue it involves their cell phones. The cable companies know this and make it harder to make changes. Today as an example, at Consumer Cellular, you can get a slightly better cell plan than the cable companies offer at a slightly cheaper price with unlimited data so you don't have to use hot spots, etc.. There are other "discount" providers that have even better "deals".

Sorry for the long post but just wanted to share my experiences to maybe help other's who may be struggling with their services and trying to figure out what to do. At the end of the day you have to get the service that best fits your needs and budget.

Quantum has been a very good service, BUT their advertised "price for life" is not true. I had that promise but they raised their price after about two years of service. It was still not a bad deal, BUT they should at least be up front with you and honest. Quantum fiber is very dependable and their upload is as good as their download....not that this makes much difference to most folks.

[Brighthouse]

Switch to Spectrum internet. Call Lysander Jimenez, he is their local outside sales rep. He has helped a lot of my neighbors switch from Comcrap. Right now, new customers can get 500Mbps for $30 for 2 years. Plus he was able to get the installation waived. His number is 352-239-3538. I would definitely recommend.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by Brighthouse

Switch to Spectrum internet. Call Lysander Jimenez, he is their local outside sales rep. He has helped a lot of my neighbors switch from Comcrap. Right now, new customers can get 500Mbps for $30 for 2 years. Plus he was able to get the installation waived. His number is 352-239-3538. I would definitely recommend.

It’s actually $30 if you supply your own modem and $40 if they supply the modem.

[Snakster66]

...why two of these are going?

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by Snakster66

...why two of these are going?

My original thread concerned my plan to switch to Xfinity Now.

People asked for feedback on how well it was working so, to obviate the need to trawl through all of the earlier posts, I started a second thread - Redux - just for that purpose.

However, the earlier thread seems to have sprung back to life again.

Maybe if an Administrator reads this s/he can close "Xfinity Now" to new posts.

Or close both - they have served their purpose.