slee Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 I'm a computer engineer(college/military degrees), I install/maintain mass amounts of PCs in the Mobile, Al area. Alot of my clientele are Comcast High Speed Internet users including myself. Ok, Comcast advertises an upload speed of 'upto' 256Kbps which is 32KB(lowercase 'b'= bits..uppercase 'B' = bytes..there are 8 bits to 1 byte). Between all the PCs I've installed in the Mobile area and people I chat with online that use Comcast High Speed Internet NEVER see over 120kbps(which is 15KB a second). Neither sales nor tech support know the difference between bits and bytes so I was unable to explain the problem here. Now, if our upload speed is 'upto' 256kbps, why doesn't anyone's upload speed ever vary over 15KB a second? Comcast users are 'capped' at 120kbps(15KB) yet they advertise upto 256kbps(32KB). All of you powerusers on Comcast know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't bother calling Comcast on this matter, they have no idea(trust me). I asked if they could connect me with a Comcast engineer(I'm sure they know the difference between bits/bytes) , but I've yet talked to one, they won't connect me(which is why I just canceled my cable account and went DSL...lots cheaper, same speeds if not better). My point is, if they advertise 'upto' 256kpbs(32KB) why does no one ever get over 120kbps(15KB)? Serious problem or false advertisement, you decide. BTW, DSL is down to $26 a month versus cable which is right at $50 w/ modem a month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[hxc] Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 if you cant get through by phone, i can only suggest writing a letter. when you think about it, most companies false advertise a bit. it just a way of getting more customers. its pretty lame that tech support for comcast doesnt even know the difference between kilobytes and kilobits, i mean, they do specialize in internet services. /edit: by the way, welcome to neowin slee :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homie Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 they should just stop using kilobits, that itself is false advertising to those common peeps who dont know the diff either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital.K Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 If you ask me, they profit on people not knowing the difference, yet they don't clarify it either,which is false advertisement I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickyk87 Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 i agree so much hardcore :D ya know how annoying it is to call up a manufacturer and request a replacement cd burner? sure lets run you in circles all day and have you do the same stuff you've done 80 times to tell me the same thing i already knew, it was toasted, good doorstop though. :o And better yet: "Yes sir, system restore will fix this" "Ok, but how so when no bios shows up?" they oughta advertise in KB's as well. as far as comcast: i agree a letter is best, it provides a personal type of feel you don't get on the phone. You'll probably get a better response. Sorry for the rant, im done now. :devil: :happy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-=SD=- Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Can you test that at dslreports.com or by uploading to upload.comcast.net, I get over 15 and at the 30 range... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Veteran Posted October 2, 2003 Veteran Share Posted October 2, 2003 tech support for most companies sucks. gateway is the worst in my experience, often telling me things like ricky posted... :hmmm: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slee Posted October 2, 2003 Author Share Posted October 2, 2003 yes, myie2_user, i use several broadband speed test sites after i set a system up on either cable/dsl. all cable results on comcast are roughly the same...none over 15KB a sec. you mention you get upto 30KB on your connection, do you have a regular residential account or a 'pro' account? and which city do you reside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coolme Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 tech support = people who is confused as you are except have a manual to look at to TRY to find the answers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-=SD=- Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 yes, myie2_user, i use several broadband speed test sites after i set a system up on either cable/dsl. all cable results on comcast are roughly the same...none over 15KB a sec. you mention you get upto 30KB on your connection, do you have a regular residential account or a 'pro' account? and which city do you reside? I got the residential and I am in the pittsburgh area... I would call them and ask to check your line to see why your upload is slow, don't try to explain it to the "first level customer care" but try and get someone higher up on the phone. You could also go to forums.comcast.net and ask your question there to see if anyone who actually knows about it can make a reply (just make sure to post your OS and city.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoSigma Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 most companies false advertise a bit. yup, they all say get "up to" but you will never get "up to". but for me with my isp it was the opposite. They said I get a 1 mbps connection but I'm getting 1.4 mbps :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-=SD=- Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Yea, most have over the cap, so say it's 1.5 on tv ads but in reality it's 1.8 but they advertise 1.5 in hopes that is the speed you will actually get. In comcast's case since my area doesn't have many users I was able to get the 1.8 speed constant until they upped the speed which now instead of 3, I get around 3.2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick0142 Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 I use comcast, and i get between 40-45KB/s all the time...still a low upload vs my old edu connection at college, but i will deal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slee Posted October 3, 2003 Author Share Posted October 3, 2003 you're missing the point here, myie2_user, none of the PCs i've setup on comcast cable are uploading over 15K, if it's a 'line' problem, then the entire Gulf Coast has a 'line' problem, i see this on a daily basis in my line of work..i'm no longer on cable(went dsl) and as far as calling any level of support at comcast, they all tell you the same thing, 'your line is good'...when you tell them the speed your getting all they say is, 'we don't garantee a set speed, your speed will vary upto 256kbps'...thing is, it never varies over 15KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-=SD=- Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Which would be a reason to talk to someone higher up, the ppl that you call just read from a script they don't really care about your speed or anything. You need to call up complaining, ask to speak to someone who knows something about your area and go from there. Getting that speed isn't just a problem of your speed will vary that is like half the speed all the time which is probably a bigger problem with their network that they are unaware of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slee Posted October 3, 2003 Author Share Posted October 3, 2003 our(gulf coast) download speed is good, it's the upload that i feel we're being capped on. when it was excite@home, we would get almost unlimited upload speed, but when excite@home went under and comcast tookover, the speed fell to 15KB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mldkfa Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 I'm a comcast user at home and mines capped at 220kb down 40kb up, not too shabby:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 when it was excite@home, we would get almost unlimited upload speed I hope that was a HUGE exaggeration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slee Posted October 3, 2003 Author Share Posted October 3, 2003 sorry, when i typed 'unlimited', i meant not capped, i would get upload speeds upto 90KB on a good day..i'm in alabama, in my neck of the woods not many rednecks had PCs, not to mention cable modems, so i pretty much had the server to myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasseye Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 I am in the Mobile AL area and never had a problem get 256k = 30KB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snippet1 Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 My Cable ISP - OptusNet - blocked out my ability to set my computer up as a webserver - of any kind. Although some things are still let through, and there is no block for other people with my ISP connecting to me, but many programs which are dependent on these connections (such as WinXP remote assistance) are blocked. :cry: :no: Problem is, we're locked into contract for 6 more months :crazy: - and it still is the best deal around. BTW, if anyone knows some sort of way around these restrictions, please help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimplyPotatoes Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 hey myie2 _user what state are you in,i know people at comcast and charter, msg me if you like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Veteran Posted October 3, 2003 Veteran Share Posted October 3, 2003 i used to have excite@home with at&t, but then excite died, and at&t died, now i have mediacom. my upload cap dropped to 128kbit/s and my download cap went from virtually non-existant to 1.5mbit/s. i don't complain about the downloading speed, it's enough for me. but the upload is horrible, and it's not often i even get over 96kbit/s :crazy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\\Coroner// Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 Cable is not 'supposed' to have length limitations like ADSL. So not getting what they have promised is related to a cap or bad equipment used by the provider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sime27 Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 all they do is advertise it useing the words "UPTO" which covers there bak either way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts