[GLLUG] sbc x comcast

James Zaldivar zaldivarj at michigan.org
Mon Jun 27 11:45:25 EDT 2005


I've had Comcast for a couple years now.  I wouldn't switch to DSL
because I have VOIP (Voicepulse - $15/mo) now and at the end of the day,
it wouldn't save me much money, if any.

I bought the cheapest cable TV that comcast offered (a handfull of
channels for about $8/mo at the time) and received a $15 break on my
broadband bill.  So, I'm paying about $55/month 2 years later (the cable
TV has increased in price, but still costs less than it takes off of my
bill).

To get DSL, I would have to get phone service again.  That's almost
$40/mo these days.  Even with the "express" service mentioned
previously, I would still be paying $55/mo for internet.  Add in the
price for that cheap cable, and I would be saving maybe $5/mo for my
phone, TV, and internet expenses...only the broadband I had wouldn't be
as fast as what I had started with.

Besides, after signing up for VOIP, the concept of going back to regular
phone service seems crazy.

-----Original Message-----
From: linux-user-bounces at egr.msu.edu
[mailto:linux-user-bounces at egr.msu.edu] On Behalf Of David D
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2005 11:14 AM
To: Andy Lee; linux-user at egr.msu.edu; Mike Szumlinski
Subject: Re: [GLLUG] sbc x comcast


My two cents...

Technically there is no reason for a DSL to have a shorter lease time
than CABLE.  On both SBC and Comcast your IP address should stay the
same until there is a disconnect, neither forces a change that I know
of.  (My address from SBC has changed 6 times in the last 12 months,
most of them when I turned off the router/modem for more than a couple
hours, My sister Comcast has changed 4 times and except for a move and
power failure her modem/router have been always on)

When ever I get a chance I ask people who have broadband in the area
what their results are and I also try to test it myself when ever I can.
There is a speed difference between Comcast and SBC and obviously DSL
will have different maximum speeds depending on distance to CO.  Comcast
in the Lansing area usually runs about 200-250K on average (I have seen
up to 380K) down where Ameritech is closer to 125-175K (Never seen over
250K). Comcast's routing seems to be a little better, SBC routes
everything through Southfield and then Chicago where Comcast appears to
go straight to Chicago most of the time ( I need to start measuring
packet times).  Upload speeds all appear to be about the same between
30K and 60K, I think SBC is a little slower but its not all that
measureable.

I also have monitoring software on my sisters Comcast line in Lansing
and have recorded 2 unscheduled down events for a total of 16 hours on
her line (note both times the IP address changed which accounts for all
4 changes). My own connection has had 3 unscheduled down events with SBC
for a total of 38 hours, all were corrected by a call or reset of modem
(I was out of town for one of the issues and did not rush to do anything
about it).  Both were monitored off an Sprint T1 in the lansing area
that shows 4 hours of downtime which was not included in the above time
or events.  (In case you were wondering I was monitoring machines on the
T1 but in return I have the stats on the remote machines)

SBC is REALLY cheap right now $15 a month for 'express - 1.5/384' and
$25 for 'pro - 3/512' and that is for a year.  I am paying $25 and I
have had SBC for 4 years now.  It started at $39, then $29 and now $25,
I just called every year and asked for the best price for my service,
they commented about the prices for new accounts but gave it to me
anyways...  Comcast offers a $10 a month for 6 months but then it goes
up to full price (which I do not know at this time).

Here at work we have 2 SBC Business DSL lines in the Lansing area.  We
had a hardware failure on a router, otherwise I do not have any downtime
listed for either line over the last 6 months.  Both are 1.5M/384k with
5 static IP's for $79.00 a month. (I see they have better prices listed,
I need to make a few calls!!)

I personally do not have access to Comcast, but I would not switch if I
could.

DD

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andy Lee" <ALEE at courts.mi.gov>
To: <linux-user at egr.msu.edu>; "Mike Szumlinski" <szumlins at mac.com>
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2005 9:42 AM
Subject: Re: [GLLUG] sbc x comcast


> I've had it for almost 2 years. Most of my problem comes from being a 
> long
way from the CO.
>
> >>> Mike Szumlinski <szumlins at mac.com> 06/27/05 09:29AM >>>
> How long have you had the service?  When my parents first got theirs 
> set up a full years ago it actually took a good 4-5 days for it to 
> "optimize" itself.  I'm not really sure what exactly the CO was doing 
> with the connection, but it made a noticeable difference just sitting 
> and waiting.
>
> That said, my cable modems have always felt faster.
>
> -Mike
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> linux-user mailing list
> linux-user at egr.msu.edu 
> http://www.egr.msu.edu/mailman/listinfo/linux-user

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