Xfinity Internet Has New Broadband Packages

[Circuits]

I took the bait and "upgraded" to 300Mb Tier and "Flex TV". I don't use the flex box - just stream through my existing devices, but getting the box was necessary for the service tier. There's no monthly rental on the flex box, so that's fine, for now, and I'm liking the faster speed when I download big things. Had to upgrade my cablemodem (SB6121 out and SB6183 in) and replace an old switch to get the full benefits of the new service tier.

Kinda making me think about 10GBe for my NAS and main systems, now, though.

[Gman]

I got walked through the option for the free Flex box, so I was able to check a box to skip it. Logging into my account still shows an option to get the box for no charge since it's included.

If you're upgrading cable modems, an approved modem with Docsis 3.1 is probably the way to go to add a bit of future proofing. I had to upgrade mine when Comcast was increasing speeds for free but was unable to take advantage of them with my Motorola Surfboard, so I picked up a SB6190 at Best Buy. It's a Docsis 3.0, but I don't think 3.1 was available at the time.

[Jer]

Make sure you're aware of ALL the taxes and fees if you take one of those package deals. The ones with phone & TV come with some pretty steep fees. In Colorado you pay like a buck for internet service only. The phone & TV ones come with all sorts of crazy fees & tax so if they quote you the base price w/o tax find out for sure how much you pay total. Our previous plan had a phone that we never used and the tax/fees were like $20/mo just for that. Obviously, if the total with that is lower it makes sense but just know what you're singing up for because some people out there are unscrupulous or don't know what they're talking about.

[bradbn4]

To say the least; when I saw only a 10Mbs bump from my last servers I was not jumping up and down for joy. The price drop on my bill, I was quite happy. The fact that based on service level agreement it was a 25Mbs bump was good.

TLR : DNR - got the full bump in speed that I paid for.


I poked at my network today to reconfigure my router to allow local reconfiguration. I performed a 2+ min off power off recycle of the modem and "poof" - looks like my modem speed test shows advertised rates if not more. I was using some new hardware that I assembled a few months and getting it fully patched to be shipped off to Texas. I only had one $40 POE switch between the router and the computer.

I am not sure why I did not see the update faster...
--> the soft reset might not have caused the modem to be updated correctly
--> I failed to wait long enuff after the update (2+ hrs)
--> Because it was Sat.
--> I was using old cat 5 cable between the switch and modem (now upgraded) and that hardware could not handle the speed.
--> Because I have some crappy hardware and really need to
------> Get real Cat6 lines for 100% of the lines
------>replace the 4 switches between my upstairs computer and the router and pay more than 20 dollars per switch
-----> Use something better than a 8 year old computer for the speed test

I did some google searches and there are some cheap 10G switch at about the $100 dollar price point. The price rises fast when you start looking at the better quality hardware ones and the number of ports you need to run at 10G. I think it will be worth the money to upgrade the backbone of my network with 10G links to prevent any one computer from sucking 100% of the available bandwidth. This is the first time I pushed my network hard enough to determine I had some weak links in the basic network layout.

Yep, I am very happy I did the upgrade, and thanks all for the posts in this thread.

[O2HeN2]

So is there any hitch here, or is Xfinity/Comcast just responding to market pressure?

I currently pay Xfinity ~$85 for 70-80MBpS. Now I can get 100MBpS for $45 (with contract).

I'm just making sure I'm not missing anything.

For example, I can't find the upload speeds listed anywhere - anyone have any idea for the 100MBpS service?

Otherwise it's a no-brainer.

O2

Ps. Not a gamer, only stream one device at a time. Use the 'net and VoIP for work, so don't need anything screaming...

[Jer]

So is there any hitch here, or is Xfinity/Comcast just responding to market pressure?

I currently pay Xfinity ~$85 for 70-80MBpS. Now I can get 100MBpS for $45 (with contract).

I'm just making sure I'm not missing anything.

For example, I can't find the upload speeds listed anywhere - anyone have any idea for the 100MBpS service?

Otherwise it's a no-brainer.

O2

Ps. Not a gamer, only stream one device at a time. Use the 'net and VoIP for work, so don't need anything screaming...

Pure pressure response from Comcrap which is further evidenced by them targeting areas that are bringing high-speed internet online to compete.

There's no catch really. Comcrap is scrambling and they see the writing on the wall. They had a monopoly for decades which is now being broke up. This is EXACTLY why Google got in the high-speed internet game years ago was to force these monopolies to improves services with the presence of competition. We're seeing the fruits of this even if it's been over a decade down the road.

Most have been burned by Comcrap for so long that they don't really care what "please baby, don't go" tactics they try to apply once there's another option. I fit this category as well. Screw these hosers.

Your plan is most likely 5Mbps up. This is most of them and you have to get to the plan similar to what I described I was on previously to see that upload speed increased to 15Mbps.

FWIW, most of the municipal high-speed internet plans start at 1,000Mbps/1,000Mbps (symmetrical) for around $60-$70/mo and some will include TV channels for that price too. Comcrap will try to get people signed in to plans at that dollar rate or less so when the other options come around the average consumer will look only at price and decide it's not worth the effort. That's the strategy anyway. In many areas people are more savvy than that now and jumping the sinking ship at the first chance they get.

[O2HeN2]

FWIW, most of the municipal high-speed internet plans start at 1,000Mbps/1,000Mbps (symmetrical) for around $60-$70/mo and some will include TV channels for that price too.

As far as I know the 'springs doesn't have municipal service. Plus, I live in one of the low-density "islands" inside of the 'springs, so no one's rushing to supply fiber to an area that would have a poor ROI.

So Xfinity still has me by the balls, at least they've decided not to crush 'em as hard.

Thanks for the info, Jer!

O2

[crays]

Similar, yet different for me. Same end result.

I did not see and/or acknowledge the email, but I had called last Tuesday to address a billing issue (typical cost increase with no change to service xfinity crap).

Like some of you, I have been with xfinity for the long haul, through all the name changes from @HOME on.
I had called about a year ago to complain about the continued escalating cost of my internet only package, and it was a 2+ hour conversation to get a 12 mo. "promo" package that saved me about $20/mo by adding instant TV, which basically streams pretty much only the same channels I can get OTA. There had been a couple very minor increases to my bill, totalling about $2 over the first eight months. First of the year and BAM! $5 per month jump. That prompted the phone call above, which was coming anyway due to expiration of promo period looming.

All said and done, I still spent about 45 minutes on the phone getting it sorted out, and I ended up back to internet only, with an increase in speed, no contract commitment and a favorable reduction in price. They sent me the Flex box, but I likely won't ever use it unless one of mu Roku's goes belly up.

[crays]

A quick question for all you guys with more technical knowledge and savvy than I:

I am on the 100Mbps tier. I do not game. I stream some TV, use VOIP sparingly, have a couple Blink cameras and access phones, tablets, laptops. As long as my stated service speed does not exceed the capacity of my current SB6141, is there any real, tangible benefit to upgrading to the 6183 or 6190 (or beyond) weighed against the expense? Layman's terms, please.

TIA

[00tec]

A quick question for all you guys with more technical knowledge and savvy than I:

I am on the 100Mbps tier. I do not game. I stream some TV, use VOIP sparingly, have a couple Blink cameras and access phones, tablets, laptops. As long as my stated service speed does not exceed the capacity of my current SB6141, is there any real, tangible benefit to upgrading to the 6183 or 6190 (or beyond) weighed against the expense? Layman's terms, please.

TIA

No.