Is Comcast Heading the Way of the Dinosaur?

CasualRepartee writes "Comcast has been one of the most successful cable companies in the world; in many parts of the U.S., Comcast sits pretty on huge user bases that don't have many viable high-speed internet alternatives. However, poor customer service, slow speeds and generally poor business practices could make the once-great internet giant another extinct dinosaur, no ice age required. The fact of the matter is this: Comcast is no longer the biggest and the best. Cable is taking a distant back seat to Verizon's FiOS (fiber optic service), which delivers speeds up to 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload speeds. Unlike Comcast, FiOS delivers the full range of bandwidth to each user, whereas Comcast users are forced to share bandwidth with other users on the same coaxial cable, causing speeds to fluctuate dramatically with usage."

Comments

Re:I hate Comcast

[the eric conspiracy]

I have Cablevison (Boost which is 30 Mbps up, 5 down) and FIOS available to me. FIOS is slightly less expensive, has lower bandwidth, and doesn't permit servers. Cablevision does allow servers. Cablevision also offers more HD channels and better VOIP options. People who I know who have switched to FIOS complain bitterly about Verizon's billing practices and poor customer service.

I don't see how FIOS is going to put Cablevision out to pasture anytime soon.

Re:Talk about choosing between two evils.

[tekiegreg]

Heh, this may be offtopick but after hearing everyone's gripes I think I am in DSL Nirvana thanks to my DSL Provider (Look up Linkline if anyone is interested).

Seriously fast speeds (they quote me 1.5mbps - 6.mbps, I routinely see 4mbps at peak times, and easily 6mbps off peak), 99.9% reliability (had a few times the modem refused to connect but after 15 minutes it would strangely clear up), liberal access policies (I've run outgoing SMTP and Bittorrent, the latter which just screams bits powerfully, I'm anyone's favorite seed :-) ), now I've hardly had to talk to customer support because they're so good, but when I do, it's geeks that know what they are talking about that respond, probably some that are reading Slashdot now.

Ok I'm done burning my karma on a very shameless plug, just get them, they're goood....