Comcast Launches Contract-Free Xfinity Prepaid Internet Service (theverge.com)

Comcast has been testing its Xfinity prepaid internet service for several years and now it appears to be ready for the masses. "The package allows consumers to pay for internet service on a pay-as-you-go basis, with refills ranging from seven to 30 days," reports The Verge. From the report: Comcast is partnering with Boost Mobile to sell the $80 prepaid internet starter kits, which come with a wireless DOCSIS 3.0 gateway and 30 days of service. Download speeds measure up to 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps for uploads, and refills start at $15 for one week. The prepaid plans works anywhere within Xfinity's coverage area, and while there's no credit check involved, you do have to be 18 years or older to sign up. The partnership also gives Boost Mobile customers $5 off refills. At launch, customers will be able to find the the Xfinity starter kits at Boost Mobile stores around Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The company plans to roll out the kits to all 4,000 stores (that are within Comcast's coverage area) by the end of the year.

Comments

Holy shit

[beelsebob]

$60 a month for 10Mb/s internet?

What the fuck is this shit comcast?

Re:Holy shit

[sims 2]

IKR the 12/1Mbps att ADSL2+ at work is only $45/mo.

Well ok that's a promo deal but it's also business class
$35/mo would get you 10/?Mbps via the city muni fiber here. Standard price for residential service.

Re:Holy shit

[hawguy]

$60 a month for 10Mb/s internet?

What the fuck is this shit comcast?

It's actually $45/month -- $15 is the weekly pricing.

Is there a better deal for short-term hard-wired internet with no installation fee or term commitment?

$15/week sounds great for when I visit my parents so I don't have to use their crappy (but cheap) DSL service... my cell phone is faster than that, but latency sucks for interactive work.

Re:Holy shit

[gweilo8888]

Yes, except it's actually more than $45 per month because they rely on hidden fees that you can't find out about until you've started the order process (and likely, until you've almost completed it) to help them pad the price. Note: "Taxes and fees extra."

Re:Holy shit

[grep -v '.*' *]

I pay that for 16MBit from Comcast. I could get faster speeds for a higher price, but that's adequate for me (and all I want to pay.) OTOH AT&T supposedly just announced unlimited Gigabit fiber for $80. THAT I'd spring for, if it's real.

Re:Holy shit

[camg188]

It's a pre-paid service. Not sure how you would add hidden fees to pre-paid.

Re:Holy shit

[gweilo8888]

By charging for them when pre-paying. It's right there on the freaking page that they exist. Do a find-in-page for "taxes" and see for yourself.

Re:Holy shit

[HiThereImBob]

$60 a month for 10Mb/s internet?

What the fuck is this shit comcast?

They're just trying to raise money for network upgrades. They need to install all new state of the art spying gear to make sure they have the information about their customers marketers will pay top dollar for.

Re:Holy shit

[Dayze!Confused]

Best deal on internet I had in the US was actually through my HOA. Cost for our 600 unit HOA was $30/mo/unit for 100Mbps up and down with an option to pay an extra $40/mo for 1Gbps. On a Diablo III update I actually saw the download peak at 12MB/s. I did have to retire the good old Linksys 54GL as it wasn't capable of handling the higher speeds.

Now I've moved and am paying $50/mo for Comcast with 200Mbps down and 10-12Mbps up (2 Year contract to lock it in for 2 year, even though it was also offered with a 1 year contract).

Use your own docsis Modem discount / refills?

[Joe_Dragon]

Will they let Use your own docsis Modem discount / have your own and just buy a refills?

Bandwidth caps?

[Daemonik]

Even odds they'll use this to try to sneak bandwidth caps on people. "No no, you can pay weekly for unlimited or buy by the Gb!" or some other new tactic like "Unlimited Emails and Texts $5 extra!"

Re:Bandwidth caps?

[rogoshen1]

this is basically the 'anti-netflix' package.
dollars to doughnuts their shitty on demand stuff is exempt from the cap.

Re: It's great for the frugal.

[Anonymous Coward]

No, all good countries have universal health care...

Re: It's great for the frugal.

[slazzy]

In Canada You might be better off with a fido tablet plan (often on sale $15 / gig month or $30 / 3 gigs) or koodo prepaid $30 per gig and never expires.

My first thought was "why?"

[93 Escort Wagon]

But I can see some limited use cases - like when we visit my wife's folks, who have cable TV but no internet service. They're out in the sticks where the only wireless data coverage is Verizon... and those guys charge you through the nose for prepaid data, something like $30 for 5 gigs if I remember our last trip. Since we are mostly at their house during our visits, this might be a viable alternative.

Re:My first thought was "why?"

[Razed By TV]

But I can see some limited use cases - like when we visit my wife's folks, who have cable TV but no internet service. They're out in the sticks where the only wireless data coverage is Verizon... and those guys charge you through the nose for prepaid data, something like $30 for 5 gigs if I remember our last trip. Since we are mostly at their house during our visits, this might be a viable alternative.

I guess maybe if their cable provider is already Comcast. Still, seems like a hassle if you aren't going to consume tons of data. It seems like this gets you a standard RF modem that has wifi built in, so it probably won't work on a competitor's cable lines. You might be able to sign into one of the Xfinity wifi access points, though, if you can find one in that rural environment.

Am I the only one who noticed?

[Anonymous Coward]

That this announcement come just days after the FCC announced no more cheap internet for low income people?

Not enough.

[Gravis Zero]

Nope, $80 to start using their service isn't enough. They'll have to pay me much more than that if they want me to be a Comcast victim. ;)