AT&T Uverse

[Iwritecode]

AT&T's internet is total garbage unless you happen to live very close to a central office. Even then, they can't come close to competing with Comcast in terms of speed.

 

I have the cheapest Comcast internet package I could get, and it's like 20mbit down, 5mbit up. Not theoretical, but actual speeds sustained. And I find those speeds to be mediocre.

 

We don't have the lowest tier for their speeds but I don't remember what the exact numbers are. It works for us though because we don't do anything that requires really high speeds. Facebook games, youtube videos and maybe Pandora are about it.

[Y2HH]

Are you a Comcast salesman or something? I realize every provider has their issues, but for ME, AT&T has been fine. There are two big reasons why I will not go back to Comcast: No full home DVR and piss-poor customer service.

 

No, Comcast is a terribly run company...the only thing is their product is solid...it works, it's very fast, and tends to have very few outages. Comcast, for Internet, is an unfortunate recommendation I must make to everyone. When it comes to TV service...I don't see a difference in any of them, be they wired or dish, and aside from their introductory prices, they're mostly the exact same costs.

[hogan873]

No, Comcast is a terribly run company...the only thing is their product is solid...it works, it's very fast, and tends to have very few outages. Comcast, for Internet, is an unfortunate recommendation I must make to everyone. When it comes to TV service...I don't see a difference in any of them, be they wired or dish, and aside from their introductory prices, they're mostly the exact same costs.

I've heard that their internet is very fast, and I've been tempted.

 

Overall, I think it's terrible how much consumers have to pay for TV service. I wish there was an a la cart option. I'm sure I'm like most people who have a "200" or "300" package and only watch 1/3 of the channels.

[farmteam]

No, Comcast is a terribly run company...the only thing is their product is solid...it works, it's very fast, and tends to have very few outages. Comcast, for Internet, is an unfortunate recommendation I must make to everyone. When it comes to TV service...I don't see a difference in any of them, be they wired or dish, and aside from their introductory prices, they're mostly the exact same costs.

Sadly, I have to agree with this. Last year, the apartment I lived in required me to have Comcast. I just hate dealing with Comcast, so I was happy when my apartment this year uses DirecTV and CenturyLink. I'm really happy with DirecTV, but OH MY is CenturyLink terrible. Just so, so slow compared to what I was getting with Comcast.

 

What I really want is for Google to roll out their fiber network up here, so I can get speeds literally 1,000x faster than I do now. Too bad that won't happen for a decade.

[Y2HH]

Sadly, I have to agree with this. Last year, the apartment I lived in required me to have Comcast. I just hate dealing with Comcast, so I was happy when my apartment this year uses DirecTV and CenturyLink. I'm really happy with DirecTV, but OH MY is CenturyLink terrible. Just so, so slow compared to what I was getting with Comcast.

 

What I really want is for Google to roll out their fiber network up here, so I can get speeds literally 1,000x faster than I do now. Too bad that won't happen for a decade.

 

It probably won't ever happen.

[southsider2k5]

I've heard that their internet is very fast, and I've been tempted.

 

Overall, I think it's terrible how much consumers have to pay for TV service. I wish there was an a la cart option. I'm sure I'm like most people who have a "200" or "300" package and only watch 1/3 of the channels.

 

I've had very good luck over the years with Comcast, in general. A few outings and the like, but nothing extensive or prolonged. The big drawback is that they are expensive.

[IlliniKrush]

I've heard that their internet is very fast, and I've been tempted.

 

Overall, I think it's terrible how much consumers have to pay for TV service. I wish there was an a la cart option. I'm sure I'm like most people who have a "200" or "300" package and only watch 1/3 of the channels.

The price per channel would be outrageous to try to make that work. Everyone pays for channels they want and channels they don't - but someone else wants those ones and don't want your favorites.

[farmteam]

It probably won't ever happen.

Shh, let a man with s***ty internet dream.

[RockRaines]

Shh, let a man with s***ty internet dream.

Im with you. Google fiber please come here!!!

[RockRaines]

I've had very good luck over the years with Comcast, in general. A few outings and the like, but nothing extensive or prolonged. The big drawback is that they are expensive.

The ONLY drawback with Comcast is that you have to call them every 6 months and threaten to leave so you can get a temporary discount.

[southsider2k5]

The ONLY drawback with Comcast is that you have to call them every 6 months and threaten to leave so you can get a temporary discount.

 

This does get really annoying.

[nitetrain8601]

AT&T's internet is total garbage unless you happen to live very close to a central office. Even then, they can't come close to competing with Comcast in terms of speed.

 

I have the cheapest Comcast internet package I could get, and it's like 20mbit down, 5mbit up. Not theoretical, but actual speeds sustained. And I find those speeds to be mediocre.

 

If you are dealing with DSL, then yes, it's dependent on how close you are to the Central Office. If we are talking about UVerse, which I thought we were, your proximity to the node is what your speeds are dependent on, not to the Central Office. You also mentioned wireless earlier, which is not what we're talking about. We're talking about home phone, internet and tv.

 

Uverse has great TV, especially for the price. It's very easy to get on their promos as long as you're current on your bill. They have so many HD options. Their HD is compressed a little more heavily than others unfortunately, but it's nowhere as bad as people used to make it seem.

 

Their internet is good if you're close to the node and you're not doing some heavy downloading. The reason being is that 75% of the line is being used for Uverse TV(IPTV), and the other problem is there is no fiber to the house. It is great though in that you're not sharing your connection with others like Comcast, which means there are no peak times or specific times of the day where the internet is slower than an earlier part of the day. ATT also has been a lot more stable than Comcast for me. I've had Comcast in three different places. I've had UVerse in two.

 

Last, but not least, Comcast's monthly charges are not consistent month to month, even if you don't change up your service. ATT is. I look at my bill every month and everything is the exact same as the month before. It's refreshing to see that.

[RockRaines]

Last, but not least, Comcast's monthly charges are not consistent month to month, even if you don't change up your service. ATT is. I look at my bill every month and everything is the exact same as the month before. It's refreshing to see that.

Complete understatement. Comcast has no rhyme or reason to how they bill you. It's a shell game that you MUST play with them if you want to keep your bill low. Take a look at your bill, call them up, question them, get a 6 month discount, repeat.

[Y2HH]

If you are dealing with DSL, then yes, it's dependent on how close you are to the Central Office. If we are talking about UVerse, which I thought we were, your proximity to the node is what your speeds are dependent on, not to the Central Office. You also mentioned wireless earlier, which is not what we're talking about. We're talking about home phone, internet and tv.

 

Uverse has great TV, especially for the price. It's very easy to get on their promos as long as you're current on your bill. They have so many HD options. Their HD is compressed a little more heavily than others unfortunately, but it's nowhere as bad as people used to make it seem.

 

Their internet is good if you're close to the node and you're not doing some heavy downloading. The reason being is that 75% of the line is being used for Uverse TV(IPTV), and the other problem is there is no fiber to the house. It is great though in that you're not sharing your connection with others like Comcast, which means there are no peak times or specific times of the day where the internet is slower than an earlier part of the day. ATT also has been a lot more stable than Comcast for me. I've had Comcast in three different places. I've had UVerse in two.

 

Last, but not least, Comcast's monthly charges are not consistent month to month, even if you don't change up your service. ATT is. I look at my bill every month and everything is the exact same as the month before. It's refreshing to see that.

 

My Comcast bill is the exact same every month...so not sure where or why you're getting that.

 

And Uverse internet is somewhat glorified DSL, it's still copper to your house, which is the bottleneck. And location to a CO and location to a node are technically no different, well, they are but you get what I mean...it's still about location and distance that make a huge difference. There is only so much available bandwidth over copper...and if they're using 75% of it for television data, the rest of the pipe is saturated and slow.

Edited December 17, 2012 by Y2HH

[Y2HH]

Complete understatement. Comcast has no rhyme or reason to how they bill you. It's a shell game that you MUST play with them if you want to keep your bill low. Take a look at your bill, call them up, question them, get a 6 month discount, repeat.

 

I don't get this...my bill doesn't change unless I add or remove services.

[RockRaines]

I don't get this...my bill doesn't change unless I add or remove services.

Mine hasnt been consistent for more than a few months at a time for the last 7 years. They add or delete packages, add channels, up internet cost. Anything to make your bill increase.