08-02-2013 2:55 PM
08-02-2013 2:55 PM
I have been a UVerse internet & phone customer since March 2010 and before that was a DSL customer with Bellsouth/AT&T. Recently Comcast was in the area doing a promotion, so I signed up for their 30-day trial. UVerse in my neighborhood is limited to 18Mbps so I wanted to test drive Xfinity's 50MBps as well as their phone service. I kept UVerse active while trying Xfinity in case I didn't like Comcast.
The bottom line, after 17 days I am dropping Comcast and sticking with UVerse, and thought I would share my experience in case it helps others. Some background: I'm in a South Florida neighborhood (Pompano Beach area) built in the early 1970's and we have old Bellsouth pedestals in our yards (and mine is OLD). The UVerse VRAD in the middle of the neighborhood is anywhere from 700 to 3000 feet from my house (depending on which way the underground cabling gets from the VRAD to my house). I do not have Uverse TV or any cable, just internet & phone. I also have an alarm system that uses dial-up to communicate to the central station. AT&T told me they cannot do 24Mbps in this neighborhood, so the highest I can go is 18.
The biggest reason I'm staying with UVerse: RELIABILITY. Since switching to UVerse from DSL in March 2010, it has gone down ONCE, and even then I just had to cycle power to the UVerse router. It's just rock solid reliable, even with the lousy pedestal in my yard that used to give us fits with standard DSL. It's pretty stable at around 16-18 Mbps and bad weather never affects it. Phone calls always work and never have noise. Alarm system has never had problems using the line. Anonymous call reject works mostly well (some oddball numbers like "1" still get through) and I can block up to 20 numbers.
The biggest reason to stay with Xfinity: 50MBps. However my family didn't notice a huge difference (they're all non-techies) and even complained to me that some pages loaded slower or not at all. I noticed faster replication with Lotus Notes on my company's VPN, and pages do seem to load faster, but nothing earth shattering. Video streaming on Youtube and Amazon Prime had no difference between the two. The phone sometimes had some IP-phone-sounding noise on it (i.e. choppy, small noise bursts, etc), but nothing major, yet noticable since UVerse never had any of this. Anonymous call reject does seem to work better (no weird numbers getting through) but you're limited to 16 numbers blocked.
I was ready to cancel UVerse, but on the 17th day, Comcast had an area outage for at least 3 hours starting around 9pm. During that time we had no phone or internet, which also meant no alarm central station monitoring. It made me realize how stable UVerse had been and that we've never had an outage like this. I was away on a trip and thought about my family - what if someone broke in? 911 would only be available by cellphone, if they could reach it.
So for me, the slower but steady & reliable UVerse is staying. I don't know how reliable it is elsewhere but it works great here. This is hard for me because I WANT faster speed! I really wanted Xfinity to work, and I might keep just the internet part (trying to figure out how to justify the extra cost of having both!). I read today that AT&T is testing faster speeds in other markets, so I have hopes that this will result in them upping speeds to 45 Mbps here sometime in the future.
Anyway I hope this helps those trying to decide which service to use for internet and phone.
12-07-2013 6:52 AM
12-07-2013 6:52 AM
Vivy wrote:
Thanks dhascall.. I will call tomorrow and see if they come out and do internet tests?? Also looking for more feedback from gamers.. All I have seen is negative feedback from gamers, to slow not enough bandwidth but are they just cry babies??
No, they're not just cry-babies.
It's not really a "bandwidth" problem. A low-latency (35 - 50 ms to server) 3 Mbps connection is better for gaming than a 24 Mbps connetion with high latency (150 - 300 ms or more to server).
Uverse Internet (not sure if it's specific to VDSL, ADSL2/2+, or both), does suffer from higher (than necessary) latency. Whether due to unoptimized routing, the extra layers of systems AT&T runs, or regional/local infrastructure issues, gamers may have problems with excessive latency which can cause issues with maintaining a connection to game servers and/or delays in game (lag). AT&T's old ADSL system does not usually have those latency or routing issues if you've got a stable connection.
AT&T also still suffers from locationitis. Depending on your location there is a whole menu of somewhat confusing options as to what they can provide and how they will provide it. You might only be able to get DSL internet and POTS phone, or only Uverse Internet and POTS phone, or Uverse internet and VOIP phone, or Uverse Internet and VOIP phone and Uverse TV. For the areas that are not eligible for Uverse TV they'll (currently) bundle DirecTV (used to be Dish). What Internet speed you'll be able to get is also dependant on your location. With Comcast, if you can get it, you can get everything from one service.
Unlike Comcast, AT&T does not have constant (sometimes three a year when I had it) 10 - 15 percent rate increases, but you will have to keep an eye on your bill because the "promotional" pricing (true value of the service) will double to their "suggested retail price" and you have to call in to get it back down to where it belongs. Usually that's a simple process. When I had Comcast, all they could/would do is reduce your channel package (tier) to reduce your price (above and beyond the standard tier reduction/rate increases).
__________________________________________________________
How can you be in two places at once, when your not anywhere at all?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I really want to become a procrastinator, but I keep putting it off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are three kinds of people, those that can count, and those that can't.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature has made them." :Bertrand Russell
12-07-2013 7:50 AM
12-07-2013 7:50 AM
VDSL2 protocol inserts 10-15ms of latency due to the way data is interleaved between mulitple transmisisons between the RG and the VRAD. Other than that, AT&T U-verse latency tends to be very similar to traditional ADSL latency. For most people, this amount of latency is not an issue. If you have a very, VERY time sensitive game, this may actually affect you.
One should always be aware of Bandwidth and Latency when measuring the quality of an network connection, though it always seems that all anyone wants to talk about is downstream bandwidth.
Computer-Joe wrote:
... A low-latency (35 - 50 ms to server) 3 Mbps connection is better for gaming than a 24 Mbps connetion with high latency (150 - 300 ms or more to server).
For some games. And 150 ms latency is not typical for a 24 Mbps U-verse connection.
12-09-2013 8:50 AM
12-09-2013 8:50 AM
Comcast sucks... I used comcast for years... everyone I know who had comcast or does still have it says it sucks. They sniff the lines and cap it too much. AT&T is very reliable unlike comcast. Comcast does not give the advertised speeds unlike AT&T. Comcast some days would give 20mpbs on a 50mpbs plan. My new AT&T service gives me 26mpbs now on a 24mpbs plan. I moved alot and everywhere I went I tried both and AT&T hands down owns comcast. I cant wait for the 45mpbs down speed in 2 months in Jacksonville Florida. Also AT&T will have 100mpbs down speed by the end of 2015 they say.
Good luck everyone else!!
(Im a heavy user on speed so my pick is AT&T due to the reliable speeds and nevery going down like comcast)
12-09-2013 1:24 PM
12-09-2013 1:24 PM
12-09-2013 1:31 PM
12-09-2013 1:31 PM
12-09-2013 1:37 PM
12-09-2013 1:37 PM
12-09-2013 1:42 PM
12-09-2013 1:42 PM
I can't compart U-verse to Comcast, because I never had Comcast. I did have Charter, however, and:
I pay for U-verse now about what I paid for Charter when I disconnected from Charter. For a higher service level than I had with Charter. For less than I'd be paying them now for what I had then.
Is AT&T perfect? Absolutely not.
Have they improved continously since I signed up? Yes.
12-09-2013 1:43 PM
12-09-2013 1:43 PM
12-09-2013 1:49 PM
12-09-2013 1:49 PM
12-09-2013 1:51 PM
12-09-2013 1:51 PM
12-09-2013 1:55 PM
12-09-2013 1:55 PM
klepp0906 wrote:
Sounds like charter was the pits lol. Why would you go with something like that in the first place? You live in a rural area that had no options initially or?
Probably same reason you're still with AT&T and posting on their forums instead of moving on.
01-19-2014 7:45 PM
01-19-2014 7:45 PM
KlarkKen wrote:
Since NBC bought Xfinity it's been a steady downhill roll. I'm a techie by trade and haven't had any issues downloading files or assisting customers remotely. There were times in my last month with Comcast that connections were so sketchy that I sat in the parking lot at McDonalds to have internet access so I could get any work done.
it's a 180. Comcast owns NBC., NBC does not own Comcast.
01-23-2014 7:48 PM
01-23-2014 7:48 PM
NLT is correct. Comcast owns NBCUniversal.
02-19-2014 8:49 PM
02-19-2014 8:49 PM
I'm dropping Xfinity altogether at the end of the month. Currently I still am with Xfinity and pay for the 50Mbps internet line. I can CONFIRM that if Uverse is consistently offering 18Mbps speeds then it IS better than Xfinity's 50Mbps speeds. No one paying for 50Mbps is likely getting that fast. I've done speed and ping tests on my internet connection with Xfinity weekly for 2 years since moving out to CA. I PAY for the 50Mbps line, but my PEAK speeds rarely exceed 21Mbps, and, in fact, average in the 8-11Mbps range. I know this is true almost everywhere because Xfinity tosses as many people as they can onto a line, so even though the line CAN go to 50Mbps, it will never get that fast. It's been exceedingly infuriating.
Because Comcast offers no-contract service, your rates are also subject to the whims of their management. You can sign up for a 1-year "plan", like I did, that offers phone, internet, and cable tv for, say $130 per month...and within a few months, you're paying $180...or $200. I have used Xfinity long enough to be sufficiently confident that this is their MO. They advertise no contract as if it is a good thing, which it is...if you want to leave. But, assuming you live in a place that has no competitors (which is at least half the country) who are you going to defect to when they decide to start bending you over again? No one. After talking to AT&T's reps and getting their assurance that my monthly payments will NOT go up for the duration of the contract, and the fact that they were offering me a better package for nearly $70 less than Xfinity, it made little sense to stay with them.
I can only hope that AT&T doesn't turn into another Comcast. I'm really on the verge of just not paying for any kind of service at all. It's ludicrous how little options consumers have when it comes to this, and it is unacceptable. It is unacceptable that corporate entities are allowed to own all this data infrastructure...but I digress. I'm happy to be leaving Xfinity (at least for now, anyway). They really are a horrible company and will stop at nothing to make money off you simply because they can...STAY HONEST AT&T!
03-27-2014 7:05 PM
03-27-2014 7:05 PM
I worked for Comcast as an installer. Their internet service (when working) is top notch. About once a month (usually late at night so it doesn't effect too many people) they do line maintnance. This is due to ever changing demand. Everyone in a neighborhood is feeding off a "node" which regulates service. These nodes from time to time need tweaking to offer better bandwidth to the neighborhood based on demand.
The ocassional modem and router reboot is no big problem. You unplug the power thirty seconds and plug back in, you're back in business.
My my mother just dropped UVerse for Comcast because of the speed. Her UVerse was at risk of being throttled (Slowed down due to using a preset, by att, amount of data).
Visit these related resources
View U-verse Troubleshooting! View U-verse Error Code Help!Having service trouble? There is an app for that!
Click here to check it out or text myATT to 8758 to download the app. You can quickly and easily resolve your service woes!
Do you need to contact us? Chat with us!