Comcast = Assholes

[cO.gabe]

Ok so I get Comcast high speed internet (cable).  About a month ago they send us this letter saying that they are going to be charging us an extra 5 dollars for each additional ip address we have (after the first one).  So my dad calls them up just to verify this, and this is the convo that goes on.

Robert: Hey, I am a customer of yours and have just been told that I will be charged an extra five dollars for each extra ip address I use.  Is this correct?
Comcast Guy: Yes it is.
Robert: Why have you decided to start charging for each IP?
Comcast Guy: Well see, every ip you use is one that we could be giving to someone else.
Robert: So you mean there are a limited number of IP addresses?
Comcast Guy: Yes. How many computers do you have?
Robert: We have four.
Comcast Guy: So that will be an extra 15 dollars a month probably.
Robert: Well three of our computers use an Airport Extreme connection.  Does this still mean we have four separate IPs?
Comcast Guy: Yes, but if you like you can lease a router from us and that would make it so you only have a single IP.


So my dad is Robert, and he doesn't know much about computers.  I told him that an Airport base station IS a router, and that we really only have two IPs, not four like the Comcast guy said (I say two because one of the computers doesn't use the airport).  

Personally, I think that Comcast is just trying to bullshit us.  They are simply trying to take advantage of the fact that most people really don't know anything about computers, and they know they can get away with charging extra for no reason other than to make money.  Limited number of IPs?  Yeah, so im sure they will be running out of combinations of numbers in the near future.  Whatever.

If this guy's job is customer service, shouldn't he know what he is talking about?  Shouldn't he know that an Airport base station is a router?  Yes.  They are just fucking canadians trying to rip us off.  What bs.

Anyone else get comcast?

[the oNe]

Comcast is great, good 3Mbps down here in Texas.  I have 2 macs hooked up to a Linksys, all on one IP address.  The guy has a point mate.

[KoS.Rebel]

Internet guys can do what they want because we cant do anything about it. I use road runner and ive only had a problem with it once. The problem was ping spikes....as in my ping is 65 then all of a sudden its 999 then it goes back to 65. It did this for about a week then i called RR up and they came out and checked for the problem. It turned out to be that the cable wire that is underground was cut half way through......does that seem strange to you guys? Oh well they fixed it and now everything is good (for the time being). Just be happy uve got a router and feel sorry for the poor peeps who dunno about routers.

["Sixhits"]

The trick is DON'T TELL THEM you have more than one computer.

DON'T TELL THEM you have a router.

Just tell them that you are offended that they are going to charge you more money and make you "buy more ips". Play dumb. Keep getting angry that they want to make you buy more ips - tell them you thought their internet access came with an ip. Get angry. Yell. But DO NOT tell them you have more than more machine.

In essence, price gouging like this is an insult to consumers. Fuck them.

[BFG]

sixhits hit it... just don't tell them

Over hear i use a ISP called Blueyonder. They dont support multiple connections to their broadband and they wont give you any help or any technical support if your plugging it into a router and not the back of your comp..

but at the same time they don't mind you can do whatever the hell you like with it - if you don't complain neither do they

[Croosch]

Gabe, frontier did the same thing up here with our DSL. You know what's the best thing to do? drop em' find a new provider. We now use Charter Cable 2mb I believe.

[BTs_GhostSniper]

I definitely wouldn't tell them either.  I've had pretty good luck with my local cable internet provider (CableOne).  I was so happy a month ago when they announced out of the blue that they were upping the cable internet speed from 1 Mbps to 3 Mbps for no extra charge (the upload went from 128 kbps to 512 kbps at the same time).  So I am one happy camper down here in Mississippi!

[crypt]

No fair, Charter gives me 2.0 MB/128 KB. I wish they would upgrade to 4.0 MB/768 KB for like $20 more.

[|MP|Nomad]

Ok so I get Comcast high speed internet (cable).  About a month ago they send us this letter saying that they are going to be charging us an extra 5 dollars for each additional ip address we have (after the first one).  So my dad calls them up just to verify this, and this is the convo that goes on.

Robert: Hey, I am a customer of yours and have just been told that I will be charged an extra five dollars for each extra ip address I use.  Is this correct?
Comcast Guy: Yes it is.
Robert: Why have you decided to start charging for each IP?
Comcast Guy: Well see, every ip you use is one that we could be giving to someone else.
Robert: So you mean there are a limited number of IP addresses?
Comcast Guy: Yes. How many computers do you have?
Robert: We have four.
Comcast Guy: So that will be an extra 15 dollars a month probably.
Robert: Well three of our computers use an Airport Extreme connection.  Does this still mean we have four separate IPs?
Comcast Guy: Yes, but if you like you can lease a router from us and that would make it so you only have a single IP.


So my dad is Robert, and he doesn't know much about computers.  I told him that an Airport base station IS a router, and that we really only have two IPs, not four like the Comcast guy said (I say two because one of the computers doesn't use the airport).  

Personally, I think that Comcast is just trying to bullshit us.  They are simply trying to take advantage of the fact that most people really don't know anything about computers, and they know they can get away with charging extra for no reason other than to make money.  Limited number of IPs?  Yeah, so im sure they will be running out of combinations of numbers in the near future.  Whatever.

If this guy's job is customer service, shouldn't he know what he is talking about?  Shouldn't he know that an Airport base station is a router?  Yes.  They are just fucking canadians trying to rip us off.  What bs.

Anyone else get comcast?

Ok, a few points which may help from my experience.  

First, Sixhits is right.  Just don't tell them, even if they ask; but it may not make a difference.  What I mean is, when I get problems with my net connection and I call my ISP CSR for help, they at times have to reset the modem from their end rather than my end.  When they do this, they can see on their end that I have a router, I assume they have some kind of detecting device.  I know this b/c they say to me on the phone, "I see you have a router......" and I confirm yes, but like BFG said, they obviously don't care and thats b/c they know that "most" comp users are aware of what routers do, its the comp nooobs that ISP companies pray on to make residual "ass-fucking" income.

I had this happen to me, but my case was a little different.  We were being charged $10 for one extra IP, which is Canadian currency so actually more expensive than yours and at the time we didnt have a router, since it was expensive back in those days, or an Airport BS, so we decided to pay the extra IP, for about 6 months, maybe a year.

Soon after, we purchased a Lynksis router, and called up our ISP and had them cancel the extra IP, there was no questions why or any hassle, again, they didn't care.

Since then, we currently have 3 laptops, wireless and 2 desktops, hardwired (fomerly 3 laptops and 3 desktops), all set up on the same network going throught the same router and Airport BS and we're only paying for the 1 IP.

Rebel:  I had a similar problem with my cable, b/c soon after I switched from 56k to high speed cable, I was still experiencing 56k performace.  I called up my ISP and asked what the deal was.  They did a bunch of tests on their end, and made us confirm our set-up at home to see if it wasn't us, unitl finally I asked after weeks of same results, to have a tech come to my house and investigate since they can't find anything on their end.  

Weeks go by and no show, I call, they are like, well we have high volume of calls and sites to visit, so I just had to be patient.  This is when this ISP company first began to provide high speed connections and so they must have had a huge influx.  Except that, I was still paying for high speed prices and getting nothing but low performance.

Well, lemme tell you, 2 months later, unannounced, they show up at my door.  And, to make matters worse, they weren't even there b/c of my request, they came b/c someone in the house across from me (who had same ISP) was also experiencing the same problems and they wanted to see if "I" had similar issues?  WTF!!!? I was like, "I been waiting weeks for you fuckers to come and now  you guys are asking me if we have any issues?? don't u fucks communicate with each other??"

Anyway, long story short, turns out that the cable signal that was coming into my house from underground was faulty and they had to fix it.  And yes, thats right.  I had to wait a few more weeks and keep paying them high speed prices till it was fixed.

However, keep in mind, although an initial bad experience, they have come around and their Cust. service is better, not much better, but there is an improvement.  And its funny that you mention about new IPs and ISP, etc, b/c my ISP just introduced a new high speed extreme, which I am getting tomorrow put in at home.

It upgrades to 5 mbps DL and 800 Kbps UL, from my current 3 mbps DL (dont know the UL), although we all know that you never get the full numers they advertise it at, so right now they say I have 3 mbps, which in reality we know that I am really getting like 1-1.5 if I'm lucky.  But the best part is, its the SAME price as I am paying now!!!!  .  The only kicker is that I have to pay for the new modem, which is $80 after rebate.  Well, as far as I'm concerned, that's cheap, considering that I will get it faster connection and for same price.  

So Gabe, I am wondering, why the heck are you with comcast if yer in Canada.  Why not switch to my ISP, especially now with this new upgrade?  Of course, I think it matters where you live and if my ISP supports yer area, but if you are living in the greater Toronto area, yer golden!!  Anyway, for those that are eager to know who my ISP is, its Rogers.  And you can see the specs for the new upgrade here.

Oh and btw, for those of you who don't know, although Rogers being a Canadian company and formerly canadian owned, its now owned by Bill Gates  .

[crypt]

Gabe is in San Francisco, Cali. I believe.

[.vooDoo.]

I have comcast here in Boston. 3000down/350up. I have a linksys router running my mac and linux box. My linux box serves 2 websites. I have had comcast now for about 2 years, they DO NOT ALLOW HOSTING and in the 2 years have not said a single thing about my bandwith comsumption. I have nothing to complain about comcast. Not to mension just recently they tripled there download speed.

Get a router man.

[|MP|Nomad]

Gabe is in San Francisco, Cali. I believe.

Oh? I assumed he was in Canada since he said "They are just fucking canadians trying to rip us off.? What bs." and isn't comcast an American ISP?

[cO.gabe]

Ty for your suggestions guys, I'll see what I can do.

Gabe is in San Francisco, Cali. I believe.

Oh? I assumed he was in Canada since he said "They are just fucking canadians trying to rip us off.? What bs." and isn't comcast an American ISP?

Hmm.... i thought Comcast was run by Canadians, but maybe not lol... anyway, I do live in California.

[cO.Kuza]

I also have Comcast and i live in the same area as gabe. i am running 3 computers off a router  and have had no problems with the cable yet..and they have yet to find out that i am using a router... just dont tell em' gabe they got enought money as it is.

[cO.gabe]

Ok, I am kinda confused.  I had the idea that they sent us this letter because they could TELL that we were using two IPs.  How can I just say we only have one machine?  Is there no way for them to check?  If not, then that's great...

[|MP|Nomad]

Ok, I am kinda confused.  I had the idea that they sent us this letter because they could TELL that we were using two IPs.  How can I just say we only have one machine?  Is there no way for them to check?  If not, then that's great...

As I said earlier, they can tell when you have a router, but as far as how many comps they wont know that, but if yer paying for 2 IPs right now, then they would assume that you only have 2 comps running off their bandwith.  Bottom line, get a good router (I like Linksys myself) and cancel the 2nd IP and hook up all yer macs thru that router.  ALso, if you can afford it, try getting a router that has 5 ports or more, dont get the usual 4 port, you will regret it; not b/c of performance as an issue, its just that if you decide to buy an airport basestation and xbox and PS2 and GC, etc etc etc, the 4 ports won't suffice.

["Sixhits"]

Ok, I am kinda confused.  I had the idea that they sent us this letter because they could TELL that we were using two IPs.  How can I just say we only have one machine?  Is there no way for them to check?  If not, then that's great...

From what I gather you have two ips, but mulitple computers.

You WILL be charged for two - the one coming in off the main modem and the other feeding into the Airport Basestation.

If you can find a way of putting ALL your machines behind routers then you will need only one ip.

[c| Lone-Wolf]

To tell if you have a router, just answer this question,

Can people call you directly on NF? Does it work without you lifting a finger?  If so youre not behind a router.  If youve ever done any port forwarding then you are behind a router, and anybody trying to tell you otherwise is trying to screw you over.  At least thats as much as i know.

[.vooDoo.]

Ok, I am kinda confused.  I had the idea that they sent us this letter because they could TELL that we were using two IPs.  How can I just say we only have one machine?  Is there no way for them to check?  If not, then that's great...

As I said earlier, they can tell when you have a router, but as far as how many comps they wont know that, but if yer paying for 2 IPs right now, then they would assume that you only have 2 comps running off their bandwith.  Bottom line, get a good router (I like Linksys myself) and cancel the 2nd IP and hook up all yer macs thru that router.  ALso, if you can afford it, try getting a router that has 5 ports or more, dont get the usual 4 port, you will regret it; not b/c of performance as an issue, its just that if you decide to buy an airport basestation and xbox and PS2 and GC, etc etc etc, the 4 ports won't suffice.

I bought a sigle port linksys router and 16 port hub. It was more cost effective for me that way.

[cO.gabe]

If you can find a way of putting ALL your machines behind routers then you will need only one ip.

Yeah I am trying to figure out how I would do this.  I figure I have two options.  

One is to buy an airport card for the machine running right off the modem.  This would cost me about 50 bucks for a used one (it would have to be a regular card not extreme, since its an old iMac) The problem I have with this is that having a desktop computer right next to the modem on a wireless network just doesn't make sense.

My second option would be to buy a second router and have the iMac behind that router and the rest of the computers behind the Airport AND that one.  This also seems kinda silly to me.

To tell if you have a router, just answer this question,

Can people call you directly on NF? Does it work without you lifting a finger?  If so youre not behind a router.  If youve ever done any port forwarding then you are behind a router, and anybody trying to tell you otherwise is trying to screw you over.  At least thats as much as i know.

I already know I have a router; it is an Airport Extreme Base Station.

The only reason I can have people connect to me on NF is because I set up my port forwarding.  I also opened ports so i can host GhR and RvS.