Comcast Strikes Again

I am a Comcast customer for cable and cable modem. I have 2 set top boxes. One with DVR in the family room and one older model in the playroom. We are not a tv-in-the-bedroom type of family.

This morning I was watching CNBC and the screen displayed the message "This Channel Will Be Available Shortly".

I turned it off and on, tried another channel, unplugged the box and plugged it back in. Rocket science, I know. Nothing. I checked the other TV and it was working fine.

I then called 1 800 COMCAST and got the "service problems, lots of call volume" message. After being on hold for about a minute, they disconnected me.

Next I went to Comcast's web site and tried the live online chat. I got one dude who chatted to me that he was the wrong dude and said that he's transfer me to the right dude. After waiting about 5 minutes I was disconnected from that.

The have some sort of automated Q&A troubleshooter called EVA. Eva is not too smart. That didn't work.

I clicked on the email Comcast link, filled in the boxes and typed my concern but much to my chagrin, there was no SEND button.

I came into the office and called the 800 number again. This time the message said there was a service outage in the area and would I like a call when it is restored. Sure.

My cable modems works. One of my set top boxes works. The other one stopped working as I was watching it.

This is one funky service outage.

Yes, I'm writing this in the hopes that someone form Comcast reads it. Please please please Verizon get FIOS to my house soon.

Peace.

edit: It's back on

Internet Access Pricing Model

Could this be a sign of things to come?

Comcast yesterday announced that it would begin to limit the amount of Internet usage each of its customers is entitled to. Or attempt to.

Their first move is pretty innocuous. Users that transfer over 250 Gigs in a month will get a warning. 250 Gigs is a ton of traffic. 50 million emails. A warning? No big deal.

What concerns me is what may be at the end of this road. With all monthly access priced the same, Comcast has chosen a pricing model that has internet noobs subsidizing the power users in terms of access cost. I'm probably in the middle somewhere, and a Comcast customer. Changing the pricing model is at the minimum an opportunity to raise prices.

I won't be surprised to be paying more for internet access soon, or paying per Meg.

Imagine how confusing a Comcast bill is going to be if they attempt to itemize all uploads and downloads?

Comcast Is Trying

A few months ago I blogged about how Comcast was acquiring my cable provider and that there were Interweb glitches during the transition, including the fact that I could not send emails to gmail acccounts.

Someone from Comcast read the entry and commented, offering contact info. Perfect, in my opinion, and the problem was subsequently fixed. Not necessarily as a result of my actions but it couldn't have hurt.

The New York Times today has an article about this phenomenon titled, "Griping Online? Comcast Hears You and Talks Back ".

The strange part of the article for me was that some people think this a a bad, big brother is watching kind of thing. You would have to be some kind of attention whore to complain about something online and not want help resolving it. Kind of like this guy:

"Mr. Dilbeck found it all a bit creepy. “The rest of his e-mail may as well have read, ‘Big Brother is watching you,’ ” he said.

Still, others agree with Mr. Dilbeck, the University of Washington student, that the online outreach is annoying. “Comcast Is Watching Us,” declared a blog called Contempt for the World in February..."