[DM-MUG] Reevaluating Qwest DSL vs. Mediacom cable after 2 yrs.

[Ray Bowler]

Since you asked Mediacom I'll express my anger.  I live in Carlisle so  
my experience may differ from others. We just had an outage of the  
internet server for two days and when I dialed service I heard a  
recording that people in Iowa were experiencing intermittent down  
time.  The television was fine and the phone only had a couple of  
outages for a short period of time. Several weeks ago both the  
internet and the phone were down for a several days. Plus we have over  
the last month had intermittent outages of both phone and internet  
which only last a few minutes. I have hesitated to call because if has  
cleared up they will have little to work on. I am really about to  
switch the phone to Qwest and consider DSL

Has anyone else had this kind of problem?

On Aug 13, 2009, at Aug 13, 20091:37 PM, Chris Tyrrell wrote:

> Hi all.
>
> My sincere apologies to those inconvenienced by off-topic posts.
>
> I'm approaching the two year anniversary of my switch from Mediacom  
> to Qwest DSL/DirecTV, so my bundle contract is nearing expiration. I  
> was never displeased with Mediacom, but thought I'd be saving money,  
> but I don't think I probably am.
>
> I'm going to call Mediacom to explore my options, but I'm sure I'll  
> get better information here (I could write a dissertation about how  
> Mac users are Mac users because they are better informed). I'd be  
> grateful to hear your experiences in comparing the two, assuming  
> others have been where I am now.
>
> So, I'm paying for Qwest 8Mb DSL service, though <3 Mb is the best  
> they can deliver in my 'hood (SE Waukee). It's reliable and  
> generally fast enough. My DSL feeds my flying saucer Airport, which  
> is used by one G4 desktop, two G4 iBooks, an iPod Touch, and the  
> ThinkPad I carry home from work.
>
> Cable was faster of course, but not as fast as it could have been,  
> again a limitation of my location. One Mediacom tech explained how  
> overcrowed their infrastructure is for serving my area. It was as if  
> all of the western 'burbs went through a single bottleneck in a  
> little building over in the vicinity of Jordan Creek & Ashworth.  
> Cable was slightly less reliable in my experience, but hardly  
> problematic.
>
> I also have DirecTV HD DVR service, which allows me to record two  
> shows while watching a third. No premium channels. There are only a  
> few shows worthy of recording, and they are generally on at about  
> the same time, and always before the kids are in bed which means I  
> won't be seeing them as they're broadcast. Two other TVs in the  
> house (one is HD, other is SD) each have a plain DirecTV SD box, no  
> DVR.
>
> Cable TV was OK. I understand they have added HD channels in the  
> last two years. DirecTV boasts about their number of HD channels,  
> but aside from the few that I actually watch, the number doesn't  
> matter to me. Both offer music channels (yawn).
>
> DirecTV now offers VOD, but it requires an ethernet feed so I  
> haven't tried it - I'd need a router between my modem and my Airport  
> and really long RJ-45. Mediacom on demand was cool, but often timed  
> out.
>
> I never did have Mediacom phone service and won't consider it, so  
> I'll be sticking with my Qwest land line. Neighbors had horrible  
> trouble and eventually abandoned Mediacom phone service.
>
> I can't tell you what I'm paying, but my wife/budget keeper tells me  
> it's about the same.
>
> What say you? Is there a reason to return to cable? Is there a  
> market for used DirecTV equipment?
>
>
> Cheers,
> Chris
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Ray Bowler

rbowler.home.mchsi.com



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