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

[John Rearick]

Depending on where you live, Mediacom for internet can be decent.  If  
you are in a overloaded area, it can really suck.

Mediacom offers several levels of Internet service.  The lowest  
starting at 3MB down and (i think) 512K up.  The middle of the road  
service is 8MB down and 1MB up, then they have the 20 MB down service.

Currently, I just set up Mediacom for TV and Internet at my new house  
in Nevada (serviced by Ames). I've had it for a week now and they  
didn't get me the TV package I ordered, and when I called to get it  
they couldn't get it working.  Also, every evening the cable modem  
craps out for several hours.  It takes them a full week to get someone  
out to look at the problem.  They will be in sometime between 8am and  
noon, no evening hours. I've had mediacom in several locations, and it  
seems the customer service is lacking, but once the service is running  
i don't usually run into many problems.

The way I see it, just about every service provider sucks.

John

On Aug 13, 2009, at 1:52 PM, James Lagnese wrote:

> If I recall, Mediacom has some terrible upload speeds, like 256K or  
> 512K. May be this isn't an issue for some, but I do a lot of VPN  
> from home to work and the speed up and down makes a difference. I  
> wouldn't switch because of this.
>
>
> On Thursday, August 13, 2009, at 01:37PM, "Chris Tyrrell" <tyrrell69 at gmail.com 
> > wrote:
> >_______________________________________________
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> 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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