I have often found myself trying to figure out which internet provider is more worthwhile or at least worth my money. Both Comcast and Qwest/Century Link are infamous for their poor customer service. Sure, some people are like “I love _____. and would never change” that’s because you haven’t had any problems. I put together the following table for MSP to layout current Promos and current pricing for each. I didn’t include cable or phone service, because you really don’t need either of these if you have internet. Even from looking at the tables quickly you can tell that it’s the same price or cheaper for every plan through Qwest/Century Link and they offer much higher speeds up and down. I found the statement on Comcast’s site letting the world know why they even claim they are comparable, “Speed comparison between Comcast 6.0 Mbps service and standard 1.5 Mbps DSL.” Basically, they are comparing a car to a to a golf cart.
Don’t get me wrong, I have had quest for a while and have had a few outages that have lasted days, but I have had friends that have poor service with Comcast and they needed to fight with them to have Comcast admit it was the companies issue. Has anyone found an alternative to the big 2 that is worth while? Or have any spectacular horror stories?
Comcast Price Speed Then
39.95 1.5Mbps/384Kbps
49.95 6Mbps/1Mbps
57.95 12Mbps/2Mbps
Promo 29.99/6 Months 15Mbps/3Mbps 57.95/Month
67.95 20Mbps/2Mbps
Speed comparison between Comcast 6.0 Mbps service and standard 1.5 Mbps DSL (downloads only).
Qwest/Century Link Price Speed Then
Promo 29.99/6 Months 1.5Mbps/896Kbps 40/Month
Promo 29.99/6 Months 7Mbps/5Mbps*/896Kbps 45/Month Promo 29.99/6 Months 12Mbps/5Mbps*/896Kbps 50/Month
Promo 29.99/6 Months 20Mbps/5Mbps*/896Kbps 60/Month
Promo 29.99/6 Months 40Mbps/5Mbps*/896Kbps 70/Month
*Note: 5Mbps is available in limited areas.
I’m in the middle of renegotiation with Qwest/Centurylink… thoughts on the AFTER 6 mo pricing comparison? Since both places will nick you for at least a year if not 2 to get that pricing, the real clincher comes after the 29.99 is up….
I find that qwest is slightly cheaper per month ($5 usually or $60 a year) and a much better deal if you can get 5Mbs upload speeds. When I was setting up with Qwest they gave me some different options like $49.99/month for 2 years for 40Mbps/5Mbps which is a much better deal than like you said $70 a month after 6 months. Qwest is pretty good at keeping you on some sort of promo if you give them a call and tell them you are leaving after 6 months. Ultimately, what can save you the most cash is realizing (unless you have the demand which is unlikely) that going with 7Mbps or lower is ideal for most people.
Using Qwest/Centurylink
watching 4minutes long youtube video hmmm…it taking almost 30mins
What is your up/down speeds?
I’m in a semi-rural area using Century Link. Max speed available is 1.5Mbps/896Kbps. Using Speedtest.net and their speed test site, my speed is consistently 60-70 percent lower. Extremely frustrating. Comcast recently came to my area. Yeah, they may charge a little more, but I’m tired of listening to Qwest/Century Link representatives telling me faster service “is coming soon” – for the last TEN years.