Should I switch to sBC from Comcast?

Check the SBC forum at

Q

Sales. Speed is affected by distance and line conditions (load coils, etc.)

First 30 days (from due date), no cancellation fee.

Nah, they call my dad all the time and he lives 10 miles from the CO (about

3 miles from a box about 4'x4'x1'), and no RT in sight. _They are salespeople_.

Wow - they tell you as little as possible and it boils down to about $50 more than I'm currently paying for a phone and doesn't specify the speed. I'll pass on that one as long as I have Adelphia available.

Thanks to all for your informative responses. I now have a better idea as to what my options really are and will be able to make a better informed decision. I guess what I'll do is pound the cancelation period aspect. If they clearly state that there is a cancelation period and put it in writing then I won't mind giving it a try; However, on that sbcinfo.com page, it states that early cancelations are charged a $200 fee. If this is the case, I'll be staying with Comcast no questions asked.

Thanks again,

--Al

Is SBC installing fibre optic in your area? If so that is one easy way to get much higher speeds thru DSL. In that case it WOULD be an introductory rate and WILL rise in the future. When that rise occurs and by how much is info you need to find out. Speed claims are often high, have you EVER actually gotten 512k download speeds thru Comcast? No you have not! I usually get around

480 or a little less, lately it is up to around 505, so when Comcast says "upto 512k" they are fudging a little bit. The numbers are what you would get if EVERYTHING were ABSOLUTELY perfect, your real life experience will NOT get the full bandwidth. That being said, is it worth quibbling over the difference between 480k and 512k? Probably not, you wouldn't even notice it except on very large downloads and then only over the total time.

You will have to select your state to continue.

Different plans have different speeds. There are a number of factors involved. But, from messages posted in the SBC news groups (not available to the wider Usenet), the 6MB down plan is no longer offered. First clue; marketing doesn't have one. Hint: neither does tier one tech support.

Also, don't rely on anybody except a cable maintenance technician to tell you how far you are from the C.O., or R.T. Nobody else really knows. You won't get a cable maintenance tech on the phone, either; they only show up when they are troubleshooting line problems.

Check out the plans on the link I provided. In general, though, you commit to one year for the best price deals; with a substantial cancellation fee.

Comcast and SBC are about on the same level for tech support and technical competence. If Comcast is working for you, don't change. DSL is a crap shoot, what with all the system variables involved. When it works, it's great; when it doesn't work, it just plain doesn't work.

They wouldn't call without a reason. Expensive if they make a sale and can't deliver.

Then you should be able to see it! An RT typically is a

20x8x8' modular building with a driveway. They are usually installed on the edge of a new subdivision.

For one to work for you, they'd've had to site it astride your copper to the CO.

-- Robert

As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

AFAIK, the $19.95 plan is only available if you are using their "all distance" plan for your phone services.

Unfortunately, you were misled. Your line might possibly be capable of 6M. But you won't get it with the Pro package. If you want to try anyway, be sure you have the name or employee id of the person who makes the offer. Maybe ask for the offer in writing. That way you will have something to back you up in case of a dispute.

Certainly, closeness to the RT would enhance your possible speeds. The packages listed on the web need some updating. But this is mainly that the upload speeds have been increased above what is listed. With the lower priced package you should get 1536/384, and with the PRO you should get 3000/512. Note that these are raw speeds, and your actual throughput will be a little less.

I have heard conflicting reports on cancellation period. Ask, but be sure you know who you are talking to.

That's because it's NOT SBC, it's a marketing company, "Javelin Direct". Who knows what it might be, some spyware site maybe.

Neil W Rickert wrote in news:crjkm7$c9s$1 @usenet.cso.niu.edu:

I think this says it all. If you are very satisfied with Comcast and their price doesn't bother you I wouldn't consider switching.

Now that I've said that I can say that I am a very satisfied SBC DSL customer. I am in the 734 section of Wayne county and about 10,000 feet from the CO, I am not on an RT. I have SBC's express service. According to their web site I have 1.5 Mbps down and 128 kbps up. Speed tests show me having about 1.25 Mbps down and about 325 kbps up. I did have cable modem service for a while (not Comcast) and was very satisfied until I needed tech support, I was told that they could leave a message for a tech to call me back in a few days. A few days after that I put in an order for DSL. I haven't had to deal with SBC's tech support yet so I can't comment about them. If I didn't have the problem with tech support I would probably still have the cable modem.

In article , Al Puzzuoli wrote: [SNIP] :Second, what is SBC's policy in terms of a cancelation period? I think :what I would like to do would be to activate DSL on a trial basis. If :it's at least as fast and reliable as what I already have, I would keep :it, but I wouldn't know until after trying it for a few weeks.

You should get that information from SBC. One of the reasons I decided not to try SBC DSL was that I would have to agree to a 1-year contract.

Also, find out what domain you would be getting for your email addresses. In my area, I was told I would get "...@yahoo.com" addresses. I deal with some companies that flat out reject email from yahoo.com, so I'd need to buy email service somewhere else.

It is usually " snipped-for-privacy@sbcglobal.net".

You should get "...@sbcglobal.net" on a new SBC Yahoo! DSL Service account. You will be told to use "smtp/pop.sbcglobal.yahoo.com" as your mail servers. There are a couple of SMTP/AUTH servers with other domains available to SBC customers, though.

Probably not a spyware site. Definitely contracted by SBC to provide information on SBC Yahoo! services.

Be advised...SBC is in bed with Yahoo, and if you read their new privacy policies, neither company respects it!

Bill Crocker

In article , NormanM wrote: :In article , Robert Nichols says... : :> Also, find out what domain you would be getting for your email :> addresses. In my area, I was told I would get "...@yahoo.com" :> addresses. I deal with some companies that flat out reject email from :> yahoo.com, so I'd need to buy email service somewhere else. : :You should get "...@sbcglobal.net" on a new SBC Yahoo! DSL Service account. :You will be told to use "smtp/pop.sbcglobal.yahoo.com" as your mail servers. :There are a couple of SMTP/AUTH servers with other domains available to SBC :customers, though.

I was given wrong information, then. The salesperson who called me did seem pretty knowledgeable about other aspects of the service, and I did explain just what my issue was about having a yahoo.com email address. Doesn't really matter now. I already had a preference for Comcast since there's no PPPoE to deal with, and I've been quite happy with my Comcast service (except for the first week, when there were two lengthy outages).

Actually, given the loopholes that they grant themselves, you would find it hard to prove that they disrespect their "Privacy Policies"; mostly you should just call them "Privacy Non-Policies"; and they aren't the only ones to do that. Any large, monopolistic telecom/media provider does the same.

Beyond the fact they're thieving bastards of course.