Comcast Xfinity Software?

Killroy

Gawd
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Aug 18, 2005
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Comcast is now offering their DOCSIS 3 service in my area, so I checked their website to see how much it would be to upgrade to the Extreme 105 Mbit/s service. I noticed that there was a $250 installation fee even though I selected that I had a compatible DOCSIS 3 modem (Motorola Surfboard SB6120). So I called their support line and was told that it required doing something to the outlets because of how fast it is. I asked what exactly needed to be done, because I don't have cable TV (I have satellite), and he had no clue. I then started an online chat with technical support and they put me through to someone who could answer my questions. This rep told me that the Extreme speeds required some software to be installed on the computer to make use of the speed. I asked why exactly the software needed to be installed but he couldn't give me any technical reason. He said that it would have to be installed on every computer in my house and that they could not give me the software to install and that there is no way around the $250 fee. So every new computer or reformat would require a truck roll to install the software, though there would be no charge for those.

So all of that brings me here. What is this software they have to install and what speeds do you get without it?

Thanks in advance.
 
I agree. Bullshit. I was hit with an installation kit fee when I changed modems and upgraded by service.

Check out this article http://blog.chron.com/techblog/2011/04/the-woodlands-gets-comcasts-extreme-105-first/

If you want to, skip the article and read the punchline here:
• There’s a sizable installation fee of $249. A Comcast spokesman said this is to "test and check all customer premises equipment, including the home PC and wireless home networking gateway, to ensure the service is working properly."

:confused:
 
It's just a tax. CV does the same thing, the only thing we do is provision your account for the service at a billing level. The price is steep but there isn't competition at that speed so they can charge that much. Just get the 50mb service, that's a great speed for decent cost.
 
The only thing they could possibly be talking about would be this:

http://security.comcast.net/constantguard/

I've seen that crapware installed on people's computers and it's really nothing special. Even worse, anything Pentium-4 or older will get easily bogged down by all the bloatware in that bundle.

But from their perspective, so many dumb users out there have malware on their computers and are probably part of a botnet, the idea of these people on a Docsis 3.0 connection is rather terrifying. I'd probably try to force crap AV software on them too.

Another thing you might consider is business-class service. They certainly don't make you install any crap software, and there is no monthly limit either. Not sure what you're usage is like, but I'd take even their lowest 12Mbps business tier over a 100Mbps tier where I could only download 250GB per month.
 
It's just a tax. CV does the same thing, the only thing we do is provision your account for the service at a billing level. The price is steep but there isn't competition at that speed so they can charge that much. Just get the 50mb service, that's a great speed for decent cost.

I asked about the 50MBit/s service and they said that it wasn't offered in my area and that the options jump from 20MBit/s to 105MBit/s with nothing in between. I still want to know what exactly this software they want to install does, though.
 
The only thing they could possibly be talking about would be this:

http://security.comcast.net/constantguard/

I've seen that crapware installed on people's computers and it's really nothing special. Even worse, anything Pentium-4 or older will get easily bogged down by all the bloatware in that bundle.

But from their perspective, so many dumb users out there have malware on their computers and are probably part of a botnet, the idea of these people on a Docsis 3.0 connection is rather terrifying. I'd probably try to force crap AV software on them too.

Another thing you might consider is business-class service. They certainly don't make you install any crap software, and there is no monthly limit either. Not sure what you're usage is like, but I'd take even their lowest 12Mbps business tier over a 100Mbps tier where I could only download 150GB per month.

You may be correct and it is the Constant Guard software. My current cap is 250GB and with my current usage I use around 125GB a month. I have considered going with a business-class service but they make it just as much of a hassle to figure out pricing and whatnot. The Motorola SB6120 would still work with the business connection, wouldn't it? Anyone know about what the business service would cost?

I believe my current plan is the 12Mb with SpeedBoost to 16Mb, but I get about 25MB down and 3-4MB up.

Thanks, again.
 
TWC pulled the same crap on me. Not only that, they also wouldn't let me use my Surfboard SB6120, I had to use THEIR SB6120 (I was pissed about that). The initial setup fee was $250 (they claimed this was because the tech would have to come out and replace all the lines, splitters, and amplifiers between the modem and pole to ensure that everything was working optimally. I asked to speak with a supervisor and asked how they could justify a $250 install with a $10 monthly equipment charge when I supply my own damn equipment and all they need to do on their end is change the MAC address of the modem in their system and provision the account for the new billing code, not to mention that when I moved into the house 2 years ago I laid all new coax myself and the current modem was getting almost perfect signal. The manager agreed to change the price of the install to the normal on site visit fee $40 and also waved the equipment fee (I also threatened to not upgrade if I would have to pay for equipment I already owned).

There may be ways of getting things cheaper if you ask for it, but the problem with cable ISPs in markets with no fiber is they can charge whatever they damn well please and we will pay for it because we need the speed.
 
We have a 105/10 business circuit (Comcast). They definitely do not "need to install software". The business line will require you to rent their SMC gateway (they wont let you use your own modem). I'm definitely not a fan of the SMC - mine can not filter nearly the full 105mbps. I was only able to get 40-50mbps when it was initially installed, and when pulling that much I was getting ~3 second latency. Turning off filtering (aka the firewall) on the SMC brought me up to ~105mbps/12mbps, at very acceptable latency.

The installing tech was completely clueless. He didn't know how to turn off the firewall (which was the requested configuration) and was unable to diagnose why we could only get 40-50mbps, leaving the site with a shitty circuit.

In any case, no software needed, good line (aside from the crappy hardware), and I don't know if we were charged an install fee to be honest.
 
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