rcn and comcast

[phpanda.livejournal.com]

I moved to Somerville a year ago and got Comcast for cable and internet.  I am happy with service but price just jumped $95 to $143 and Comcast says I no longer qualify for any bundle offer.  RCN seems to have  three year price guarantee of $79, $89 and then $99.  Doe anyone have an opinion on either service and if I should switch?

Comments

[neuroacorn.livejournal.com]

Last time I used RCN was about 4 years ago, don't remember too many issues with the actual service, but customer service was horrible. This may have changed in four years though.

[gentlescholar.livejournal.com]

Hope springs eternal. I and others have been saying the same for decades. Don't go with RCN.

[benndragon.livejournal.com]

The problem is Comcast isn't any better, IME. They seem to be racing for "least useful customer service in exchange for greater profits".

[aredridel.livejournal.com]

Indeed. I'm relatively happy with RCN, but I just do my own tech support.

Comcast are actively evil. RCN hasn't made this publically known, but I don't hold my breath.

[whowehavetofear.livejournal.com]

We've used RCN for internet only for the past 3 years and haven't really had any big problems. Our modem broke at one point, but they brought us a new one within a few days. Any customer service flaws [which I haven't really found] are worth the price point in my view.

[squirrelitude]

I've had abysmal experiences with Comcast (not showing up at scheduled times, charging me for those no-shows, workers leaving without verifying their repairs...). They've also gotten quite a bit of bad press for throttling torrenting -- IIRC the FCC fined them for interfering with customer network traffic. I hear they're trying to rebrand themselves as "xfinity" or something to shed the bad reputation they've accrued.

RCN isn't perfect, but it's the lesser of two evils.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Try calling comcast back and telling them, "Look, RCN is going to give me $DEAL, internet + n channels for $79/mo for 3 years, offer me some kind of deal to match that or I'll switch." There *are* people who are empowered to make those kinds of deals but it's not the front-line phone people you deal with right away when you call. Look at it this way, the worst they can do is say "No".

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

This. Make sure you have the numbers in hand.

[mjperson.livejournal.com]

Having switched between them multiple times over the past ten years, I'd suggest you just take the one that gives you be best price at the moment. They both offer essentially identical customer service/uptime. Whichever one you pick will drive you insane and casue you to want to switch in a few years. Luckily, by that time, your intro prices will be expiring and the other will offer you a nice deal to switch. They're really just mirror images of each other.

[smammy]

RCN doesn't have data caps.

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

Neither does Comcast Business, by the way.

[freckles42.livejournal.com]

I strongly prefer RCN. No data caps, better download speeds for lower prices, and almost zero downtime. (Almost all downtime I've experienced in the past year was scheduled and usually 1-2 hours from 2-4ish AM, excepting the one BIG outage that took down a huge chunk of the east coast - not just RCN, but other providers as well.)

I've had good experience with their customer service, and the techs show up in the time slot allotted.

I've had Comcast in its various forms in different parts of the country and have never been impressed, but often stuck with one option.

I will say RCN's cable menu interface is weird-looking, but it functions and that's really what matters.

Obviously, my experiences are uniquely mine and YMMV.

PS - on the RCN website, poke around for the current deal being offered; we were able to get cable+internet for the same price that we were paying for just internet last year.

EDIT: There is NO CONTRACT for RCN, by the way. You get your prices locked in (read the fine print) but you're NOT obligated or contractually bound to them. Unless Comcast has changed the way it does business, you DO sign an actual contract to engage their services.

[polkaishot.livejournal.com]

RCN is great, used to have it back when I lived in Brookline and never had a problem. The prices are sweet and service was awesome.

Now I live on the wrong side of Broadway and in Medford and all we have is Comcast and I f*cking hate it.