[lug] OT: Comcast

[George Sexton]

Nick Golder wrote:
> I am getting ready to move and found out that Qwest grossly overstated
> the capability of our phone circuit and we will take a huge hit in
> performance[1].  I am looking at other options - Comcast being one - and
> they (here comes the surprise) can't answer a couple of questions.  
> 
> I figure a couple of people here probably have Comcast and can answer
> a question or two.  So, can I access a server I have at home on
> Comcast's service directly (and I imagine the answer is "no")?  

If it runs on a well known port, then the answer is no. SMTP/www are 
out. OTOH, I can ssh in to my box.

If you read Qwest's terms and conditions, they prohibit running servers 
as well. I remember reading back a while, that they were going to do 
this even if you were justing the copper to get to another ISP.

 > Are their
> advertised speeds, like Qwests, a function of reality stirred in with a
> healthy dose of hype?  I tried Comcast something like 4.5 years ago and
> ended up getting a Qwest circuit with a 3rd party ISP due to Comcast
> having terrible networks outage issues.  IIRC, it wasn't localized but
> kind of a Denver/Boulder/Longmont issue.  Is that still the case?

I get 700-800 KB/sec on downloads. Uploads suck, maybe 64KB/Second. I 
usually rate limit any file transfers so they don't swamp the connection.

As far as reliability, I've had the service 4 years, and had maybe two 
outages of an hour during daylight hours. In off-peak hours (4:00 AM), 
maybe 6-8 outages.

> I find it interesting that it seems like rural areas are beginning to
> have not only more, but also, in some cases, better performing options
> for connectivity than their urban, more "developed" counterparts.
> 
> [1] Qwest originally quoted ~5Mbps/768Kbps speeds - in reality, it is
> going to be closer to 256Kbps both ways.
> 

-- 
George Sexton
MH Software, Inc.
Voice: +1 303 438 9585
URL:   http://www.mhsoftware.com/