Why not give DirecTV a try for the TV and HD aspect? I have no proposed solution for your Internet connection probs.

I have used DirecTV for over 10 years with zero issues — unless I get behind on my bill In fact, I just moved three weeks ago and had zero problems setting up the satellite dish myself, again. Their HD DVR is awesome!

Don’t cancel your Mediacom HD until you try the DirecTV for a week or two. I highly doubt that if you are not satisfied that you would end up out one penny. For new subscribers, all equipment and installation is usually free.

Sounds like you have little to lose…

Take care,

DA

I am edging toward the dish - either DTV or DN.

ed.

I have both internet and cable. If the next experience goes as well as the last two I’m going to add phone.

Two remaining issues with Comcast for me:

1) the HD box is a disgrace. It runs hot and when it does so everything’s sluggish. I might press a button and it can take as much as two minutes before the box acts on it. But I can understand that Comcast made a big capital investment in that particular box so they’re loath to make a new investment in a better box when the current ones work. So this is one I’ll live with as I can understand where Comcast is.
2) Comcast needs to advertise it’s successes more. I see HD channels pop up in my guide every month or two these days. There’s almost never an announcement. I read in the business section of the paper about the Big 10 Sports network getting added - if I hadn’t read the article (in the BUSINESS SECTION!) I never would have known! They just added it to their $6.99 sport tier - an outstanding deal for anyone that likes College Sports (and you get NFL, NBA and NHL networks too).

I also have one complaint about the industry: once television is fully on the internet, a la carte pricing will reign. Why not get ahead of this customer service enhancement while you have a built in customer base? The technology is there now. The customers want it - at one time 200 channels seemed like a good thing but now it’s just unnecessary clutter in the guide (which is hard to navigate when the box is hot).

Switching to BellSouth DSL took less than a week (the bandwidth is not that great, but they are always on).

Monopolies (or near monopolies) suck.

It’s one of the few companies whose service was so incompetent and rude I, like you, wrote a very nasty letter to their management. For example, when I had cable installed a neighbor with some digging equipment had to bury the cable for me because Comcast let it lay there for months. Later, when they over-billed me and I complained to a customer service rep she admitted they screwed up but was so pissed off she screeched “Next time we’ll get you!”

In my experience, once Comcast gets my service running it is dependable and of reasonable quality. However, change anything at your own risk. A friend and I picked up a digital package special at the same time. We literally called within two minutes of each other canceling the service, got two different service reps, and - huge surprise - got two entirely different responses on billing.

Want more horror stories? I’ve got plenty of ‘em!

It’s beyond the case of a monopoly leading to incompetent, lazy service. Where I live there are 4 choices. Of course, there’s always satellite providers Dish and DirectTV. But, in addition to Comcast, there’s Verizon’s excellent FIOS.

With many of the people I know dumping Comcast (mostly in favor of FIOS which offers faster/cheaper/more reliable Internet), I thought for sure they would learn to compete. Nope. Their prices just went up and rarely a month goes by without someone I know griping bitterly about a bad Comcast service experience.

My main reason for not switching myself is the hassle of giving up my email address (I got the exact address I wanted by picking them when they started Internet service and sincerely doubt I’ll ever be that lucky again) but there are even limits to that. How much am I willing to be price gouged by Comcast for that privilege?

From what I understand Comcast’s problems are rooted in your request for them to buy Mediacom. Comcast went though a huge growth spurt gobbling up local cable providers (what they did in my area) and paid huge premiums per subscriber leading to huge price spikes followed by never ending price hikes.

Fortunately we did have a choice as our local telecom’s switching office was a whopping 5 blocks away from our house!

You have my condolences.

LL

Thanks,
Frank Eliason
Comcast

Realistically, I shouldn’t expect so much from Mediacom. Where I live is the boonies. And what I am slowly figuring out based on the quality of service and products from other big companies is that we out here are the last to receive upgraded technology and that the quality of food, consumer goods, and everything else is uneven at best. Three times since we moved out here we have opened a brand new item only to find it damaged. That says to me that we get the stuff no one else wants or that they think they can pawn off on a small market.

ed.