Two Reasons Why Comcast Sucks

Right now Comcast high speed internet is my only reaonsable choice for broadband connectivity. DSL is not available in my neighborhood, and FIOS is a distant dream. As a result, I have subscribed to Comcast's since the day I moved in back in 2003. I will say that the 6 Mbps service is relatively zippy and stable. They have been slowly boosting the speed of their high speed service while keeping the price about the same. That's where my satisfaction ends...

Complaint #1: Cable (video) prices keep increasing. I still have the same standard (non-digital) cable plan as I had when I moved in three years ago. The cable rate has crept up four times in few-dollar increments from $42.30 to $52.20. How can a company justify a 23% increase over 3 years when the service they are delivering isn't patently different? Oh... right... they can justify it because they are Comcast and they don't really care about customers because they are a monopoly. Comcast is toast once Verizon's FIOS comes into this area. Comcast's new rate of $52.20 is a tough pill to swallow for what they are offering, especially in light of how little TV Kate and I actually watch.

Complaint #2: Comcast's anti-spam policy includes blocking e-mail from an entire domain if some of the e-mail coming from that domain looks spammy. They have blocked NCEMSF's incoming mail three times since late November. Each time I was able to get them to unblock it by filling out a Web-based request form. Who is Comcast to decide e-mail from what domains should be delivered? And why don't they notify the domains that they have decided to block? E-mail administrators who actually care will take the time to submit an un-block request. Fraudulent domains won't care and won't submit the request.