Comcrap alternatives?

[TylerW]

Find a good VPN to prevent Comcast from tracking/reading everything you browse.

So, pay another monthly fee to a company so they can can slash your internet speeds to protect you from your internet provider? Sweet deal.

 

[Climber]

So, pay another monthly fee to a company so they can can slash your internet speeds to protect you from your internet provider? Sweet deal.

Necessary, the internet service providers are selling everything you do online.

 

[Eldritch]

Monkeybrains is fantastic but I don't know if they're present in the peninsula. When they installed at my house in vis valley they were looking to expand down towards Geneva Ave, but that was a few years ago.

They're a point to point microwave link, so LOS is critical for their network.

Yeah, they have gotten into Oakland and some of South City I think now, but I am not sure how far down they go.

Even if they are not, there are probably some similar guys in San Mateo, etc.

Selkie! I had to look it up. I’m not hairy enough to be a werewolf, and I’m the wrong gender to be a selkie. But I’ll definitely be on the lookout for one. I’ve heard the same stories you have: Mechanic to Selkie: Sorry, it looks like you blew a seal. Selkie: No, I just had a milkshake.

Stay safe and stay out of the woods after dark!!

 

[TylerW]

Necessary, the internet service providers are selling everything you do online.

Its not necessary. ISPs recommended in this thread like Monkeybrains and Sonic don't give a fuck about about your personal data.

Its only because we accept that its ok that our ISPs should spy on us that industries like this exist.

 

[tuxumino]

when I checked sonic their website said you have to use an ATT modem.

 

[Eldritch]

Its not necessary. ISPs recommended in this thread like Monkeybrains and Sonic don't give a fuck about about your personal data.

Its only because we accept that its ok that our ISPs should spy on us that industries like this exist.

+1 for real real.

Monkey Brains and Sonic have a pretty big footprint in the Bay Area, but there are other small local guys like Etheric, Web Perception, etc. that do a good job and aren't trying to screw their customers.

Even Midsize kids like Wave Broadband could be a better solution. You just have to dig in a bit more to see who is around.

 

[ctwo]

Selkie! I had to look it up. I’m not hairy enough to be a werewolf, and I’m the wrong gender to be a selkie. But I’ll definitely be on the lookout for one. I’ve heard the same stories you have: Mechanic to Selkie: Sorry, it looks like you blew a seal. Selkie: No, I just had a milkshake.

Only because wiki said it could be spelled silkie.

 

[Climber]

Its not necessary. ISPs recommended in this thread like Monkeybrains and Sonic don't give a fuck about about your personal data.

Its only because we accept that its ok that our ISPs should spy on us that industries like this exist.

I meant the big ones, like Comcast.

Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.

The little guys just aren't big enough yet, give them time.

 

[uclaktsai]

Yup, unfortunately those appear to be my only 2 options at the moment. Shopping modems but at $15/month it'll take ~2 years to recoup so I'm wavering between what I need now vs a future proof WiFi6 10Gbps model.

Annnnnnd so much this. Intrusive as fuck, will not hesitate to send you threatening letters for downloading / watching / streaming something, plus log everything and the above mentioned public hotspots. Let alone nickel and diming price schemes that change frequently.

100% buy your own modem. Buy DOCSIS3.1 and you're good for a long time. Keep it separate from the router. Avoid the Puma 6 chip (ie Netgear CM700, Arris SB6183).

My personal setup is Arris SB8200 modem and Ubiquti for wireless network. Comcast is my only option. I'm not a fan, so I also use a VPN. To be fair, performance has been good and I generally get what I pay for.

 

[Eldritch]

I meant the big ones, like Comcast.

Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.

The little guys just aren't big enough yet, give them time.

Well, I think part of it is a value by volume thing. Storing all that tracking data about your web activity requires software and storage. I don't think there is a good return on an investment like that for a company that has a user base in the tens or low hundreds of thousands like these local guys do.

It is when you have users in the millions that Big Data starts to get a serious data mining boner for your info in a way that gets the Board excited about double dipping on your revenue stream.

 

[TylerW]

The little guys just aren't big enough yet, give them time.

It depends on the goals of your company. Sonic and Monkeybrains just want to be the best internet provider in the markets they can serve.

Comcast has done a good job of being a high-speed internet provider to their markets - until they ran out of markets they could expand into. Once they hit that barrier, they found that they needed to increase their profitability in other ways.

 

[Eldritch]

It depends on the goals of your company. Sonic and Monkeybrains just want to be the best internet provider in the markets they can serve.

Comcast has done a good job of being a high-speed internet provider to their markets - until they ran out of markets they could expand into. Once they hit that barrier, they found that they needed to increase their profitability in other ways.

That would better explain the, "TAKE OUR PHONE SERVICE WITH THE CABLE OR I WILL FORCE CHOKE YOU, BRO!!!"

Applicant: "But I don't use a landline, I don't want that."

"FUCKING TAKE IT OR YOUR CABLE PLAN WILL COST TRIPLE, BRO, FUCKING TAKE IT RIGHT NOW!!"

They are legit cray cray.

 

[Slow Goat]

I get Xfinity web and tv for $150, TOR browser FTW.

 

[deathbug74]

last time i dealt with comcrap (in the valley) they offered basic cable for $5 more a month...except it wasnt really $5 more, it was $5 more, plus like $30-40 more in fees for boxes, regional sports, etc....hard pass.

 

[Bluehot]

I am moving to Brookings Oregon and will have a dish as the only option in my area outside town. They want a 2 year contract that you have to pay off if you quit early so that's a bit scary. If the service is as bad as I observed at my brother's in Klamath Falls it will be hard to accept. We would literally watch a movie until it would freeze, then wait 10 minutes, say f@$# this and turn it off and watch the ending the next night.

I turned 67 yesterday and have no clue how to buy the right tools to make the internet or tv work properly. I have AT&T fiber right now and I get freeze up on YouTube vids. Complete with the rotating loading symbol I used to get back in dial up days. I have to turn off my computer and start over.

My family says it's just me.

 

[Climber]

I am moving to Brookings Oregon and will have a dish as the only option in my area outside town. They want a 2 year contract that you have to pay off if you quit early so that's a bit scary. If the service is as bad as I observed at my brother's in Klamath Falls it will be hard to accept. We would literally watch a movie until it would freeze, then wait 10 minutes, say f@$# this and turn it off and watch the ending the next night.

I turned 67 yesterday and have no clue how to buy the right tools to make the internet or tv work properly. I have AT&T fiber right now and I get freeze up on YouTube vids. Complete with the rotating loading symbol I used to get back in dial up days. I have to turn off my computer and start over.

My family says it's just me.

Well, you know, you get over 65 and technology just stops working properly.

 

[Bluehot]

Exactly. I noticed the same thing. Lol.

 

[TylerW]

That would better explain the, "TAKE OUR PHONE SERVICE WITH THE CABLE OR I WILL FORCE CHOKE YOU, BRO!!!"

Applicant: "But I don't use a landline, I don't want that."

"FUCKING TAKE IT OR YOUR CABLE PLAN WILL COST TRIPLE, BRO, FUCKING TAKE IT RIGHT NOW!!"

They are legit cray cray.

I'm probably going to be switching my account over to Spectrum Business. Same speed, hopefully better uptime (or at least a better guarantee of uptime that I can use as a negotiating chip) and it should lop $45/mo off my bill.

Weirdly, its going to come with a bundled phone line. Which is fine, I'll never use it. I don't even have a landline telephone. Its more expensive to get just the internet.

There's a municipal fiber provider here, and I've used it a few times when going to the houses of folks who have it. It's outstandingly good. Of course, they don't service my neighborhood and they expand their terrain very, very slowly.

 

[TylerW]

I am moving to Brookings Oregon and will have a dish as the only option in my area outside town. They want a 2 year contract that you have to pay off if you quit early so that's a bit scary. If the service is as bad as I observed at my brother's in Klamath Falls it will be hard to accept. We would literally watch a movie until it would freeze, then wait 10 minutes, say f@$# this and turn it off and watch the ending the next night.

I turned 67 yesterday and have no clue how to buy the right tools to make the internet or tv work properly. I have AT&T fiber right now and I get freeze up on YouTube vids. Complete with the rotating loading symbol I used to get back in dial up days. I have to turn off my computer and start over.

My family says it's just me.

Satellite isn't great, but its not as bad as what you're describing. And if you're on AT&T Fiber and youtube can't keep up, there's something real wonky going on with your home network.

Are you able to plug your computer directly into your router or modem and run a speedtest? And then compare your speeds with when you're on wifi? That should tell you a lot

 

[tzrider]

Find a good VPN to prevent Comcast from tracking/reading everything you browse.

Given that basically everything is HTTPS these days, how would they do that?