Sunday, September 18, 2005

The end of the saga…

or, as I like to call it, the outcome of attempting to use cable internet…
In my previous apartment I used DSL provided by Qwest.  I liked it.  It was reliable, not too expensive and met my internet connection needs.  Installation was super easy and even returning the stuff was simple.  I’ve appreciated their services.  F also used DSL in his former apartment and liked it.
But he was sucked into the advertising trap set by Comcast and decided when we moved into the new place that we would try cable internet service. 
Needless to say, it was horrible.  We had to wait for a technician to come and do the install, which meant one of us had to stay home from work for 4 hours.  Because that is the best they can do.  A four hour window.  Hm.  Regardless, F stayed home, got all the stuff and began setting up our internal network.  Yeah.  It didn’t work.  And when I say it didn’t work I mean to say that the connection we received was slower than dial-up.  We were paying for premium internet service, up to 6 megs and couldn’t even achieve what we could get through a regular phone line.  Needless to say we were not happy.  F was very angry and took to moping about the apartment almost listlessly.  It was a sad sight to behold.
Trying his best to work with the cable company he called them to see if they could fix the problem.  He also emailed them.  They requested him to take another half day off of work to sit in the apartment so one of their technicians could come and trouble shoot the issue. Uh-huh.  Right.
So, it turns out that we should not have been getting a signal at all.  The technician stated that no one in the building would be getting a clear signal because, apparently, the building was not correctly wired for cable internet service.  Hmmm.  Our next question was, if the building is not wired and they are unable to provide service, why are they selling it? 
F was very patient; he attempted to continue to work with Comcast.  He spent time on the phone, emailed them and waited.  They informed him that they had fixed the problem to the best of their ability and if he wanted they would send a technician out to work with our network to get it working. Uh-huh.  Right.
He cancelled the service with Comcast.
Friday our DSL package arrived from Qwest.  They actually are offering a new service that rivals that of Comcast.  And get this, it actually WORKS.  The install was easy, took F about an hour to set up everything exactly the way he wanted it and we were off.  When he had finished getting his computer set up he actually did a happy dance.  It was the first time I had actually witnessed the dance and I was pretty impressed.  I would much rather see the happy dance than the moping.
So, moral of the story, stay with the good service that you know instead of switching for the flashy advertising.  Qwest has really come through with their new “Spirit of Service” model.  They even figured out a way to lower my monthly phone bills when I called to have the DSL installed.  It was great.  Bad Comcast, Good Qwest!  Using DSL gives us better connections and it is cheaper than cable. 
Plus I got to see the happy dance.