[ NNSquad ] ISP's pricing models (observations)

[Ben Kamen <bkamen@benjammin.net>]

If Bandwidth were indeed bandwidth, then I'd love to hear the marketspeak behind 
comcast's "bizness" pricing mode.

Residential Broadband $45/mo (as fast as it can go - depending on area. mine is sold at 10Mb-down/1Mb-up but goes faster in bursts)

Business Broadband which is advertised as: 

> Comcast Business Class Internet is faster. And faster Internet means increased productivity.

So what does "faster" mean?

For $59.95 (DHCP single IP) you get:
 * a whopping 6Mb-down/1Mbs-up.. (wait, residential is less with more!)
 * Free McAfee Virus Scan (useless for me and no opt-out)
 * Domain Name and 3 page website (useless for me and no opt-out)
 * 2 outlook mailboxes. (useless for me. like I'd trust MS to my email. but no opt-out)
 * 24/7 business class support. (HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH. Sorry. I couldn't help that)


Me, I want a static IP with reverse DNS set up. Just one. Oh yea, that's about an extra $20/month.

For $89.95 16Mb-down/2Mbs-up - my residential is faster on the download than that now. (provided I upgrade my FW)
 * Free McAfee Virus Scan (useless for me and no opt-out)
 * Domain Name and 3 page website (useless for me and no opt-out)
 * 4 outlook mailboxes.
 * # Fully customizable options (whatever that means)

And I love it - it says:

> Recommended for:
>
>     * Businesses with lighter download needs
>     * Businesses looking for a more economical service that doesn’t skimp on speed or features

hahaha.. Speed? You mean compared to residential speeds?

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So my point being, for the business like me that wants a static IP, I have to "upgrade" to a SLOWER service
with added benefits I'll never use with additional charges for the one and only thing I do want.

And yes I'm voting with my pocketbook. But at the same time, this tends to speak of a marketing group
that's really not thinking of the SOHO. So you can now carry that to every aspect that looks fishy 
to a ComCast customer.

Sorry - but this is the impression I get from them. The impression that they created it.

Sadly, other than pokey DSL (which I had and SBC failed me miserably - see below), there isn't any other choice for even reasonably fast internet.

-Ben

(I had 4 "engineers" on the phone and one in my house none of which knew anything about tcpip (my problem). One of them finally figured out something in on the PPPoE server system "changed" and was the source of my problems. The answer? *I* should buy a new DSL router.)


--
Ben Kamen - O.D.T., S.P.
=============================================================================
Email: bkamen AT benjammin DOT net              Web: http://www.benjammin.net

As seen somewhere on the net: My other computer is your Windows Server.