Seeking a recommendation: Century Link vs Comcast

[mdlbear]

Anyone have a recommendation about internet service? The choice is between Century Link (which seems to be the default phone company for the new apartment) and Comcast (which seems to be the default cable company unless there's a place where I can hang a dish). I'm leaning toward Century Link because Comcast has such a horrid reputation.

The other possibility would be to get all three services -- cable, internet, and phone -- from Comcast. I don't like that idea much. I checked, and can't keep my UVerse service -- they don't serve that address. Grumph.

Inquiring minds need to know.

Comments

[technoshaman]

CenturyLink, by a country mile. They're what happened when GTE merged with Qwest.. and so far none of the things that made the former company Gee Tee Hee have surfaced. Qwest, if you didn't know, is the *one* company that swung the finger when NSA came snooping around... everybody else said "yes, master, anything you say, master" and turned their bellies to the sky and exposed our naked data for the slavering monster to devour.

Nevermind the idea that your datalink back to the headend is YOURS with DSL; if you buy a 20mbit pipe, you get all 20mbits at least back to the DSLAM... with cable you share the pipe with every pimply-faced script kiddy on the block, and if he decides to download the latest hot new wAr3Z just when you desperately need to upload a song so the concert TOMORROW can happen? you're screwed. (And he can port-scan your router with impunity... the security droids might be able to tell it's happening, but not from whom.)

This is the fourth time I've had Qwest/CenturyLink; it was totally brick-solid the last three times, and this time they finally traced the flakiness to a needed firmware update in my WAP/router/modem, and once they talked me through that? It's been good. Customer service doesn't suck, either, and is delivered in American English. (Which, while it's not RP or even East Anglian, also fails to suck. :) :) :)

CenturyLink will bundle DirecTV if you like... but that requires a southern exposure.

If you were further east I'd have to recommend Comcast; the service is sommat flakey and you've heard the customer-no-service horror stories, but it beats the SNOT out of Frontier, who bought Verizon's residential landline service and commenced to hoovering like the proverbial Eight-Pound Orek.. annathepiper and solarbird could not WAIT to get off their miserable excuse for Internets... Personally? Just don't move any further east. The LFP city limits is the boundary, AFAICT...

[mdlbear]

Thanks for the info -- just signed up with 'em.

[technoshaman]

Booyah. Wait. You have a hard move date? or just want it on when you get there?

[mdlbear]

The move date is reasonably hard -- end of July.

But we've actually had the apartment since June 1 -- we got the first month free for signing up on the spot. I'm driving up today (by way of my brother's wedding in Logan, UT) with a van-full of stuff so that we can stay there for a couple of days before Westercon.

[technoshaman]

Ah.

I'm given to understand that the fireworks display in Kenmore, just east of Starport North, is fairly nice, not too crowded, and easy-in-easy-out... AIUI they shoot them off a barge in the north end of Lake Washington. You can ping annathepiper for details.... tell her I said hi... :)

Me, I'm going to celebrate my independence either by visiting Avalon... or, ironically, looking for flats.

[chaoswolf]

Nice. Good luck on your flat-quest.

BTW, will you be back in time for the House Cerulia concert on 7/1? Inquiring wolves want to know. :-)

[technoshaman]

No, dammit. That's my one regret about going, is I won't get to see that.... Sorry, cublet.

Either 510 or 511 stops at the 145th street freeway stop, which isn't *too* far from House Cerulia... and it runs late.

[chaoswolf]

No worries, Uncle Bear. Managed to coerce Dad into going.

Hope you're back on Friday for the con, though. I turn 27, and wouldn't mind your company over a good brewski. :-)

(Dad, delete the annonymous. Forgot to log in.)

[lemon_badgeress]

Old house had Comcast.

New house has CenturyLink.

Comcast is faster. Both spend about as much time intermittently not available, and not giving a rat's hind end about that fact.

I honestly haven't noticed any appreciable difference between them? But I'm not a power user.

[annathepiper]

FWIW, Comcast has treated us quite well at the Murk, but we also have business-grade Internet with them so they make a point of treating us well for the amount of money we're throwing at them.

(We went with the business-grade Internet because we NEED it, for all the servers and DNS and things that we're doing.)

By contrast we have CenturyLink at MurkSouth and things mostly seem stable with that, but I don't have direct experience using the MurkSouth internet, much. We've only had rare complaints from the residents of that household about it.

[westrider.livejournal.com]

I've had service with CenturyLink since they bought out Qwest (or however that changeover happened, I didn't pay too much attention) a while ago, and haven't had any problems. I'm a pretty low-demand user, tho, so I may not be the best comparison point.

I have had Comcast at several other Apartments, tho, and have had a number of issues with their service. skellington1 is having trouble with their service down in Oly right now, as a matter of fact.

[mdlbear]

Just signed up with CenturyLink. Thanks!

[baby-goo.livejournal.com]

In the same situation now. Found your post through Google search.
Are you happy with Century Link internet quality (freezing, dropps, anything ?)

[capplor.livejournal.com]

We also use Century Link, since they acquired Qwest. If we ever have any complaints, even though we are pretty far from their office, they have someone out here fairly quickly & I have no complaints about their service.

One of our neighbors is using ComCast (which they've taken to calling "Conquest") & are constantly griping about dropped internet or sporadic service.

That's my experience. Take it with however many grains of salt you may wish.

[jcfiala.livejournal.com]

I haven't tried Century Link yet, but I've been using Comcast for twelve or so years now without any real problems. I realize this makes me, from various reports, way out on the end of the bell curve, but what can you say?

[egoldberg.livejournal.com]

If you ever do find better network access in Seattle would love to know.

I pay CL $45/month for DSL (no phone). Haven't found anything less expensive...or in the same price with better bandwidth [~80 kb/sec upload].