Does Comcast Disable Internet When Uploading Too Much

Comcast but released a 2020 Network Performance Data written report with stats on how much Net usage rose during the pandemic, and it said that upload use is growing faster than download employ. "Peak downstream traffic in 2020 increased approximately 38 percent over 2019 levels and peak upstream traffic increased approximately 56 percent over 2019 levels," Comcast said.

But while upload utilise on Comcast'south network speedily grows—driven largely past videoconferencing amongst people working and learning at home—the nation's largest domicile-Net provider with over 30 million customers advertises its speed tiers equally if uploading doesn't exist. Comcast'southward 56 pct increase in upstream traffic made me wonder if the visitor will increment upload speeds whatsoever time before long, so I checked out Comcast's Xfinity.com site today to encounter the current upload speeds. Getting that information was even more hard than I expected.

The Xfinity website advertises cablevision-Internet plans with download speeds starting at 25Mbps without mentioning that upstream speeds are only a fraction of the downstream ones. I went through Comcast'due south online ordering system today and found no mention of upload speeds anywhere. Even clicking "pricing & other info" and "view plan details" links to read the fine print on various Net plans didn't reveal upload speeds.

Even after adding a program to the cart and going through most of the checkout procedure, I could not find whatever mention of upload speeds. I got to the bespeak where you have to enter credit card information to continue, and then I initially stopped in that location. I subsequently confirmed that Comcast'south ordering system volition show upload speeds afterwards information technology checks whether your credit carte is valid, in the concluding folio where you submit an order.

Deliberately keeping customers in the night

I've long known that it's difficult to find upload speeds on Comcast's website, but I'm not sure exactly when it became virtually impossible. There were complaints about this very problem on Comcast's customer back up forums in 2020 and in 2019, though. "What is my upload speed now? No where in the world can I find documentation," 1 customer asked. The respond was that existing customers tin detect upload speeds for their ain plan in their account settings later on logging in and navigating to the right section.

But that does non help people who are signing upwardly for service and want to find out what upload speeds they'll get or compare upload speeds of different plans. Even the Xfinity.com comparing tool that lets y'all compare details of different plans doesn't reveal their upload speeds. The absence of upload speeds from Comcast's website is so thorough that it is clearly a deliberate attempt to continue customers in the dark. This gallery shows how the Comcast Xfinity website displays Net plans without mentioning upload speeds and continues that tactic through most the entire checkout process:

• Comcast's website displays these Internet offers in my location without stating upload speeds.

• Comcast has a tool that lets you lot compare two plans—but it doesn't show the plans' dissimilar upload speeds.

  Comcast

• Later adding a program to the cart, you can start the checkout procedure. No upload speeds are in sight.

  Comcast

• We notwithstanding don't know what the upload speeds are, but Comcast tells usa virtually its "Flex" streaming box.

  Comcast

• Now we can select an installation appointment and time, merely upload speeds even so are not revealed.

  Comcast

• Now yous have to enter your credit carte data—only subsequently doing so will Comcast let you see the 300Mbps download program's 10Mbps upload speeds.

  Comcast

Thankfully, the third-party website CableTV.com lists both download and upload speeds, showing that Comcast'south 25Mbps download plan comes with 3Mbps uploads; the 100Mbps and 200Mbps download plans both have 5Mbps uploads; the 300Mbps download plan has 10Mbps uploads; the 600Mbps plan has 15Mbps uploads; and the 1Gbps download (one.2Gbps in some areas) comes with 35Mbps:

Enlarge / Comcast speeds and prices, no thanks to Comcast'southward website.

Comcast's website does list the 35Mbps upload speeds for the gigabit plan at this folio, but I couldn't find anything similar for Comcast's other cable-Internet plans. Comcast besides offers a fiber-to-the-home service with 2Gbps speeds both downstream and upstream. But Comcast'south residential fiber requires installation charges of up to $500, and the service costs $300 a month, which is more than than three times as much as the gigabit-cable plan that has 35Mbps downloads.

Comcast, why did y'all make this then hard?

I contacted Comcast today with two primary questions: is there any fashion to observe upload speeds on Comcast's website before submitting an order for Internet service, and does Comcast have any plans to heighten its cablevision upload speeds?

Comcast'southward answer on where to find upstream speeds was as follows:

Our network report shows that, despite the growth in upstream traffic in 2020, patterns remain highly asymmetrical as downstream volumes were 14x higher than upstream throughout 2020. Our website reflects the way customers use the Internet with downstream overwhelmingly dominating usage, simply upstream speeds are included in your cart and are visible upon check out when you submit your order.

Despite Comcast claiming that "upstream speeds are included in your cart," I could find no evidence of this. Adding a Comcast Internet programme to the cart and then clicking the cart icon brought me to an ordering page that does non mention upload speeds. I confirmed this behavior on Xfinity.com in both Chrome and Safari.

I circled back to the Comcast spokesperson and asked what exact steps I need to take to make upload speeds show upward in the cart. It turns out the upload speeds never testify up in the cart at all unless yous define "cart" to include the entire ordering process. Comcast told us the upload speeds will finally appear "when you lot are at the step when you review your social club."

Despite my earlier reluctance to enter my credit card information for service I am not ordering, I finally did so to cheque whether this is authentic. I submitted my address, telephone number, and credit card information, and I clicked "Next." This triggered a step in which Comcast'southward arrangement checked to see whether I had entered a valid credit carte. I accidentally entered a recently expired card number, and so Comcast's system "declined" my card and made me re-enter it. After I entered a bill of fare number that Comcast could accuse, I finally got to this page, where the 300Mbps download-plan's 10Mbps upload speeds are shown:

Enlarge / The last page in Comcast's ordering organisation.

Xfinity.com

At this page, with Comcast having already verified your card, y'all can view upload speeds and make up one's mind whether to submit the order or leave the ordering organisation. The part of Comcast'due south argument that upload speeds are "visible upon check out when y'all submit your order" is thus accurate. But refusing to tell a prospective customer what they're paying for until after they submit credit card information is but ridiculous. You lot can probably get upload speeds earlier past asking a Comcast rep in an online chat or phone telephone call, but that shouldn't be necessary.

Update: After digging through Comcast's listing of customer agreements, policies, and disclosures, I found a now-outdated network management folio that includes download and upload speeds. Information technology appears to exist the newest such list available on Comcast's website, but it was published on August xix, 2019 and the listed speeds don't match Comcast's electric current offerings.

barrthiblases.blogspot.com

Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/03/comcast-hides-upload-speeds-deep-inside-its-infuriating-ordering-system/

Share this post