Remember how AT&T made its grand case for the DirecTV merger? All that revenue from the 20-plus million DirecTV subscribers would help AT&T build out a high-speed broadband network that competes with the local cable monopolies. And so far that’s been true with the continued expansion of AT&T’s GigaPower service… except when those established cable monopolies don’t match GigaPower’s top speeds, customers are still paying top dollar. [More]
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Comcast Resets Passwords For 200,000 Email Customers After Possible Account Leak
By 11.9.15
Comcast email customers became the latest victims of a potential hack attack this weekend, as the company confirmed it reset passwords for nearly 200,000 users after their email addresses and passwords were posted for sale on a hacker marketplace. [More]
Comcast: Data Caps Will Save You Money, Except You Won’t Actually Pay Less
By 11.9.15
Now that Comcast isn’t trying to acquire anyone and doesn’t have to kiss regulatory/legislative derriere to make a merger happen, the company is expanding its push on using data caps and overage fees. Last week, leaked internal documents showed that these limits have nothing to do with network congestion, but that Comcast employees were to explain the caps as being in the name of “fairness.” Even though that sounds like a risible claim to anyone familiar with Comcast, the company is really sticking with it. [More]
Leaked Comcast Doc Admits: Data Caps Have Nothing To Do With Congestion
By 11.6.15
For years, as Comcast and others have rolled out data caps on home broadband usage, we’ve shown evidence that these artificial limitations on data are all about squeezing money out of consumers, and have nothing to do with congestion. Now, with Comcast prepping to make its first large-scale push of its “data thresholds,” we’re seeing how the company is telling its employees to spin the discussion. [More]
Comcast Exec Who Failed At Time Warner Cable Merger Gets Boost To Annual Bonus
By 11.4.15
If you succeed at being the gladhanding, politically connected Beltway insider who can sweet-talk regulators and legislators into approving an outrageously anticompetitive $45 billion merger of the nation’s two largest cable and Internet providers, then you probably deserve a raise. But if you fail at that job and you work for Comcast, you apparently still get more money. [More]
Comcast’s Holiday Gift To Subscribers: Data Caps Coming To More Users December 1
By 11.4.15
Did you feel like paying more to Comcast next month to keep using the amount of data you’ve been using for years already? No? Well, if you’re in one of several markets in the southeast, tough cookies: Comcast’s data caps, and their fees, are coming to a cable modem near you this December. [More]
Former Starz VP Says Network Manipulated Comcast Merger, Asked Him To Inflate Subscriber Numbers
By 10.30.15
As the saying goes, hell hath no fury like a former senior vice president of sales and affiliate marketing at a premium cable TV network. A recently dismissed Starz exec is now alleging that his former employer had been up to no good, manipulating the (since-failed) swap of markets between Comcast and Charter, and asking executives to inflate the network’s subscriber numbers. [More]
Comcast Loves Corporate Synergy: Announces Jimmy Fallon Ride At Universal Studios
By 10.28.15
First things first: We have nothing against Jimmy Fallon. He seems like a nice enough guy and we’ve even enjoyed watching his show on occasion. But Fallon, just like any other talk show host, is not exactly someone you’d think to base a theme park ride on. That is, unless you’re Comcast and looking to load up your Universal Studios Orlando park with rides from brands you already control. [More]
Comcast Insists Its Twitter Account Isn’t A Robot; Just Assumes Everyone’s An Angry Customer
By 10.23.15
Like a number of corporate customer service Twitter account, the public replies from the @ComcastCares account are of the “Sorry to hear that” variety, often with a request for a private direct message containing more specific account information. But are these similar-sounding responses produced by a computer script or by a human being who just assumes that everyone hates the company they work for? [More]
Comcast Could Be The Next Company To Offer Cell Service
By 10.22.15
Everyone’s favorite (or not) cable, internet and telephone provider, Comcast, could soon be handling your cell service, too. [More]
Chattanooga Introduces Internet 10X Faster Than Google Fiber, Same Price As Slower Comcast Service
By 10.16.15
While Nashville residents await the introduction of Google Fiber, their fellow Tennesseans a couple hours away in Chattanooga will be getting access (if they can afford it) to broadband that’s ten times faster than Google’s top-speed. [More]
Atlanta Comcast Customers Can Pay $35 Fee To Avoid Data Cap Overage Fees
By 10.16.15
In markets where Comcast is testing its “data thresholds” (read: hard data caps), it’s also been trying out a so-called “Unlimited” offering where customers pay even more money to avoid paying more money. In Florida, where Unlimited first launched, Comcast priced that program at $30, but the good people of Atlanta will have to pay even more to avoid paying more. [More]
Comcast Tests Program That Proactively Calls Customers To Fix Problems
By 10.13.15
At times it can be difficult to schedule a service call with a cable/phone/internet provider when you notice an issue. So, it’s no wonder Consumerist reader Jack was suspicious of a voicemail he received last week from a someone claiming to be a Comcast employee notifying him that the company had detected poor signals reaching his equipment and offering to send a tech to investigate the issue. [More]
Service Offers To Cancel Your Comcast For You For $5
By 10.5.15
Breaking up, as the classic song states, is difficult to accomplish and often involves having to escalate your request to the Retentions department where things can get emotional and downright needy — at least when you’re talking about breaking up with your cable company. That’s why one service says it will cut your Comcast cord for you, for a fee, of course. [More]
Comcast Officially Launches Its “Watchable” YouTube Competitor
By 9.29.15
Back in August, we mentioned that Comcast was working on something called “Watchable,” its attempt to cash in on the curated online video craze that all the marketing and advertising kids are talking about. We also hoped that “Watchable” was just a working title, because it’s not exactly an astounding endorsement of quality. Today, Comcast announced that it’s indeed launching Watchable, so-so brand name and all. [More]
Court Okays $50M Comcast Settlement But Some Customers Won’t Even Get The $15 Bill Credit
By 9.25.15
Eleven months after Comcast reached a $50 million deal that would close the books on a class-action lawsuit originally filed back in 2003, the settlement has been approved by a federal court. However, because the window for filing a claim has already closed, a number of the affected 800,000 customers won’t get a bill credit; just two free months of The Movie Channel. [More]
Comcast Customers In Oregon Get To Experience Hopefully Improved Customer Service
By 9.21.15
A year ago this week, following a disastrous few months of very public customer service humiliations, Comcast promoted Charlie Herrin to be the Vice President, Making Company Look Less Awful (Note: This may not be his official title). The company subsequently promised that customer service “will be our best product,” resulting in more than a few snickers from Comcast subscribers. Now it’s time to see if these leadership changes and vague boasts are going to get results. [More]
Comcast Must Pay $33M To Settle Charges It Listed 75,000 Unlisted Phone Numbers
By 9.18.15
Nearly a year after the California Public Utilities Commission held a hearing to determine if Comcast should be held liable for a screwup that published more than 75,000 phone numbers, names, and addresses that were supposed to be unlisted, the cable and Internet giant has reached a $33 million deal that puts an end to the matter. [More]
