Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Emergency Post- Comcast

So... I am home sick today when I get a sales call from Comcast.. seems their every-other-ad-for comcast-phone isn't enough coverage for them.. now they need to call their own subscribers to give them a "DEAL".. of course it's not any better than the "deal" they would give any one else off the street.
They guy starts by asking me how much I pay now for phone service.
"$17.99" I reply.
With out a skip, he begins reading his prepared text... for only $19.99 per month ( for the first year) ...... after that only $39.99 per month.

Wait lets get this straight ... gee I can pay $2.00 more per month now and double that after only 12 payments .. wow do I feel stupid... I should jump right on that!!! But hey, he's just a mouth... he's reading a script.. so I cut him some slack. Unfortunately he uses the slack to make his most powerful plee.

"But OUR service does not require you to use a computer or even have a computer" he states feeling vindicated that he just put a fantastic deal out on the table.
"Nor does mine" I state flatly.
"Really?" he protests "I didn't know that was possible, are you sure?"
OK ... hey look I am 46 years old... don't call my house on sales call and then proceed to 1) offer me a deal that costs more ( and not give up) 2) call me a liar, or challenge what I know to be true.

" I have been working with computers for over 23 years, I have extensive network and server experience, yeah I know what I am talking about... thanks for the call."
"Sir.. we don't charge for installation..."
"thanks for the CALL." Click.

OK folks heres the deal:
There are a very few "systems" that do require a computer of these only SKYPE has any real following. Skype is from free to maybe $20.00 a month.. Certainly not $39.00 a month. The other is magic jack. Both do require a computer to be on and running to use.

ALL OTHER SERVICES RUN WITH OUT A PC ON OR EVEN PRESENT.

So when you get a call from Comcast. Thank them, and then check on your own. Here's is what I found to be true:
The MOST expensive cable phone serive available is COMCAST @ $39.99 .. every other service beats them.
Second most expensive is Vonage, They have two main tiers; a limited service for $17.99 and an umlimited for $24.99. and yes, I use Vonage.
All other servies are cheaper, but usually not by much, the cheapest I found was $9.99. I started to sign up with them, then forgot, then tried the next month... they were gone. Others took thier place at $9.99, but I was uncertain of thier stability. I do think a good service could be found with unlimited called for $15.00 or so. But for $3.00 more (and a limit on calls) I went with a big dog vendor. I probably will change if I see a significant change in the market as my main house phone is nothing more than a method for sales people to call me ( ala' Comcast).

How does it work:
Either you buy your own little box or they sell/rent you one much like your cable modem. The box will need to go between the cable modem and house phone. I my case, I have 2 "wired" computers, a server, and an access point PLUS the phone adapter; therefore I have cable router and even a network switch in order to plug all that up. No, it's not complicated .. less so that most VCR recorders were back in the day. One luxury I do have is UPS- Uninterrupted Power Supply. A UPS is basically a combo - battery, battery charger, and DC to AC converter. When the power goes out the UPS uses power stored in the battery to keep things running for a short time. I figure mine is good for about 2 minutes.
So the cable modem plugs into the router.. the router plugs into phone adapter, and the phone adapter ( in my case) plugs into an unused phone jack. All the phones that are also plugged into the phone jacks in the house get a dial tone from that little box. Presto.. same old phone number (no charge), same dial tone, comparable phone quality, plus caller ID! All on my same old standard phones.

Point being: Do not be fooled by misleading scripts by Comcast. They charge MORE for nothing more than any other cable phone service. That is not to say they may not have a good deal .. the triple pack (cable-internet-phone) for $99 a month for a year is a good deal, until the ride runs out and prices return to about $150 a month.


Got questions? Google is your friend or hit me up at: pinetor@yahoo.com
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1 comment:

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