NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Comcast's modem racket
Comcast's modem racket http://j.mp/1jEiVJ9 (This message on Google+) In discussions of Comcast's effort to buy Time Warner Cable, keeping in mind the former's ongoing modem racket might be worthwhile. This falls into two related aspects. First, Comcast is notorious for charging monthly modem rental fees to people who have purchased their own modems, as permitted by Comcast. Typically these charges will suddenly start appearing again on bills, and when subscribers inquire they're told they were "audited" and determined (falsely) to still be renting Comcast-owned modems. Trying to get this untangled apparently is an exercise in endurance. Then there's Comcast's XFINITY WiFi Home Hotspot service. This is the gimmick where they use Comcast-owned modems in subscriber homes to create a second access point that can be used by any Comcast subscriber (note - this is not a public hotspot -- it's only for Comcast authorized users). Comcast simply allocates some of the customer's bandwidth for this purpose. They claim it's managed to not slow you down significantly, but they don't explain how. They claim that since it's a separate access point you won't have the police break down your door and wrestle you out in chains if some wacko sits outside your house in his car downloading c-porn. They claim it doesn't count against your Comcast bandwidth caps. Why anyone would want to allow Comcast to attract random people to your residence to use your access link for Comcast's benefit -- without paying you somehow for the privilege -- is beyond me. But it's even worse than that. First, apparently if you have a Comcast-owned modem you are opted into this system by default and you have to call them on the phone to opt-out. And word is that subscribers who own their own modems are aggressively called by Comcast with pitches to switch back to Comcast-owned modems for "a better, faster modem experience." All in all, sleazy indeed. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info Founder: - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com _______________________________________________ nnsquad mailing list http://lists.nnsquad.org/mailman/listinfo/nnsquad