With Comcast rolling out the 1TB datacap in several new markets, including my own in Oregon, I have decided to end my long term relationship with their internet service.

I have been a comcast customer almost continuously since retiring from the U.S. Army in 2003, I even spent a year working for the company managing datacenters and infrastructure.  Over time I have shifted my services to internet only opting for more and more streaming services,  using more and more bandwidth.  During that time, my internet only bill has increased from $30/mo – $95/mo with some increase in speed.  When I called to lower my bill I was informed that the only way Comcast would consider lowering my bill was if I bundled with their television product.  The net cost to me would be similar, which didn’t solve my problem.

I received numerous notifications about the cap, looking at the cost increase, which would put me around $145/mo based on my current usage.  Unfortunately I only have one other choice for internet service, Frontier Communications, which is not ideal, but it is Fiber.  Looking at my options, I found that I could trade my 105/10 for a 30/30 connection for $40/mo.  While it was much slower I opted to try it out.  So far 4 weeks in, no one seems to notice the speed decrease.

I waited about a week with the new service before canceling Comcast, I was braced for a fight.  Fortunately I was able to handle the disconnection through online chat.  It took about 15 min, there was a bit of back and forth with the rep trying to keep me as a customer, but when I held my ground he was surprisingly professional and courteous.

The overall transition has been mostly seamless, but the data caps still do not sit well.  I can only hope the public outcry will be enough to drive change, or better yet, maybe we will finally see more local ISP’s again.