I thought my Internet connection was OK. I had decent speeds 50mbps down 10 up. What I found irritating though was not as good a connections through VOIP, Video Conferencing, Microcell. Netflix was OK.
I have a semi-retired Microsoft friend who works from home like I do and he swears by his Business Comcast Internet connection. Only recently I had the option of adding Business Comcast Internet at home. I finally decided to give it a try and see if it works, worse case no difference I switch.
Getting switched was less than 1/2 hour. I decided to get a new Cable Modem while I was at it. I already had a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, but decided given it was 4 years old I’d rather upgrade now, and have one less thing to worry about in the upgrade.
Speedtest is the same 50 down and 10 up and the cost is about $40 more a month. Is it worth it?
1) Skype Video calls were improved to HD quality. Also started using Fuze Box and the HD quality was consistent.
2) VOIP and Microcell call quality appears more consistent.
3) Netflix now on playing in HD quality on all devices - AppleTV, Samsung TV, iPad, and Mac.
4) Streaming from iTunes starts faster, including on AppleTV. Before I would wait 5-10 seconds for a trailer to start. Now the wait is 1-2 seconds.
5) Youtube video starts sooner.
So is it worth another $40 a month. Given I use the Internet every day, work from home, and my wife does as well. I would say I probably get $40 almost every day due to not waiting and higher quality streaming services, but of course I wouldn’t pay that kind of money.
Another intangible that I don’t use, but nice to have is Business Comcast Internet is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So when I have problems with Internet access I don’t wait like my neighbors. I get a truck rolling to my house within 24 hours if there is a problem requiring a technician.
Here is a Arstechnica article on a writer who switched to Business Comcast Internet.
Why I pay extra for “business-class” broadband at home
No data caps, no blocked ports, and better support are pretty darn compelling.