April 15, 2011, 1:58 PM — Evidence that two goods don't necessarily overcome a bad:
-
Good: Comcast just announced the ultrafast, ultra-broadband "Extreme 105" 105 Mbit/sec Internet service it's been promising.
-
Good: Introductory prices start at $105 per month, when bundled with other services; the price was supposed to be closer to $200 per month.
-
Bad: It put a data cap on the service of 250 Gbit per month -- about five hours worth of full-bandwidth use.
Extreme 105 sounds like a great deal at $105, but that price only counts if you get it as part of a Triple Play bundle with Comcast's phone and TV services. The $105 is also a promotional price that may go up later.
There's no guarantee you'll be able to take full advantage of all that bandwidth, either. Comcast is among the most enthusiastic bandwidth-throttlers among the major ISPs. It is especially inimical toward streaming video from Netflix which, coincidentally, I'm sure, competes with Comcast's own paid on-demand video and TV services.
You'll have to buy a new cable modem, for somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 with installation.
The data cap rubs a lot of people the wrong way, especially Comcast's reported tendency to monitor usage closely and Take Steps quickly when it's exceeded.
Sounds like the kind of deal the term "buyer's remorse" was invented for.
