Comcast Phone Service

[Bright_Star]

I always thought it was unwise to combine your phone, cable & internet provider with one company. Because let's say your cable goes out, then there goes your phone & internet. I thought that if you kept them separate then if one goes out then you still have the other 2.

BUT lately I've been eyeing the phone service through Comcast with some interest. I have my both my internet & phone service through Verizon. Should I go for it? Are my concerns justified?

[Caveat Emptor]

I'm fairly sure all cable telephone service comes with a battery backup for power outages similar to FIOS, but it only lasts for a few hours so if the outage is longer than that, you better have a backup like a cell phone.

[protege]

We had Crapcast at work until a few months ago. Their phone service, at least in my area, sucks. We'd be talking to someone, and the phone would simply go out. That, and the 'net connection would drop at random times. Oddly enough, the TV *never* went out After multiple attempts at having them "repair" the connection...we said "fuck it" and switched our 'net over to Verizon. Very easy to do, since the other company in the building had that. Now, we still have Crapcast for the TV and phones, but probably not for much longer.

[thegiraffe]

Is comcast phone service VoIP? (Essentially, talking over the internet?) If it is, there are MAJOR safety concerns with it.

If you call 9-1-1 from a regular landline, your floorplan and other various pieces of information show up on the screen for the emergency personnel. Calling from a VoIP gives an address...that's it. If you have an emergency at home, it may take longer for them to get to you because there will be more unknowns.

When my grandma was really sick, we talked grandpa out of getting the VoIP phones because of that reason. I know a lot of companies call it "enhanced 9-1-1" or something like that, but it's just not as good. When you have an emergency, seconds are super important. I'm of the school of thought that it's just not a good idea.

[draggar]

Is comcast phone service VoIP? (Essentially, talking over the internet?) If it is, there are MAJOR safety concerns with it.

If you call 9-1-1 from a regular landline, your floorplan and other various pieces of information show up on the screen for the emergency personnel. Calling from a VoIP gives an address...that's it. If you have an emergency at home, it may take longer for them to get to you because there will be more unknowns.

When my grandma was really sick, we talked grandpa out of getting the VoIP phones because of that reason. I know a lot of companies call it "enhanced 9-1-1" or something like that, but it's just not as good. When you have an emergency, seconds are super important. I'm of the school of thought that it's just not a good idea.

Very true - 911 capabilities are not as good with a land line. Even cell phones are better for 911 calls.

Oddly, though, I've ben installing a VoIP system in a lot of my stores and part of the test is calling 911 to make sure they get the correct address and they always do - even get the company name right.

[Getpowned]

i work for a company that i cant say the name

but i can tell you depending on your area if you hardly have service problems with your internet your phone will be sweet but if you have common problems there could be phone problems.

[Mr. Rager!]

Well, I can tell you if Comcast's telephone service is anything like Charter's telephone, it's fairly decent. We have a separate modem for phone and for internet. The Charter rep said that it does initially start off as VOIP, but once it gets to your tap (I think) it switches over to regular telephone lines. They also said they have an entirely different system set up for their phone, separate of the internet and TV.

Charter offers E911 which works like regular telephone service and I'm sure Comcast offers the same thing. I think it's a decent set-up. Unlimited local and long distance calling is $14.99 a month. Got some kind of special promotion.

[mandaliz8704]

If you've managed to escape the evil grasp of Scamcast until now, I suggest you run far far away... Don't do it, man!