Comcast Upload Speed Faster Than Download Wtf

Comcast only released a 2020 Network Operation Data written report with stats on how much Internet usage rose during the pandemic, and it said that upload use is growing faster than download utilize. "Acme downstream traffic in 2020 increased approximately 38 percent over 2019 levels and peak upstream traffic increased approximately 56 percentage over 2019 levels," Comcast said.

Just while upload use on Comcast's network quickly grows—driven largely by videoconferencing among people working and learning at dwelling—the nation's largest home-Internet provider with over thirty meg customers advertises its speed tiers as if uploading doesn't exist. Comcast'due south 56 percent increase in upstream traffic made me wonder if the company will increase upload speeds whatsoever time soon, so I checked out Comcast's Xfinity.com site today to see the current upload speeds. Getting that information was even more difficult than I expected.

The Xfinity website advertises cable-Internet plans with download speeds starting at 25Mbps without mentioning that upstream speeds are merely a fraction of the downstream ones. I went through Comcast's online ordering system today and found no mention of upload speeds anywhere. Even clicking "pricing & other info" and "view program details" links to read the fine print on various Internet plans didn't reveal upload speeds.

Fifty-fifty after adding a programme to the cart and going through most of the checkout process, I could non find any mention of upload speeds. I got to the signal where you have to enter credit carte information to keep, then I initially stopped in that location. I later confirmed that Comcast's ordering organisation will prove upload speeds subsequently it checks whether your credit card is valid, in the final page where y'all submit an social club.

Deliberately keeping customers in the dark

I've long known that it's hard to notice upload speeds on Comcast'due south website, simply I'one thousand non certain exactly when it became virtually incommunicable. There were complaints about this very problem on Comcast's client support forums in 2020 and in 2019, though. "What is my upload speed now? No where in the earth can I discover documentation," 1 client asked. The answer was that existing customers can detect upload speeds for their ain program in their account settings after logging in and navigating to the correct section.

Only that does not help people who are signing up for service and want to discover out what upload speeds they'll get or compare upload speeds of different plans. Even the Xfinity.com comparison tool that lets you lot compare details of different plans doesn't reveal their upload speeds. The absence of upload speeds from Comcast'due south website is and then thorough that it is clearly a deliberate try to keep customers in the dark. This gallery shows how the Comcast Xfinity website displays Cyberspace plans without mentioning upload speeds and continues that tactic through nigh the entire checkout process:

• Comcast's website displays these Net offers in my location without stating upload speeds.

• Comcast has a tool that lets you compare ii plans—but it doesn't bear witness the plans' unlike upload speeds.

  Comcast

• Subsequently adding a programme to the cart, you can starting time the checkout process. No upload speeds are in sight.

  Comcast

• We nonetheless don't know what the upload speeds are, merely Comcast tells us nigh its "Flex" streaming box.

  Comcast

• Now we can select an installation appointment and time, but upload speeds all the same are not revealed.

  Comcast

• At present you have to enter your credit card information—only after doing then volition Comcast permit you lot see the 300Mbps download program's 10Mbps upload speeds.

  Comcast

Thankfully, the 3rd-party website CableTV.com lists both download and upload speeds, showing that Comcast's 25Mbps download programme comes with 3Mbps uploads; the 100Mbps and 200Mbps download plans both have 5Mbps uploads; the 300Mbps download plan has 10Mbps uploads; the 600Mbps plan has 15Mbps uploads; and the 1Gbps download (1.2Gbps in some areas) comes with 35Mbps:

Overstate / Comcast speeds and prices, no thanks to Comcast's website.

Comcast's website does list the 35Mbps upload speeds for the gigabit programme at this page, but I couldn't discover anything similar for Comcast'south other cable-Internet plans. Comcast also offers a cobweb-to-the-domicile service with 2Gbps speeds both downstream and upstream. But Comcast'due south residential fiber requires installation charges of upwards to $500, and the service costs $300 a month, which is more than three times as much as the gigabit-cable plan that has 35Mbps downloads.

Comcast, why did you brand this so hard?

I contacted Comcast today with two master questions: is there any way to find upload speeds on Comcast's website before submitting an order for Net service, and does Comcast take any plans to raise its cable upload speeds?

Comcast's reply on where to find upstream speeds was as follows:

Our network study shows that, despite the growth in upstream traffic in 2020, patterns remain highly asymmetrical as downstream volumes were 14x higher than upstream throughout 2020. Our website reflects the mode customers use the Net with downstream overwhelmingly dominating usage, but upstream speeds are included in your cart and are visible upon check out when you submit your order.

Despite Comcast claiming that "upstream speeds are included in your cart," I could notice no evidence of this. Adding a Comcast Internet program to the cart and then clicking the cart icon brought me to an ordering page that does not mention upload speeds. I confirmed this beliefs on Xfinity.com in both Chrome and Safari.

I circled back to the Comcast spokesperson and asked what exact steps I need to take to brand upload speeds evidence up in the cart. It turns out the upload speeds never show up in the cart at all unless you ascertain "cart" to include the entire ordering process. Comcast told us the upload speeds will finally appear "when yous are at the stride when you review your order."

Despite my before reluctance to enter my credit carte information for service I am not ordering, I finally did so to check whether this is accurate. I submitted my address, phone number, and credit card information, and I clicked "Next." This triggered a step in which Comcast'due south system checked to see whether I had entered a valid credit carte. I accidentally entered a recently expired menu number, and then Comcast's system "declined" my card and made me re-enter information technology. After I entered a carte du jour number that Comcast could charge, I finally got to this page, where the 300Mbps download-programme'south 10Mbps upload speeds are shown:

Enlarge / The last folio in Comcast's ordering system.

Xfinity.com

At this page, with Comcast having already verified your carte du jour, you can view upload speeds and decide whether to submit the gild or go out the ordering organisation. The part of Comcast's statement that upload speeds are "visible upon check out when you submit your order" is thus authentic. Simply refusing to tell a prospective customer what they're paying for until after they submit credit card information is simply ridiculous. You tin can probably get upload speeds before by asking a Comcast rep in an online chat or phone telephone call, just that shouldn't be necessary.

Update: After digging through Comcast'due south list of customer agreements, policies, and disclosures, I constitute a now-outdated network direction page that includes download and upload speeds. It appears to exist the newest such list available on Comcast'southward website, but information technology was published on August 19, 2019 and the listed speeds don't match Comcast's current offerings.

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Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/03/comcast-hides-upload-speeds-deep-inside-its-infuriating-ordering-system/

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