I commuted on the NYC-Trenton line for a year and if there had been wifi on the trains or along the train lines, it would have been a much better year. Yes, I would have paid for wifi access on the train.

When I had Verizon DSL, they used to shut off my Internet connection every Friday afternoon and not turn it back on until Monday morning. All Comcast has to do is suck less than that, and they keep my business.

(Unfortunately. The whole reason we'd switched to DSL in the first place was Comcast screwing us over, but not as badly as Verizon wound up doing. I wish there was REAL broadband choice in the US.)

Those problems mostly went away when cable companies learned that they just had to keep capacity up with demand. I eventually gave cable a shot, and from then on I used to swear by cable. But unfortunately, with the average consumer becoming more technical these days, the old stereotypes seem to be coming back into play, and now I'm back on DSL again. It's just the most reliable option until FiOS becomes available.

*sigh*

@textilesdiva:

I used iPhone as the best-known example, but any WiFi-enabled PDA (Blackberries, etc.) qualifies.

As to who to cater to, I'd hope that Comcast spends their investment dollars catering to the most valuable customers who are going to make them the most money.

@JustThatGuy3: Well certainly not in New Jersey.

I'll see what I can do! Thanks.

Current Customer FTL!

I am a cablevision customer and if they use the same equipmewnt that cablevision is using it could be a selling point.

Cablevision is installing wifi in its whole footprint. I have used it after moving to my appartment for a couple of days while waiting for my scheduled install. (well cablevision also has boost which is 30/5 with web and email servers allowed and their ports open )

I hope for everybody elses sake comcast does more copying of cablevision.

Are you sure that the intrinsic allure of one of your poll options hasn't skewed the results?

If they'd suck less overall, this would not be as big an issue.

I can only assume you're trolling, since your initial response to everyone is "Think [hot brand name item]!". Enjoy your buffet.

I agree. I actually canceled every Verizon service I once had and switched over to the Comcast Triple Play due to dreadful customer service from Verizon. Comcast has been nothing short of fantastic for me. Now, I would consider trying FIOS if they ever got around to putting it in my area, but service would not be a factor as much as getting away from the Comcast bandwidth caps.

Great news though: FiOS is FINALLY coming to Philadelphia despite the Comcast attempt to shut down City Council voting on the matter!

Die, bastards, DIE! ;) LOL *wink*

@TinkishDelight:

You live on a train platform?

@Cyberxion101:

Or do. Performance is radically better on a WiFi connection with a 10-20Mbps backhaul than it would be on AT&T's 3G network.

And no, not everybody has an iPhone, but WiFi-enabled devices are certainly growing in popularity.

@ScottRose:

Cablevision now has WiFi at every station, and by mid-2010, they'll have it everywhere in their footprint. Free if you're a cable modem customer.

@Spero:

Speed.

@textilesdiva:

Well, that and similar devices are a lot of what they're targeting. And they're a heckuva lot faster on WiFi than they are on AT&T 3G.

@JustThatGuy3: Or don't, as has been discussed above.

@ComcastBonnie: You wanna take a look at mine too while you're at it Bonnie? I'm having much the same problems in my neck of the woods.

See, Comcast sent me an e-mail touting how awesome online game-play is, but I've experienced nothing but lag when I've played. And like Saboth, I can't make the most of my Netflix sub because while a given video may run alright for the first ten minutes, I invariably get hit with the same message, and the video will take forever to load, with the video quality taking a huge hit in the process.

The strange thing is that in both cases, I can check my connection speed and not find anything that should be causing trouble of the magnitude that I am experiencing. My internet speed only seems to be effected when I'm playing online or viewing streaming video, which makes me wonder if I'm being throttled. Windows updates download quickly, after all. And for more than 50 bucks a month for internet service alone, I too must wonder why it's not up to the task.

Honestly, between those issues, the horrible digital channel line-up, the abysmally sparse On-Demand selection that features almost no HD content, I'm finding it tougher and tougher to justify paying the 126 dollars Comcasts asks of me every month. Especially as I payed quite a bit less in Colorado and got substantially more for the money.

Nope. I already get free WiFi from the neighbors. Thanks though.

The best part of FiOS is that you don't even notice that it's there. It just works.

Either drop the rates dramatically (although that'd then flood their network and make their service even more slow and intermittent), upgrade the network to be a reliable, fast service that can compete with the low tiers of FIOS, or set up a new pricing scheme.

What I'd like to see is a system that compensates people for throttling and/or outages and slow speed. The people who are really heavy users are the ones most apt to jump ship to Fios, as they notice the slowdowns the most and have been historically alienated by Comcast (bittorrent throttling, bandwidth caps, speeds that rarely reach even 3/4's the peak speeds advertised). This might be something more like a regulation from the government to a utility than a corporate decision, but we'd be paying them proportionate to their merits rather than an empty promise.

What I don't get is if it's free for Comcast customers, who might not even know their username and password offhand, or free for everyone, where it's just advertising. And since most people won't be sitting around long at the station, it had better work well and connect/login quickly on smartphones.

@Saboth:
Fear not, I forsee those bottled up networks getting relief very soon :)

I had FiOS at my last house, and it had wireless built into the FiOS router that they gave me. Worked great and speeds were amazing.

If they're implying you can't get wireless FiOS at your house, I'm confused.

If they're implying you can't get wireless FiOS at the train station - who cares? How many end users are really going to notice that it's Comcast providing the train station wi-fi? And of those who do, how many of them will really have their decision at their house influenced by this random thing?

Forgive me if I'm being dense. I truly don't get the point of this. Would love it if someone could explain.

@Michael Hyland: The 3Mbps connection you are speaking of is DSL - not FIOS. FIOS generally doesn't offer internet connection speeds of less than 10Mbps. As a FiOS rep, most people I sell to choose the 20Mbps option. Some markets enjoy a 50 & 100Mbps offer. Unfortunately, my home & office are currently set up with Comcast - the only game in town right now. Ugh. I cannot wait until FiOS is available in my neighborhood.

Here is the original article from when they started free Wi-FI. [www.cablerant.com]

I know the iPhone, iPod touch, and lots of other hand-held devices have WiFi nowadays. But I don't think the ability to use those for a few minutes in the morning (there's no value in the evening when commuters are running for their cars) on a WiFi network will keep dissatisfied customers with Comcast.

Plus in most cases the reason for using those devices on a high-speed connection is to download content. But when the train is comming "any second now", it's a bad idea to start a download.

And as those guys said above, for iPhone, Blackberry, and other smartphone users, there is no real benefit because most people will already have data plans anyway, and email delivery is already a non-issue.

I was a LIRR commuter for a long time (until recently) and I think Cablevision offers WiFi at some stations. I never cared to look into it, as my Blackberry and tethered laptop took care of all my internet access needs.

have any of you seen the new comcast commercial?

it looks like a bad acid trip.

time warner and/or ATT DSL are the only games in my immediate area (CLE,OH)

even if comcast were available in this area, i wouldn't get their service. or lack of service as one of the previous commenters mentioned...

Because everyone has one? Nah, that's not why. At least, it shouldn't be.

@ScottRose:

Don't think laptop, think iPhone.

@PeteyNice:
Think iPhone on the platform.

I Have FiOS and Love it. Would NEVER go back to Comcast. The one thing however that I wish Verizon would work on is teh STBs. About once a month, I need to unpluf/reset the STBs and/or the Network interface for their On Demand and Program guide. The system has improved from the time that I first switched to FiOS, and I hope that Verizon continues to improve the situation, but it is the one (minor) dark cloud for FiOS.

Perhaps if Comcast would put more effort into basic customer service and good network management, they wouldn't have to rely on niche-service gimmicks to retain customers.

Wait till they try to get you back by promising such things as "free 911". [consumerist.com]

I would definitely want Comcast to offer free wi-fi or some way for me to get internet access, other than through the cable connected to my home. Why not? As it is, I'm presently paying for Comcast at home and an AT&T data plan, on my mobile phone.

Sure, Comcast sucks. Then again, so does AT&T. And Verizon. Come on, who are we kidding? These ossified corporations with their outdated business models are stiffling innovation and nickel-and-diming us to death. But, who among us is going to pull the plug on our internet access, at thsi point?

That said, I'm glad that AT&T offers free WIFI, as a part of their DSL packages, at most Starbucks in California. Keeps me from having to fill up a Starbucks coffee card once a month, but I'd be fine with doing that if I had FiOS. I also have data service tethered through my phone as a slower (but still useful) backup option.

Then again, I depend on a fast connection for my profession, which is web design and development. Other folks who aren't as concerned with having a connection that's always available might not want to spend as much money.

Free WiFi *on the train* if it was reliable would be something else, but at the station? FiOS every day.

On an unrelated note, I will never willingly use Comcast ever again.

Is this story suggesting that competition benefits cunsumers? What kind of fantasy world is this?

Now, if comcast decides to build out free wifi along the North East Corridor (NJ Transit busist line) and offer it free for comcast subscribers, then they may be on to something.

Please Verizon, bring FiOS to Columbus, OH...

@ADismalScience:

If you have had a stellar experience with Comcast, I applaud you good Sir. I know that it exists, but in the portion that I work for, I get to see all of the problems that don't get resolved for months on end and have no control over it. The joys of being glorified data entry.

We're talking about Comcast here. I won't touch it with a ten-foot pole, I know better. Mostly because I work for them.

FiOS was an unmitigated disaster when I tried it; it went down after a day and didn't come up for a week, at which time the marriage was over. It was then my pleasure to deal with months of Verizon hell when they accused me of failing to mail in my equipment and threatened to send inaccurate bills to collections. Took forever to get that all straightened out.

Everyone has a horror story; there's mine with FiOS. There are analogues for every provider. By contrast, my Comcast experience has been stellar, both in terms of general service and the customer service I've dealt with. It almost doesn't feel icky to shill for them.

This pilot program is sweet, considering I take those trains. Suppose I could give it a try and write it up...

On the platform though? You've got 10 minutes before the train comes and no place to sit down.

If I want data on the go, I'll just use my phone's 3G connection - which is only $15 a month anyways.