[semi-OT] Review: Comcast Workplace cable Internet

[Ben Scott]

On 9/10/07, Bruce Dawson <jbd at codemeta.com> wrote:
>>   There were some one-time costs related to getting a line run on the
>> poles to our facility.  These will not generalize to anyone else's
>> experiences, so I'm not going to post them.
> >
> Ack! Phht. Don't assume this! I (and at least one other poster on this
> list) have had to pay to have them run wire on poles to our places. In
> my case, I think it cost about $6K to run it about 0.56 mile.

  Exactly.  Our cost here was radically different.  I know from past
experience that other, apparently similar plant extensions have had
very different costs.  It depends on a number of factors, including
the existing services on the poles, whether Comcast has to submit a
"Make Ready" order to other utilities, closest existing line, signal
strength at that point, run length, condition of the poles (can they
take more weight?), type of line that needs to be run (RG-6?  RG-11?
semi-rigid?  optical?), if amplifiers/repeaters/etc are needed,
physical access, etc, etc.  And those are just the technical factors.
Promotions, sales district, how good you are at negotiating, service
you're buying, other potential customers on the line, etc., can all
come into play, too.  And probably the phase of the moon.

  So our cost for this is only useful if you're getting a line run to
our building.  Since we've paid for that now, you won't ever have to
do that, even if you move in here.  :-)

  If somebody thinks they might be interested in getting Comcast to
run a line to their doorstep, they should call Comcast and ask for a
quote.  That won't cost them anything but time, and it's the only way
to get a useful answer.

-- Ben