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Two guys hated using Comcast, so they built their own fiber ISP

arstechnica.com

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Re: Two guys hated using Comcast, so they built their own fiber ISP

#81

Post by eurleif »

justusthane wrote: post #63
nancyminusone wrote: post #19

I'm one of their customers. I often see that one green car parked down the road. It's pretty good - their provided router is locked down to hell and they're on a cgnat, but not having to deal with Comcast's 1.2tb data cap is well worth it. Checking Comcast's site now, it seems that they now offer "unlimited" data. Interesting, that option wasn't there 6 months ago. ~100 customers seems too small for the amount of eff…

> their provided router is locked down to hell From the article, it sounds like the "default" option is for the customer to supply their own router, which I appreciate: > Prime-One provides a modem and the ONT, plus a Wi-Fi router if the customer prefers not to use their own router.

Modem and ONT? I'm under the impression that there's nothing called a "modem" for fiber, and that the ONT serves a similar role. Am I confused?

Re: Two guys hated using Comcast, so they built their own fiber ISP

#82

Post by PantaloonFlames »

xedrac wrote: post #57
babypuncher wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Comcast similarly removed their 1.2TB cap in my neighborhood within months of us getting fiber. It's almost like the only reason for the cap was because they could get away with it when there wasn't any competition.

Comcast is notorious for exploiting places that don't have any other real options. Just before Google Fiber was activated in my area, Comcast stepped up their game big time. The only problem is that they had spent years nickel and diming me for actual connection speeds that didn't even come close to their advertised rates, and their latency/jitter is garbage compared to fiber. Comcast clearly doesn't want to have to…

> is notorious for exploiting places that don't have any other real options.

Isn’t this standard competitive practice ? Charge what the market will bear.

I don’t know if I’d call that “exploitation”. If there’s one gas station 90 miles from every other gas station in the Nevada desert, they’re gonna charge more, aren’t they?

Re: Two guys hated using Comcast, so they built their own fiber ISP

#83

Post by projektfu »

babypuncher wrote: post #45
nancyminusone wrote: post #19

I'm one of their customers. I often see that one green car parked down the road. It's pretty good - their provided router is locked down to hell and they're on a cgnat, but not having to deal with Comcast's 1.2tb data cap is well worth it. Checking Comcast's site now, it seems that they now offer "unlimited" data. Interesting, that option wasn't there 6 months ago. ~100 customers seems too small for the amount of eff…

Comcast similarly removed their 1.2TB cap in my neighborhood within months of us getting fiber. It's almost like the only reason for the cap was because they could get away with it when there wasn't any competition.

Feature-wise it doesn't matter because you're still going to have to play the price haggling game. Other providers don't renegotiate every 6 months like they do. They have more in common with Waste Management than with a respectable ISP.

Re: Two guys hated using Comcast, so they built their own fiber ISP

#84

Post by PantaloonFlames »

dilyevsky wrote: post #60
yalok wrote: post #8

Still waiting for someone to do the same in Bay Area. Many parts of it don’t have any fiber optics options, even though Sonic does provide some in the north. AT&T put an optic cable at my curb 10 years ago (most likely due to imminent competition from Google Fiber internet), but then never lit it (most likely because Google dropped their effort due to complications with cities)…

Sonic is doing this in sfba. Used to be att reseller now they lay their own fiber, 50% cheaper plans, byo router, ipv6 that actually works, great service.

Pardon my ignorance but what is the benefit to ipv6 for local, consumer internet?

Re: Two guys hated using Comcast, so they built their own fiber ISP

#85

Post by lstamour »

eurleif wrote: post #81
justusthane wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> their provided router is locked down to hell From the article, it sounds like the "default" option is for the customer to supply their own router, which I appreciate: > Prime-One provides a modem and the ONT, plus a Wi-Fi router if the customer prefers not to use their own router.

Modem and ONT? I'm under the impression that there's nothing called a "modem" for fiber, and that the ONT serves a similar role. Am I confused?

Can’t speak to this exact circumstance, but more generally: The ONT translates the SFP+ networking to fibre optic, but the modem is still somewhat necessary for logins if you use PPPoE as a wrapper for example. In telecom fibre optic, it often also assigns a particular vlan to internet packets and separate vlans for TV and phone. But I’m not an expert here, just explaining why I needed a modem function in my router as well as a media converter to house the ONT.

As far as I know, nobody uses separate boxes for the modem and router, that kind of thinking died when wifi became more widespread and included by default with ISP plans.

Re: Two guys hated using Comcast, so they built their own fiber ISP

#86

Post by xedrac »

PantaloonFlames wrote: post #82
xedrac wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Comcast is notorious for exploiting places that don't have any other real options. Just before Google Fiber was activated in my area, Comcast stepped up their game big time. The only problem is that they had spent years nickel and diming me for actual connection speeds that didn't even come close to their advertised rates, and their latency/jitter is garbage compared to fiber. Comcast clearly doesn't want to have to…

> is notorious for exploiting places that don't have any other real options. Isn’t this standard competitive practice ? Charge what the market will bear. I don’t know if I’d call that “exploitation”. If there’s one gas station 90 miles from every other gas station in the Nevada desert, they’re gonna charge more, aren’t they?

Yes, it certainly is. But isn't it interesting that Comcast is almost universally hated? I used the word "exploit" simply because had they treated their customers better and focused on putting their best foot forward, I don't think they would have bled customers nearly as quickly.

Re: Two guys hated using Comcast, so they built their own fiber ISP

#88

Post by Polizeiposaune »

eurleif wrote: post #81
justusthane wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> their provided router is locked down to hell From the article, it sounds like the "default" option is for the customer to supply their own router, which I appreciate: > Prime-One provides a modem and the ONT, plus a Wi-Fi router if the customer prefers not to use their own router.

Modem and ONT? I'm under the impression that there's nothing called a "modem" for fiber, and that the ONT serves a similar role. Am I confused?

No, that's my understanding as well.

My fiber installer referred to the Adtran 632V ONT he installed as the "modem".

He installed two other junction boxes (one outside the house near/under where the fiber attaches to the wall of the house, one inside near the ONT) but they're just passive optical couplers allowing them to swap out fiber segments in the event of fiber damage without re-running the entire install.

Re: Two guys hated using Comcast, so they built their own fiber ISP

#89

Post by amethyst »

PantaloonFlames wrote: post #80
nkellenicki wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've always had the _option_ of paying extra for unlimited data, however its only in the past month or two that they've started offering unlimited data as standard (in select markets). https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/06/stung-by-custome...

I’m sorry I still don’t get it. Could you explain that in different phrasing ? A comcast customer always had the option to pay for unlimited data. I get that part. What is the 2nd part? “Started offering it as standard” means what?

In markets where Comcast has actual real competition, they "include" the unlimited data (aka no cap) with no extra charge when you sign up for their gigabit plans.

Re: Two guys hated using Comcast, so they built their own fiber ISP

#90

Post by rahimnathwani »

icedchai wrote: post #59
teeray wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ISPs are weird: You don’t call the water department if your sink is backed up—you call a plumber. You also don’t call the electric company when you want to wire your finished basement—you hire an electrician. ISPs somehow became responsible for absolutely every aspect of consuming their service though. Why isn’t “home internet plumber” a thing?

After fixing internet for some neighbors and older relatives, I've wondered if people would pay for a home network / internet handyman service. It's super frustrating, especially for older folks. They often confuse their email passwords, ISP passwords, wifi setup, etc. Also I could save them a bunch of money getting rid of services they don't use, like moving their landlines to VOIP.

  Also I could save them a bunch of money getting rid of services they don't use, like moving their landlines to VOIP.
If you want a landline to call emergency services, I'd expect a real landline will have higher uptime than one that depends on your router.
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