What Is the Upload on Att 1gbps

Comcast just released a 2020 Network Performance Information report with stats on how much Internet usage rose during the pandemic, and it said that upload use is growing faster than download apply. "Peak downstream traffic in 2020 increased approximately 38 per centum over 2019 levels and top upstream traffic increased approximately 56 percent over 2019 levels," Comcast said.

Merely while upload apply on Comcast's network quickly grows—driven largely by videoconferencing amidst people working and learning at home—the nation'due south largest home-Internet provider with over thirty million customers advertises its speed tiers every bit if uploading doesn't exist. Comcast's 56 percent increment in upstream traffic made me wonder if the company will increase upload speeds any time shortly, and so I checked out Comcast's Xfinity.com site today to see the current upload speeds. Getting that information was even more hard than I expected.

The Xfinity website advertises cable-Internet plans with download speeds starting at 25Mbps without mentioning that upstream speeds are just 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 plan details" links to read the fine impress on various Internet plans didn't reveal upload speeds.

Fifty-fifty afterward adding a programme to the cart and going through well-nigh of the checkout process, I could non find any mention of upload speeds. I got to the point where you accept to enter credit card information to go along, so I initially stopped there. I later confirmed that Comcast's ordering arrangement volition evidence upload speeds later it checks whether your credit card is valid, in the final page where yous submit an order.

Deliberately keeping customers in the dark

I've long known that information technology's hard to find upload speeds on Comcast's website, but I'm not sure exactly when it became about impossible. There were complaints about this very problem on Comcast'southward customer back up forums in 2020 and in 2019, though. "What is my upload speed now? No where in the world can I observe documentation," ane customer asked. The answer was that existing customers can find upload speeds for their ain plan in their account settings after logging in and navigating to the correct section.

Merely that does not assistance people who are signing up for service and want to find out what upload speeds they'll get or compare upload speeds of unlike plans. Even the Xfinity.com comparison tool that lets you compare details of different plans doesn't reveal their upload speeds. The absence of upload speeds from Comcast's website is and so thorough that it is clearly a deliberate attempt to keep customers in the dark. This gallery shows how the Comcast Xfinity website displays Net plans without mentioning upload speeds and continues that tactic through nearly the entire checkout process:

• Comcast'due south website displays these Internet offers in my location without stating upload speeds.

• Comcast has a tool that lets you compare two plans—but it doesn't show the plans' different upload speeds.

  Comcast

• After calculation a plan to the cart, you tin get-go the checkout process. No upload speeds are in sight.

  Comcast

• Nosotros still don't know what the upload speeds are, but Comcast tells united states nigh its "Flex" streaming box.

  Comcast

• Now nosotros tin select an installation date and time, but upload speeds all the same are not revealed.

  Comcast

• Now you accept to enter your credit menu information—only after doing so will Comcast let yous run into the 300Mbps download plan's 10Mbps upload speeds.

  Comcast

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

Enlarge / Comcast speeds and prices, no cheers to Comcast'due south website.

Comcast's website does list the 35Mbps upload speeds for the gigabit programme at this folio, merely I couldn't discover anything similar for Comcast's other cablevision-Cyberspace plans. Comcast likewise offers a fiber-to-the-habitation service with 2Gbps speeds both downstream and upstream. Only Comcast's residential fiber requires installation charges of upwards to $500, and the service costs $300 a month, which is more than than three times equally much as the gigabit-cable plan that has 35Mbps downloads.

Comcast, why did you brand this so hard?

I contacted Comcast today with ii primary questions: is in that location whatsoever manner to notice upload speeds on Comcast's website before submitting an order for Internet service, and does Comcast have any plans to raise its cablevision upload speeds?

Comcast'due south answer 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 every bit downstream volumes were 14x higher than upstream throughout 2020. Our website reflects the way customers use the Internet with downstream overwhelmingly dominating usage, simply upstream speeds are included in your cart and are visible upon check out when you submit your society.

Despite Comcast claiming that "upstream speeds are included in your cart," I could detect no evidence of this. Calculation a Comcast Internet plan 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 make upload speeds show upwardly in the cart. It turns out the upload speeds never show up in the cart at all unless you define "cart" to include the entire ordering process. Comcast told the states the upload speeds volition finally appear "when you are at the pace when y'all review your order."

Despite my earlier reluctance to enter my credit menu information for service I am non 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 pace in which Comcast's system checked to run into whether I had entered a valid credit card. I accidentally entered a recently expired bill of fare number, so Comcast'southward organization "declined" my card and made me re-enter it. Afterward I entered a card number that Comcast could charge, I finally got to this folio, where the 300Mbps download-plan's 10Mbps upload speeds are shown:

Overstate / The terminal folio in Comcast's ordering organisation.

Xfinity.com

At this folio, with Comcast having already verified your menu, you lot tin can view upload speeds and determine whether to submit the order or exit the ordering system. The part of Comcast's statement that upload speeds are "visible upon check out when you submit your social club" is thus authentic. But refusing to tell a prospective client what they're paying for until after they submit credit card information is simply ridiculous. You can probably get upload speeds earlier by asking a Comcast rep in an online chat or telephone call, but that shouldn't exist necessary.

Update: Later on excavation through Comcast's list of client agreements, policies, and disclosures, I institute a now-outdated network management folio that includes download and upload speeds. Information technology appears to be the newest such list available on Comcast'due south website, but it was published on August 19, 2019 and the listed speeds don't lucifer 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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