Comcast.  How do I hate you?  Let me count the ways:

1.  You are constantly going out Comcast.  Either the Internet or the Television or Both.  The bulk of the time it's little 'burps' that knock me offline and cause me to reset my modem.  Occassionally, such as today, you go out completely for an extended period of time (2 hours tonight!)  Probably some drunk hit a pole.  I've had the Cable Guy out here at least twice and it looks like I'm going to have to make that dreaded call again soon.  Let's not even get into what the service calls were like.  That would take all day.  Suffice it to say that basically nothing changed, but they 'did their job'.

2.  You're a monopoly Comcast.  And you act like it.  If that weren't enough you block any hope of competition and then have the gaul to broadcast a commercial in which you are supposed to buy into their arguement that letting AT&T into their playground would be wrong, because it's 'only for the rich'.  B.S.  I say.  I've looked into AT&T's U-Verse Pricing Structure (and the many cities it's been implemented in) and it's more than fair.  I pay a bit more now for premium cable on Comcast - I would actually save a few bucks with AT&T's U-400 Plan (equitable to what I now have).  My guess it will come down to the most palms that get greased on Tennessee's Capitol Hill. What's strange about all this hullaballoo is that AT&T and Comcast merged or something around 2002. Like I said, it's strange. 

3.  The weekly 'End of the World As We know It and I Feel Fine' screech commercial (which knocks the cablebox out once it's done!) Grr!  This one might not be Comcast's fault.  They are required by law to provide it.  How I miss DirecTV ... but I can't have it due to the trees in my backyard (even though the 'regular' (non-HD) satellite I had before worked just fine - the DirecTV reps that came out took one look at the trees and said 'no way' (I tried to get HD DirecTV with 2 Reps, both said ... sigh ... 'no way Jose'... even though they didn't even try to install it).  Besides which I would be forced by Comcast to pay an additional $10/mo for Internet only (without their TV 'service').  More B.S. I say!  Add to this the Local Commercial override that are off the chart dB leveled to split eardrums! Sigh, another thing I miss - no local commercials on DirecTV!

4.  Comcrastic's Cable Box Tivo-wanna-be.  This may be my greatest complaint.  While the dropouts are indeed annoying, they aren't that often and don't involve too much 'pain'.  Their Box & Remote on the otherhand are constant sources of misery.  I keep hoping that they will provide a true TIVO option (they actually signed a contract with TIVO but to-date have not actually offered it to their customers!)  The box they provide is woefully short on features.  Clunky Remote, Clunkier Interface.  It's recording methods are byzantine in menu, sub-menu, sub-sub-menu selections.  And the Search Function is weak in the extreme.  Toss in the occassional trashing of my recorded programs and you've got a real loser here.  I WANT MY TIVO DAMNIT!

Needless to say I'm really hoping that AT&T is 'allowed' to compete here in Tennessee. Monopoly is a dirty word and Comcast is a dirty rotten scoundrel IMHO.  Yes, AT&T is even a larger corporate monster, but I will at least have a choice to what I see as shoddy service & a shoddy product at a bloated price that Comcast deigns to let me use (when it's not down). Competition is a good thing, right? 

Zenny, Consumer Activist