• ℛ𝒶𝓋ℯ𝓃@pawb.social
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        10 months ago

        This is the best thing to do. Let them waste their money on printed, mailed ads, and use it to taunt them on the internet and expose how they badger and milk their cattle customers.

        • doctorcrimson@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Not very environmentally friendly. I just send it all back, then they need to waste space and personnel on sorting their own junk.

          • UnculturedSwine@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            I feel this is the most environmentally friendly thing to do in my experience because it was the only thing that stopped me from being spammed by Comcast, former house owners, etc. it’s amazing how quick businesses will stop sending you junk mail when you start sending it back.

    • moup@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      lol, I’ve done this, multiple times. the only thing that has changed was that my name was replaced by “Residential Consumer” for the subsequent spam.

    • Emerald@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      Yeah i went from a speed of 10 mbps upload to a speed of 300 mbps upload thanks to fiber

      • Dran@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        There is an actual technical reason for coax networks not being able to provide symmetrical speeds. It has to do with what frequencies (channels) are dedicated to data uplink, data downlink, and cable TV. Cable TV is still the cash cow for coax providers, and installing appropriate channel splitters network-wide to reallocate higher-bandwidth channels to data uplink would result in days or weeks of downtime for cable subscribers, not to mention the crippling amount of money in new hardware. It is a consequence of how the networks were physically built when providers thought that cable and download speeds were all anyone needed; it’s not just a software switch they can flip if they wanted to.

        Spectrum still sucks, but asymmetrical Internet speeds are not one of the things they suck at on purpose.

          • Dran@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            It makes sense when you think about it, upstream is typically in the like 5-40mhz range, where downstream/tv is in the 40mhz-1ghz range. The splitting and routing is done at the analog level, similar to how a low-pass filter routes low frequencies to a subwoofer in a high-end audio setup.

            You can’t just have a hardware low pass filter start filtering upstream traffic above what the equipment is designed for, and with frequencies that low there just isn’t the bandwidth for the throughput people want.

        • CalcProgrammer1@lemmy.ml
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          10 months ago

          I mean, they have the money. They could build their own fiber network. They already have the permits, pole access, equipment, maintenance network, distribution network, utility boxes, etc. that they could leverage to build a truly modern network infrastructure in parallel to their outdated coaxial one if they wanted to stay relevant in this century, but they don’t. They stick with their shitty cable and its shitty uplink limitations and let much smaller third parties spend all that money to get their own permits, equipment, etc. and build their own fiber networks that can actually deliver the performance people want. Then Spectrum cries like the crybaby they are when everyone abandons their ancient infrastructure when competition arrives. Hell no I don’t want to stick around for your lame “gigabit” cable with a pathetic 20mbps uplink.

          I had to yell at them on the phone to cancel when I switched to symmetric gigabit fiber last summer after over a decade of 200/20 Spectrum. They said “but wait we can offer gigabit too” and I said that what they were selling was theoretically impossible to match what I had. Garbage company selling inferior product. I’m glad they’re starting to see real competition in more and more places from smaller fiber companies.

        • 𝕽𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖎𝖊𝖘𝖙@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          It is a consequence of how the networks were physically built when providers thought that cable and download speeds were all anyone needed; it’s not just a software switch they can flip if they wanted to.

          This is true of so much of our infrastructure in the US.

          Not bandwidth speeds specifically but just aging infrastructure that was built out long ago and not properly maintained and/or updated over time

    • TheGoldenGod@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I’ve seen advertisements fiber internet is in my area (Frontier), starting price is $59, guessing the price goes up eventually?

      • Fuck spez@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        Only to business/enterprise customers AFAIK. It’s actually rock solid in terms of reliability in my experience with a couple dozen customers in the Midwest. Even their residential coax connections are fiber-uplinked from the nearest switch, and are reasonably reliable.

        Edit: None of which is to suggest that they aren’t still a shitty company in terms of their other business practices. They once included guest hotspots with every new business installation that used their customers’ power to sell more Spectrum services to anyone within WiFi range.

    • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
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      10 months ago

      it’s so wild to me that america still views fiber as a new thing, it’s been standard in the nordics for like… 10 years maybe?

    • AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      As are modern sales.

      There should be a different name for people at a store that answer questions about a product on request.

      No one should be trying to convince anyone to buy anything as a job. What the hell is that? If you make a cool product/service/thing for a reasonable price, people will come to you. If you don’t, stop trying to pressure people into consuming it when they otherwise wouldn’t.

      • LufyCZ@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        There’s different types of marketing.

        One type is awareness marketing, which is exactly the type that’s the furthest from “forcing shit down your throat”.

        Then later, when you’re searching for something and see their name, your monkey brain will prefer the “familiar” option.

        And tbh I do have to disagree with “people will come to you”, it’s really hard to grow if people don’t know you exist.

        • AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          And tbh I do have to disagree with “people will come to you”, it’s really hard to grow if people don’t know you exist.

          I’m against the concept of unnecessary growth/metastasis. I prefer homeostasis/equilibrium.

          Unless you’re bringing something profoundly superior to what exists to the table that will have people who hear rumors of it coming to you, there’s no need for a 76th brand of chicken sandwich.

          We’re growing/metastasizing our species and a lot of other species into oblivion. It’s a shame our species is belligerently unwilling to consider a different strategy.

          • LufyCZ@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            What about a thing that would actually change your life for some reason?

            Would you prefer not knowing about it?

            Of course there’s no reason for the 76th brand of chicken sandwich, but that’s also not what I’m talking about at all.

            Marketing itself is fine and a healthy tool for growth, showing ads into people’s eyeholes every chance you get is not.

            • AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              Marketing itself is fine and a healthy tool for growth

              I reiterate, our species is growing/metastasizing itself and it’s habitat into oblivion.

              This is a finite world with finite resources, and 3,000 or so assholes have already claimed most of its finite resources at gunpoint and are at this point swallowing one another’s empires whole in their desperation to keep growing/metastasizing on a conquered board.

              We can’t grow/metastasize our way out of our species many crises caused by reckless growth/metastasis to begin with, any more than my country can solve its school shooting problem by handing every teacher and student a loaded glock.

              If we cared about survival, if we cared about our children, we don’t btw, we’d be planning to reduce our species size and footprint for the next several generations to a scale this world can sustainability support without hundreds of millions living in squalor.

              • LufyCZ@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                So you’re hating on the 3000 assholes who’ve already cornered the market and now you want a world where new companies possibly founded by someone no-as-assholish are doomed to stay unknown and fail?

                People will keep choosing what they know, if you don’t allow new players to enter the market, these old massive conglomerates will keep on growing, keep on consuming the competition.

                It’s a hyperbole, but only a small one.

                • AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world
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                  10 months ago

                  New players largely can’t “enter the market” without being bought out unless they have very uncharacteristic in business leaders unwilling to sell to a conglomerate, that’s usually considered victory these days, and literally every company that grows to the point of being and agrees to be publically traded must do every sociopathic thing they can to increase profit or they will be sued.

                  I don’t think a new group of people playing at this sick game will be any better than the last. If they were, the market ensures they won’t be better for long by design. Growth isn’t the answer. Growth is the problem. Our species needs to shrink or it will continue to suffer until it perishes by its own hands, and that is what we will do. I don’t think there is a solution, but I do know if there is, it won’t be found in economic growth/metastasis.

                  That’s just saying the cure to a poison is to drink… More of the same poison.

      • /home/pineapplelover@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        Well in more technologically advanced sales, there are reps who understand the technology deeply and try to explain it to execs and other engineering folk who might be interested. This is a role I find pretty valuable, since some engineers don’t have good communication skills.

    • Emerald@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      They aren’t even getting their target market right, sending me “move-in” offers when I haven’t moved.

  • TheSlad@sh.itjust.works
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    10 months ago

    Spectrum still sends that much spam even if you are a customer already.

    No, i dont want your tv bundle i literally havent had any desire to watch cable tv for over a decade please stop asking!

  • arin@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Got fiber and never looked back, 1gb both up and download at the same time(yes full speed on 2 different tests), no throttling, advanced email notifications for maintenance that’s past midnight. it’s so much freedom, no datacaps too !

    • rxin@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      10 months ago

      lmaoo they remotely update router software whenever they feel like it here. that means losing internet for half an hour without any warning :)

    • castlepeak@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Lucky mate. Which service do you have and where? My apartment complex sadly has coaxial hardwired so no recourse other than xfinity :/

      • arin@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Small local fiber and wireless provider that worked with the large multi unit condo building I’m in

    • doctorcrimson@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Most people don’t know this but the USPS has their own official stamp for that purpose and any marked or drawn on letters they receive likely go to the trash. Try attaching a sticky note and putting it in the outgoing mail, or talking to the post office directly (although many offices go to great lengths not to give you time).

      TLDR: Don’t write on the envelope or it won’t be returned.

  • 0110010001100010@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    I’m a current customer and still get shit like the frequently, usually they want me to add cable TV and/or phone to my internet-only package. It’s really obnoxious. You’d think after me ignoring it for 8 years they would give up but nope, still at least once a month one pops up in my mailbox.

  • eclectic_electron@sh.itjust.works
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    10 months ago

    They even ambush me every time I go to the grocery store. And they’ve doubled my bill since I signed up. Why bother marketing when you can raise rates whenever you want? They could save so much money by not mailing every day and hiring people to hunt me

    • criticon@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      SiriusXM is the only one I went to the process to opt-out. I received 2-3 letters every week and at least an email per day. Their service would be cheaper if they didn’t spend all their budget on marketing

      • Emerald@lemmy.worldOP
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        10 months ago

        The desire to recreate this posts image with siriusxm letters, would need a bigger table though it seems

    • sebinspace@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Imagine paying to not be able to control anything and still getting ads.

      Oh, that’s just cable…

  • qjkxbmwvz@lemmy.sdf.org
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    10 months ago

    My ex is ATT fiber which, despite having zero love for ATT, was pretty great.

    They are trying to get me back…but they don’t offer fiber (or any service!) at my new address.

    • Mayonnaise@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      I have zero love for ATT but love my fiber plan. I’d like to switch, since they don’t let me change the DNS server, but the plan I had before was awful and my internet dropped all the time.

      • whosdadog@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        Are you sure about that? I’m using the official AT&T fiber modem (Nokia white oval) and a pi.hole for DNS. I do remember needing to change a number of settings to get it to work though.

        • Mayonnaise@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          I’ll take another look at it. I had a pihole setup and tried to switch it over when I moved to ATT but couldn’t find any DNS options. After some quick Googling the unanimous answer seemed to be that ATT doesn’t let you. But I’ll look into it again, I would love to get my pihole working again.