ATT Uverse v Mediacom Xtreme

[pcarlson]

I have MediaCom Xtreme but considering switching to ATT Uverse due to the fact that MC keeps upping my monthly bill. I have the 1G now but the guy at ATT says that his 12mbps (which is the highest speed my address can get) is comparable to Mediacoms 1G speed. He said it was on a different scale than the 1G speed, whatever that means. I get about 400-500mbps with Mediacom now so please help me understand how ATT 12mbps is the same as MC 1G service. Any advice is helpful. Thanks

[Philip]

12 Mbps is not comparable to 500 Mbps, the ATT rep was just trying to make a sale. 12 Mbps service will be much slower than the 400-500Mbps you are getting now, I wouldn't switch. If you can only get 12Mbps with ATT Uverse, it is probably a DSL connection, while your Mediacom Xtream is likely fiber, much more stable technology. If the bill is too high you can always downgrade to a slower tier with Mediacom I imagine.

Keep in mind that with all residential internet connections, the quoted speeds are "up to" a specific number. This can only be reached when there is no congestion, as the ISP's available bandwidth is oversubscribed (typically 20+ times). When more customers get online in peak hours and start video streaming, it usually slows down as they have to share the available bandwidth. For example, your "up to" 1Gbps (1000 Mbps) connection is giving you typically 400-500 Mbps service. A DSL connection that is "up to" 12 Mbps will likely max out at 80% of that.

[pcarlson]

That's what I thought. I just couldn't figure out why he was saying 12mbps was equivalent to 1G. That's when I said, "I'll think about it" and walked out of the store

[Philip]

Good call. ATT does also offer faster fiber connections, formerly under the "U-verse" name, now simply called ATT Internet. It may not be available in your area though, if you only got offered 12 Mbps.