Comcast: Difference between revisions
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|Website=https://www.xfinity.com/ | |Website=https://www.xfinity.com/ | ||
|Description=Major ISP selling Internet and cable services, but infamous for high prices, data caps, throttling, poor customer service, and monopolistic practices | |Description=Major ISP selling Internet and cable services, but infamous for high prices, data caps, throttling, poor customer service, and monopolistic practices | ||
}}Comcast is a US-based Internet | }}Comcast is a US-based telecommunications company operating under the Xfinity brand for residential Internet, TV, and phone services. It has frequently been criticized for low customer satisfaction, billing disputes, net neutrality violations, misleading sales practices, and leveraging media ownership to influence competition. | ||
==Consumer-impact summary== | ==Consumer-impact summary== | ||
{{Ph-C-CIS}} | {{Ph-C-CIS}} | ||
*Chronic low customer satisfaction – Consistently ranks near the bottom in ACSI surveys; in 2010 and 2014, Comcast was named "Worst Company in America" by The Consumerist.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Congratulations To Comcast, Your 2014 Worst Company In America! – Consumerist |url=[https://consumerist.com/2014/04/08/congratulations-to-comcast-your-2014-worst-company-in-america/](https://consumerist.com/2014/04/08/congratulations-to-comcast-your-2014-worst-company-in-america/) |url-status=dead |archive-url=[https://web.archive.org/web/20250114001930/https://consumerist.com/2014/04/08/congratulations-to-comcast-your-2014-worst-company-in-america/](https://web.archive.org/web/20250114001930/https://consumerist.com/2014/04/08/congratulations-to-comcast-your-2014-worst-company-in-america/) |archive-date=01-14-2025 |access-date=08-20-2025 |website=Consumerist}}</ref> | |||
*Aggressive billing and fees – In 2016, the FCC fined Comcast US $2.3 million for unauthorized "negative option billing"—charging customers for services or equipment they did not request—and imposed a five-year compliance plan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FCC Fines Comcast \$2.3 Million for Wrongful Billing Practices |url=[https://www.fcc.gov/document/comcast-pay-23m-fine-resolve-billing-complaints](https://www.fcc.gov/document/comcast-pay-23m-fine-resolve-billing-complaints) |website=Federal Communications Commission |date=2016-10-11 |access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref> | |||
*Net neutrality violations – Comcast disrupted peer-to-peer traffic (such as BitTorrent) by forging TCP reset packets, prompting FCC scrutiny; the enforcement was later overturned by a federal appeals court.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Court Overturns FCC Order Against Comcast |url=[https://www.wired.com/2010/04/net-neutrality-throttle/](https://www.wired.com/2010/04/net-neutrality-throttle/) |website=Wired |date=2010-04-06 |access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref> | |||
*Opaque pricing and deceptive practices – Consumers report hidden fees, confusing billing, and difficulty understanding surcharges like franchise, retransmission, and sports fees.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Comcast’s Messy Bills Could Finally Get Fixed by Class-Action Lawsuit |url=[https://www.wired.com/2016/10/comcast-bill-mess-class-action-lawsuit-might-finally-fix/](https://www.wired.com/2016/10/comcast-bill-mess-class-action-lawsuit-might-finally-fix/) |website=Wired |date=2016-10-19 |access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref> | |||
*Anti-competitive concerns and lobbying – Comcast's roles as both content owner (NBCUniversal) and distributor have raised antitrust concerns, especially in proposed acquisitions like the Time Warner Cable merger.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Critics Say Comcast–Time Warner Cable Merger Would Create Monopoly |url=[https://time.com/54962/comcast-time-warner-cable-critics/](https://time.com/54962/comcast-time-warner-cable-critics/) |website=Time |date=2014-02-13 |access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref> | |||
==Incidents== | ==Incidents== | ||
Revision as of 00:39, 21 August 2025
Comcast
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1963-06-28 |
| Legal Structure | Public |
| Industry | Cable, Telecommunications |
| Official website | https://www.xfinity.com/ |
Comcast is a US-based telecommunications company operating under the Xfinity brand for residential Internet, TV, and phone services. It has frequently been criticized for low customer satisfaction, billing disputes, net neutrality violations, misleading sales practices, and leveraging media ownership to influence competition.
Consumer-impact summary
- Chronic low customer satisfaction – Consistently ranks near the bottom in ACSI surveys; in 2010 and 2014, Comcast was named "Worst Company in America" by The Consumerist.[1]
- Aggressive billing and fees – In 2016, the FCC fined Comcast US $2.3 million for unauthorized "negative option billing"—charging customers for services or equipment they did not request—and imposed a five-year compliance plan.[2]
- Net neutrality violations – Comcast disrupted peer-to-peer traffic (such as BitTorrent) by forging TCP reset packets, prompting FCC scrutiny; the enforcement was later overturned by a federal appeals court.[3]
- Opaque pricing and deceptive practices – Consumers report hidden fees, confusing billing, and difficulty understanding surcharges like franchise, retransmission, and sports fees.[4]
- Anti-competitive concerns and lobbying – Comcast's roles as both content owner (NBCUniversal) and distributor have raised antitrust concerns, especially in proposed acquisitions like the Time Warner Cable merger.[5]
Incidents
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Comcast category.
Example incident one (date)
- Main article: link to the main article
Short summary of the incident (could be the same as the summary preceding the article).
Example incident two (date)
...
Products
See also
References
- ↑ [[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20250114001930/https://consumerist.com/2014/04/08/congratulations-to-comcast-your-2014-worst-company-in-america/) "Congratulations To Comcast, Your 2014 Worst Company In America! – Consumerist"]. Consumerist. Archived from [[2](https://consumerist.com/2014/04/08/congratulations-to-comcast-your-2014-worst-company-in-america/) the original] on 01-14-2025. Retrieved 08-20-2025.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help); Check|url=value (help); Check date values in:|access-date=and|archive-date=(help) - ↑ [[3](https://www.fcc.gov/document/comcast-pay-23m-fine-resolve-billing-complaints) "FCC Fines Comcast \$2.3 Million for Wrongful Billing Practices"]. Federal Communications Commission. 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ↑ [[4](https://www.wired.com/2010/04/net-neutrality-throttle/) "Court Overturns FCC Order Against Comcast"]. Wired. 2010-04-06. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ↑ [[5](https://www.wired.com/2016/10/comcast-bill-mess-class-action-lawsuit-might-finally-fix/) "Comcast's Messy Bills Could Finally Get Fixed by Class-Action Lawsuit"]. Wired. 2016-10-19. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ↑ [[6](https://time.com/54962/comcast-time-warner-cable-critics/) "Critics Say Comcast–Time Warner Cable Merger Would Create Monopoly"]. Time. 2014-02-13. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help)