Two providers, same zip code, and yet exactly opposite experiences! A key takeaway here is that consistency trumps raw speeds.

Pipeline's Executive Editor, Scott St. John had a similar experience switching between Comcast and AT&T.  "Being newer construction, our home was already equipped with coax that worked well for Comcast TV and Internet services; but at that time Comcast's DVRs lagged behind AT&T's who was offering four-channel recording and wireless set-top boxes," said St. John. "AT&T's door-to-door sales people sold me when they started to promote fiber in my neighborhood and I thought the golden goose of connectivity had finally arrived; but I was wrong." 

After hours of working by phone with customer service representatives, and several, multi-hour visits from in-home technicians, St. John's services still don't work properly, and he experienced stuttering TV services and Internet speeds well below those that were advertised and (more importantly) the speeds for which he was being billed. And St. John is a long-time, high-value AT&T customer whose monthly services can range between $400 and $1400 per month, including AT&T mobile phone charges.

"More than one of AT&T's in-home technicians told me that they didn't know why they were advertising the speeds we are paying for and said they weren't possible," continues St. John. "Out of the two set-top boxes we have, only one works, and the wireless receiver is practically useless. Now we are dealing with bandwidth issues that degrade TV, Internet and phone services and, to make matters worse, AT&T never honored the credit for our services; and it's nearly impossible to receive them or see how they are applied to our bill. I'm more than anxious to return to Comcast but, ironically, my call was dropped when I both tried to cancel AT&T and sign up with Comcast!" 

Comcast's new X1 platform competes with AT&T set-top box and levels the playing field in St. John's mind.  According to St. John, what AT&T failed to mention was that the fiber was only to the residential terminal, and the last mile (or less) was bonded, twisted pair and isn't capable of producing the speeds included in the package to his home.  So by eliminating the set-top box issue and being able to deliver the desired speeds, Comcast is the clear winner for St. John. But, the experience - and selection of provider - is unique to every neighborhood.

Austin Kaplan, an attorney in Austin, Texas, provides another great example of why the last mile is critical. "I get horrible service at my old apartment. First with AT&T DSL, then with AT&T U-Verse, now with TWC," says Kaplan. "I think the problem is that the cables are old, and were never replaced. That's the only way to explain why service has throttled with essentially 3 different providers. At the apartment, the old phone lines simply suck.” 

Luckily for Austin, he’s moving to a new house that is in a Fiberhood, one of Google’s Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) communities. Again, while the top-tier Google Fiber plans are all about speed, consistency trumps raw speed:  “For me, 5mb down consistent beats 50mb down with constant throttling and lost connections,” says Kaplan. "Since Google is running brand new fiber underground and to each house, including mine, I had to give it a try," says Kaplan. "Plus, for me, 5mb down was $0 a month with a $10 deposit to include the modem and router. That's a no-brainer."

Pay to stay

You’re probably familiar with pay to play, but how about pay to stay? Some service providers had turned to cash incentives to keep customers on the line, and when you consider the cost of a call to a support center, this is often a less expensive option.

Two months ago, I received a greeting card in the mail from my Internet and video service provider. Inside the card there wasn’t an upsell offer, as I expected, but a pre-paid Visa card loaded with $10. Although the card made no mention of it, later in the month AT&T made some small changes to the way in which I consumed their service (I often viewed U-Verse through my XBOX 360), and this was likely a pre-emptive gesture of good will. In fact, I told several people about the gift card, and told no one about the change in service. In this instance, pay to stay really worked. I’ve since received several “Rewards Cards” just for being a customer. A cynic might call this vapid tokenism, but my rebuttal is that breakfast tastes a lot better when it’s on AT&T’s dime.