Comcast came out to install my business connection today (a day later than originally scheduled, might I add). The good news is that I have been getting better than anticipated download and upload speeds. The bad news is… the connection is flaky, the router is buggy, and I can’t use Skype on Windows or connect to IRC from any computer on the connection.

They gave me a Netgear gateway router with a static IP. To this, I connected my Airport Extreme – which seemed to work well enough, with the Apple hardware automatically detecting and fixing a networking (NAT) conflict before it was applied. If only the Netgear router were half as user friendly.

Trouble first began when I tried to hop into the chat room – and couldn’t. Not from any IRC client. Not from any computer. Not from any operating system. Not directly connected to the new router. Not directly connected to the Airport. Every once in a while, I’d get through – but then would be quickly disconnected again.

Web sites would pull up fine, seemingly – but friends have been reporting that my instant messaging accounts have been popping online and offline intermittently throughout the afternoon, evening, and into the night. Yes, I’ve wasted an entire day with this mess – and the only thing I have to blame is Comcast and their lousy (read: cheap) choice for hardware.

I called the business support phone number this afternoon to see if they could help me through the problem, and they just told me to unplug it for 15 seconds. “Yes, I did that.” “Do it again.” Fine. The first CSR stated that he adjusted something on his end, but was completely devoid of any understanding of what he actually did (if anything). I hoped that would have fixed the problem, but it didn’t.

The technician clipped the stem from the end of my coaxial cable, claiming that it may have been too long beforehand. It was never an issue before today, I tell you. Doubt that’s at the root of my problem though, otherwise I’d probably not be online at all. He also mumbled something into the phone when he was speaking with someone at the central office (when setting up my static IP) – something about these new Netgear routers being flaky for him.

So, I called them again around 6pm – knowing that I have 24/7 support. Quite simply, I demanded that they take back the Netgear gateway router in exchange for their SMC one. If that doesn’t fix the problems I’m having, then I’m gonna have to go with a dynamic IP and a regular ol’ modem (without having to spoof a MAC address).

They said there would be someone out to my house with a replacement modem this evening, but it’s 9:30pm and nobody’s been here. I lost an entire day of productivity and gained absolutely nothing but frustration from this experience – and the ordeal is still not over. I’m about to phone them up again to see what’s happening.

Unacceptable, Comcast – completely unacceptable.