Comcast simply launched a 2020 Community Efficiency Knowledge report with stats on how a lot Web utilization rose through the pandemic, and it mentioned that upload use is rising sooner than obtain use. “Peak downstream visitors in 2020 elevated roughly 38 % over 2019 ranges and peak upstream visitors elevated roughly 56 % over 2019 ranges,” Comcast mentioned.

However whereas upload use on Comcast’s community rapidly grows—pushed largely by videoconferencing amongst individuals working and studying at residence—the nation’s largest home-Web supplier with over 30 million clients advertises its velocity tiers as if importing would not exist. Comcast’s 56 % enhance in upstream visitors made me surprise if the corporate will enhance upload speeds any time quickly, so I checked out Comcast’s Xfinity.com web site at this time to see the present upload speeds. Getting that info was much more troublesome than I anticipated.

The Xfinity web site advertises cable-Web plans with obtain speeds beginning at 25Mbps with out mentioning that upstream speeds are only a fraction of the downstream ones. I went via Comcast’s on-line ordering system at this time and located no point out of upload speeds anyplace. Even clicking “pricing & different information” and “view plan particulars” hyperlinks to learn the wonderful print on numerous Web plans did not reveal upload speeds.

Even after including a plan to the cart and going via many of the checkout course of, I couldn’t discover any point out of upload speeds. I bought to the purpose the place it’s important to enter bank card info to proceed, so I initially stopped there. I later confirmed that Comcast’s ordering system will present upload speeds after it checks whether or not your bank card is legitimate, within the remaining web page the place you submit an order.

Intentionally preserving clients in the dead of night

I’ve lengthy recognized that it is troublesome to seek out upload speeds on Comcast’s web site, however I am undecided precisely when it grew to become nearly not possible. There have been complaints about this very drawback on Comcast’s buyer help boards in 2020 and in 2019, although. “What’s my upload velocity now? No the place on the planet can I discover documentation,” one buyer requested. The reply was that current clients can discover upload speeds for their very own plan of their account settings after logging in and navigating to the right part.

However that doesn’t assist people who find themselves signing up for service and need to discover out what upload speeds they’re going to get or examine upload speeds of various plans. Even the Xfinity.com comparability device that permits you to examine particulars of various plans would not reveal their upload speeds. The absence of upload speeds from Comcast’s web site is so thorough that it’s clearly a deliberate try to hold clients in the dead of night. This gallery exhibits how the Comcast Xfinity web site shows Web plans with out mentioning upload speeds and continues that tactic via almost the whole checkout course of:

Fortunately, the third-party web site CableTV.com lists each obtain and upload speeds, displaying that Comcast’s 25Mbps obtain plan comes with 3Mbps uploads; the 100Mbps and 200Mbps obtain plans each have 5Mbps uploads; the 300Mbps obtain plan has 10Mbps uploads; the 600Mbps plan has 15Mbps uploads; and the 1Gbps obtain (1.2Gbps in some areas) comes with 35Mbps:

Comcast’s web site does checklist the 35Mbps upload speeds for the gigabit plan at this web page, however I could not discover something related for Comcast’s different cable-Web plans. Comcast additionally gives a fiber-to-the-home service with 2Gbps speeds each downstream and upstream. However Comcast’s residential fiber requires set up prices of as much as $500, and the service prices $300 a month, which is greater than thrice as a lot because the gigabit-cable plan that has 35Mbps downloads.

Comcast, why did you make this so laborious?

I contacted Comcast at this time with two major questions: is there any solution to discover upload speeds on Comcast’s web site earlier than submitting an order for Web service, and does Comcast have any plans to lift its cable upload speeds?

Comcast’s reply on the place to seek out upstream speeds was as follows:

Our community report exhibits that, regardless of the expansion in upstream visitors in 2020, patterns stay extremely asymmetrical as downstream volumes have been 14x larger than upstream all through 2020. Our web site displays the best way clients use the Web with downstream overwhelmingly dominating utilization, however upstream speeds are included in your cart and are seen upon try once you submit your order.

Regardless of Comcast claiming that “upstream speeds are included in your cart,” I may discover no proof of this. Including a Comcast Web plan to the cart after which clicking the cart icon introduced me to an ordering web page that doesn’t point out upload speeds. I confirmed this conduct on Xfinity.com in each Chrome and Safari.

I circled again to the Comcast spokesperson and requested what actual steps I have to take to make upload speeds present up within the cart. It seems the upload speeds by no means present up within the cart in any respect except you outline “cart” to incorporate the whole ordering course of. Comcast informed us the upload speeds will lastly seem “when you’re on the step once you evaluate your order.”

Regardless of my earlier reluctance to enter my bank card info for service I’m not ordering, I lastly did so to examine whether or not that is correct. I submitted my tackle, telephone quantity, and bank card info, and I clicked “Subsequent.” This triggered a step wherein Comcast’s system checked to see whether or not I had entered a legitimate bank card. I by accident entered a lately expired card quantity, so Comcast’s system “declined” my card and made me re-enter it. After I entered a card quantity that Comcast may cost, I lastly bought to this web page, the place the 300Mbps download-plan’s 10Mbps upload speeds are proven:

At this web page, with Comcast having already verified your card, you may view upload speeds and determine whether or not to submit the order or exit the ordering system. The a part of Comcast’s assertion that upload speeds are “seen upon try once you submit your order” is thus correct. However refusing to inform a potential buyer what they’re paying for till after they submit bank card info is just ridiculous. You’ll be able to in all probability get upload speeds earlier by asking a Comcast rep in a web based chat or telephone name, however that should not be essential.

Replace: After digging via Comcast’s checklist of buyer agreements, insurance policies, and disclosures, I discovered a now-outdated community administration web page that features obtain and upload speeds. It seems to be the latest such checklist accessible on Comcast’s web site, however it was revealed on August 19, 2019 and the listed speeds do not match Comcast’s present choices.