Forgive, if you will, the sensational headline. Comcast's three-play service, offering internet, phone and TV for $100, is an easy, single-bill offering at a reasonable price. And after the initial and all-too-common installation wait, our dealings with the firm have been plain sailing. But the arrival of the first bill (for two months' service) is an interesting introduction to how that $100 isn't anywhere near everything that actually gets billed for.
The advertised cost ("Comcast Package Services") is but one line-item among nearly two dozen. Some is self-inflicted (extra channels and the like), some seem rather sneaky, and others are utterly imcomprehensible. So I called Comcast and got them explained to me. This, as they say, is how the nickels and dimes add up.
Comcast Package Services and Digital Preferred: ($99 + $11.95 a month)
This is what we know we were paying for out the gate: internet, digital cable, and VoIP, plus a selection of extra channels. Also expected, of course, were the $3 or so of international calls included in the bill
(long-distance is free with VoIP, yay!)
__Hi Definition Converter: $2.95/mo __
The lady on the phone couldn't explain what this was, but it's recurring. I suspect, but cannot bring myself to believe, that this is in fact a rental charge for a coaxial splitter or line filter.
__DVR Service: $15.40/mo __
The three-in-one deal doesn't include a recorder, which must be rented, it turns out, for a rather hefty $15.40 a month.
Digital Svc Additional: $9.26/mo
We had them add a third cable receiver. The second one is either included in the plan, or Comcast forgot to bill for it.
Voice equipment: $3/mo
This was explained to me as the rental cost for the VoIP router.
Universal Connectivity Charge and Regulatory Recovery Fees: $6.81
This was explained to me as "tax." However, it wasn't in the "taxes, surcharges and fees" section of the bill, which makes me wonder.
CDV Activation Fee: $29.95
Explained as the cost to "activate the phone service." "Restart Cable"
and "Install charge" fees were also listed, but credited out to zero.
Activate Outlet: $6.95
The cable installer fished some cable up through a vent from the basement, so this seems a reasonable cost.
Taxes and surchages: $12.81 (~$6.40 a month)
Franchise Fee, Sales Tax, PEG Access Channel Support, Regulatory Fee,
State Sales Tax, County Sales Tax, 911 Fee, and Per-Call Taxes.
Everything there a necessity, Comcast?
In short, I'm not too peeved about it, but peeved about not being peeved about it. That I knew the bill would be much higher than advertised, but I went ahead and did it all the same, is mildly depressing. Service quality, however, has been fine, though I can't get
BitTorrent working and the internet is, as ever, not as fast as advertised.
There is also a cell-phone-like early termination fee of $150 if you want to cancel, downgrade, or otherwise mess with the triple-play deal within 2 years. Also, the $100 deal is only, it seems, good for 12 months — I, frankly, don't want to find out what it will go up to half-way through the agreement's term. Whatever it is, it certainly wasn't made clear when I signed up.
UPDATE: To make it abundantly clear, the $100 turns to about $112.06 when unadvertized costs such as router rental, mysterious fees and so on are added in, with another $12 in tax and $29.95 of uncredited activation fees. The "$150" number derives from this, and will go down to a mere $124 or so in subsequent months. Including the optional upgrades some commenters question below, the bill actually breaks down to about $170 a month.
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