Extreme 105 is now available to more than 40 million homes in major markets across the nation including San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Chicago, Miami, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and the majority of Boston, among others.
In what amounts to a bait-and-switch move, Comcast is advertising its Extreme 105 package giving you a blazing fast 105 mbps (theoretical) connection for $105 – if you also buy their ‘Triple Play’ package which includes phone (who needs a landline anymore?) and 9000 cable channels where nothing is on. Also note that the $105 rate is only guaranteed for 12 months and you’re locked into a contract for the Triple Play for a year. The price for the broadband alone? $200.
This kind of pricing should be illegal. I’m not advocating that a company shouldn’t be allowed to bundle services for a discounted rate, but when you start discounting services at 50% while requiring unwanted bundled services that are locked in for a year, it just seems unethical.
Om Malik notes that this should make the FCC happy to reach its goal of 100 mbps to 100 million homes. Unfortunately, Comcast’s pricing and terms make this a pie-in-sky reality for many American households.