Is AT&T as Fast as Comcast?
By Steven Hill
When searching for an Internet provider, you may find services offered by AT&T and Comcast. Both of these companies offer high-speed fiber optic Internet service. AT&T has U-verse and Comcast has XFINITY. One comparison you can make between the two services is connection speed.
Comcast XFINITY Internet
Comcast's fastest available Internet connections come from their XFINITY platform. As of the time of publication, Comcast offers many tiers of connection speed, depending on your wants. These include relatively low speeds, such as the Economy connection package offering 1.5 Mbps in speed for $41.95 per month, to Comcast's highest performance package for users demanding the most from their connection. This package, called the Extreme 105, offers users 105 Mbps in download speeds and 10 Mbps in upload speeds $199.95 per month.
AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet
AT&T provides subscribers with its fastest available Internet connections through its U-verse platform. As of the time of publication, AT&T offers five connection speed tiers through U-verse. The slowest available speed comes from the Pro package, offering 3 Mbps and starting at $38 per month in price. Users wanting to get the most from their AT&T connection should go with AT&T's fastest available U-verse offering, called Max Turbo. Max Turbo offers users download speeds of 24 Mbps starting at $63 per month.
In Comparison
In terms of overall available speed, AT&T's U-verse Internet service is not as fast as Comcast's XFINITY Internet service. AT&T's best speed-based offering, its Max Turbo package at 24 Mbps, comes nowhere near Comcast's top offering, Extreme 105 at 105 Mbps. Mathematically speaking, Comcast's fastest service is 4.375 times faster than AT&T's fastest service. Looked at in terms of price of service, however, AT&T does charge less for its speed. For example, Max Turbo, at its speed and price, beats Comcast's Performance tier at 12 Mbps for $59.95.
Other Considerations
In broadest terms, AT&T cannot beat Comcast in terms of sheer speed. If cost is considered as well as speed, AT&T's offerings beat Comcast's in several tiers. You may want to take other considerations into account, however. For example, as the time of publication, Comcast offers several promotions to get its services at a discount, while AT&T does not. Your program preference may also come into play, as Comcast bases its security suite on Norton software, while AT&T bases its security suite on McAfee.
References
Writer Bio
Steven Hill began writing professionally in 2006. He has written many academic essays and is also an author of fiction, with short stories published in various e-magazines, including Sonar4 and Sinister Tales. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Wilfrid Laurier University.