AT&T U-Verse Vs Comcast Xfinity

AT&T U-Verse Vs. Xfinity

In an age where technology now grants us access to decades of media output in mere seconds, people are always on the lookout for faster streaming, connectivity and ease of use. One can now easily integrate multiple devices into their day, effortlessly multitasking to save time. One now has the option to buy bundles of varying services to better manage their funds. Long gone are the days of the abrasive screech of America Online dial-up tones, and your 10-10-321's and 10-10-220's. We can now bundle internet, television, and home phones in one solid, easy-to-manage bundle.

 I personally find it rather unwise for one to buy their internet, TV, and telephone under different services. Think about it - why stack three bills up for three different companies when you can consolidate them all into one? Don't we have to deal with enough bills as it is? Bundles are a less expensive option and far easier to manage.

This is why I have gone with AT&T's U-Verse as my telephone, internet, and television service provider. U-verse affords me wireless home networking, and I even got a modern wireless router. With U-verse I also have access to the entire national AT&T wireless internet hot spot network at no additional charge. This is great for traveling. I can't even recall how many times I've gotten work done, eating breakfast in a cafe at 11 in the morning, hundreds of miles from home, getting the deadline done right at crunch time. It's a relief to know 

Security
One of the best features of the U-Verse service is it's options in security. Anti-spyware software, anti-virus software, and firewall protection all make ones browsing experience a far more relaxed and enjoyable one. After years of having to repartition computers after viscous bouts with viruses (never share your laptop with your friends!), it's nice being secure in the knowledge of reliable firewall protection, anti-virus and anti-spyware software.

The parental controls are also great and worth mentioning. While I don't have kids of my own, I've regularly used these parental controls while babysitting for my friends, and it took a huge burden off my shoulders. Wouldn't want the little ones catching an episode of Game of Thrones on my HBO Go account or Homeland on Showtime, would I? It's simply too graphic!

Speed
The streaming speed is undeniably fast. I can remember an instance of it's rock solid power. I've had software downloading on my desktop and movies streaming on all three TV's in my house, as other people access the internet Wi-Fi from various tablets and smart phones, all while I'm kicking butt on my gaming laptop playing Left 4 Dead. No a single buffering hit us, but maybe the high spirits of that particular party had the Wi-Fi Gods old and new smiling upon us broadly. In any case, problems with my internet connection is a rare occurrence, usually fixed by unplugging the modern and plugging it back in. The fiber optic technology affords me with more than enough speed, suiting my streaming and gaming pursuits perfectly and efficiently.

I haven't always had Uverse, though. At one point I had Xfinity. Now Xfinity was, in all honesty, a little bit faster than Uverse. Not by much, but for a computer tech nerd like myself there was a slight, yet noticeable difference. Websites did load slightly faster, although video streaming was the same. But speed isn't everything.....

Reliability
When your career and work are based entirely around internet access, said internet access needs to be constant and reliable. Uverse, in the 8 months I've owned it, has never gone down. It has maintained constant and steady reliability the entire time I've owned it. This is a huge concern of mine, as I remember an incident in which Xfinity was down for a period of 24 hours. At the time my car was being fixed in the shop, and I had a clutch cargo deadline to get an assignment finished. Without internet access I was unable to finish this assignment, and lost a client. In fact, it was this very instance that pushed me towards changing my internet service provider, and U-Verse has proven a formidable and well-chosen replacement. Here are the current options you're looking at choosing Uverse.

Triple Play
I received $200 in Visa Gift cards in U-Verse Rewards. A current promotion for TV, internet, and voice actually offers a $300 U-Verse reward card. This package is $79 a month, and comes with digital home phone, 140 channels, and up to 6 Mbps downstream internet speeds. This service also integrates with U-Verse apps and messaging services. 

Double Play
If you wish to go with just TV and internet, worry not, as you can get U-Verse at only $49 a month. A $250 reward card is offered with this option. This includes a free Total Home DVR for life. You can also streamline entertainment with Uverse.com and Uverse apps, but without the seemless connectivity and integration with the Triple Play Deal. You get 140 channels.

Double Play + HBO
Another option exists for the double play. This one is for the cinema buffs out there, all you movie lovers. You get up to 390 channels, but the clincher for me was HBO Go being included. HBO Go allows one to watch every episode of some of HBO's best series. Curb Your Enthusiasm, Flight of the Conchords, Eastbound & Down, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones,Boardwalk Empire, Silicon Valley, and many others. Literally hours of entertainment immediately available from arguably the strongest provider of TV shows.

Conclusion
U-verse has proven the most reliable and steadfast of all providers I've tried, with rare downtimes never lasting more than a minute or so and even more rare - remarkably friendly tech support. Xfinity, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as reliable with occasional Internet and cable downtimes ranging from anywhere from an hour to 24 hours.  I experienced a prolonged initial service set up for Xfinity and didn't have solid service up and running until over a week after my initial install appointment.  Websites loading 2 seconds faster on Xfinity simply is not enough to make up for the occasional outage and ineffective tech support (in my opinion).

U-verse's steadfast reliability, competitively fast speeds, integrated services, HBO subscription, and $300 in tasty rebates was a no-brainer for me in choosing one of the telecom giants.