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Man likely to sell 'dream house' because Comcast won't give him internet

Man likely to sell 'dream house' because Comcast won't give him internet

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If Comcast had been honest from the start, Seth Morabito wouldn't have purchased the house he's living in now — the same one he's about to sell. Late last year, Morabito bought a home in the rural neighborhood of Kitsap County, Washington. "It met all of our criteria, and more," he wrote on a blog chronicling his frustrating dealings with Comcast.

"It had a lovely secluded view of trees, a nice kitchen, and a great home office with a separate entrance." Morabito made an offer on the house with the understanding that it would be eligible to receive internet service from Comcast. He moved into the home in January. Fast forward to this month, and he's learned the whole internet thing probably isn't happening. His home has no broadband now, and Comcast says that's not going to change.

"I go to the local Starbucks. Their Wi-Fi is great."

The company has outright refused to build out the cabling extension necessary to link Morabito's home to its nearest plant, which is about 2,500 feet away. Admittedly, it wouldn't be a small project; Morabito's own estimates put the cost of installation somewhere between $56,000 and $60,000. He's apparently willing to foot some of that cost, though the initial hope was that Comcast would also chip in to hook up a new customer. But a week ago, he received word that Comcast is simply unwilling to move forward with the install. Apparently it's too much effort and not enough gain for the company, and that's led Morabito to plan an exit from his "dream house" sooner than he ever expected.

Morabito is adamant that Comcast told him on two separate occasions — before he ever agreed to buy the home — that he'd have no problems getting internet at the address. Clearly that's not happening, and DSL, satellite, and point-to-point connections have also proved impractical. "I’m living off of a Verizon JetPack mobile hot spot," wrote Morabito, who works from home as a software developer. "When I want to download a big file, like an OS update or a VM image for work, I go to the local Starbucks. Their Wi-Fi is great." Even with the enormous footprint these major ISPs hold across the US, it's still possible to buy a home that's permanently disconnected.

Verge Video archive: Why is Comcast's customer service so bad? (2014)