High speed internet

[nancy679]

We currently have dial up and want to upgrade.

I'm not really sure what all those services are---DSL, broadband, etc.

Does any one have suggestions to pick which one, without spending a fortune.

Thanks, Nancy

 

[OhMari]

We have broadband through our cable company.

We rent our modem for $5 a month. It was $19 the first year and now they upped it to $29 a month. I heard it is going to get raised again to $40.

I just found out you don't have to go through your cable company to get broadband, there are other's out there. But, I don't know if you would be allowed to use the same cable that runs in the house or if new cable had to be brought in.

 

[DebbieB]

I recently got Verizon DSL. Works great! It is $29 a month. The modem was $12.99 (one time charge). I was able to install it myself with no problem. A 2 hour download on dialup now takes 3 minutes!

 

[DrCavin]

DSL would be my first choice. If DSL is not available in your area, then go with your local cable company.

 

[jrydberg]

DSL or cable would likely suit your needs just fine with little perceptible difference between the two in terms of speed. I'd go with what's cheaper. DSL is generally less expensive, but cable companies often give discounts on internet to those who have cable tv to make the cost similar.

 

[DennisP]

I just switched from dial-up to DSL in September 2004. Even though I am a cable customer, the charge for internet service would have been $49.95 per month plus the monthly cost for "renting" the cable modem. With DSL, I pay $29.95 per month with no other hidden monthly fees.

I actually saved money by signing up with DSL. I had to switch my long distance to Verizon and sign up for a regional calling plan to get the $29.95 per month. The switch in long distance carriers saves me about $11 per month and the new regional calling plan saves me 20 cents per minute. I also saved $9 per month on AOL by switching from dial-up to broadband. I also got rid of one telephone line which was an additional savings of about $20 to $25 per month.

Cable is about twice as fast as DSL (3.0 Mbps vs 1.5 Mbps) while DSL is about 30 time faster than the 56k modem. The speed of the cable internet depends on the number of users upstream of your location. The more users there are, the slower your connection speed. With DSL, you have a dedicated line and you can use your telephone at the same time you are using the internet.

 

[jfulcer]

With recent upgrades to the cable services that a LOT of cable companies are doing the 'upstream downloading hog' problem isn't what it is made out to be. Without knowing where you are, we cannot suggest other services.

Every person that I knew on DSL both in our area and out of area eventually gave up on DSL service and went to cable because of poor service, frequent interruptions and downtime, and less than 'advertised' bandwidth speeds. In order to get the 1.5 Mbps speed that another poster mentioned you have to practically live next door to your phone companies CO (central office). I am not that far away from my CO, and I can get 128k - about twice the speed of a 56k modem. Your distance to your CO will greatly effect your DSL speeds.

Some areas cannot even offer DSL because of this.

I recommend you check out http://www.broadbandreports.com/ for research about your area. They will be able to estimate distance to your CO and give you all kinds of reviews from different users in your area.

IMHO Cable is the way to go. Good luck!

 

[Dan Murphy]

I can just say we have had cable here for 3 or 4 years, almost flawlees. Rarely, very rarely any downtime, and lightning quick.

 

[LoraJ]

I have had both cable and DSL.

First I had DSL which was fine, but then I got a better deal with cable. The cable was much much faster.

When i moved, I couldn't get cable because they couldn't get access to the backyard. So I had to get Satelite and DSL. My DSL rarely goes out and is pretty fast. Not as fast as cable, but much better than dial up.


So, I think unless you are going to do massive downloading of large files, go with whomever gives you the best deal. Also, another thing to consider, is it going tobe easier to run a a coaxial cable to your computer from where the cable comes in the house?

 

[patsvette]

Ive had cable for years now,and will never switch,but i pay around 45 a month for it also,but fast and never let me down.

 

[DebbieB]

I got Verizon DSL last month. $29.99 a month. The modem was a one time $12.99 charge. Easy to install. A download that took 2 hours on dialup takes 3 minutes on DSL. Love it!

 

[Beanie]

I cannot get cable here, so we have Verizon DSL and I love it!! Very fast (from my old dial up) and they are hardly ever down!

 

[kadaten]

I've had cable internet for 5 years now. Will never go back.

WHICHEVER you decide to do, DO NOT rent a modem. It's cheaper to buy it! And most of the time, you can end up getting it FREE through rebates.

Best Buy, Circuit City, and most other stores that sell modems run the rebates on them most of the time. Usually, there's one rebate for buying the modem, and another for signing up for new service. When I bought mine for $80, I already had service, so I only got one rebate for $40. Had I been a new subscriber, I would have gotten a second rebate for $40. Before you go buy your modem, make sure you have a list of the modems that will work with whichever system you're going to use....my ISP has it up on their site as "compatible modems". I don't know how different they can be, but I'd just make sure.

I have Cox Cable High-Speed Internet. I'm happy with it. Minor things here and there, but I'd never think about going with anything else. I pay $40/month which is a $10 discount off the regular $50 price since I'm also a cable customer. I wouldn't buy my modem from them because they charge $120 for the same one I bought for $80.

 

[Cruise04]

After a week of various installations and tech calls and three techs here, we finally are up and running on cable modem. I don't know why but I think we are renting our modem. Got me. But yes, this is lightening fast compared to dial-up. I was so excited to get this and this is the first night (after starting last Friday) that we have been able to use it. The problem ended up being the cable line in the wall in the room - whoever installed it when they installed this cable messed up in the connection; the cable was barely hanging on to the connector. Made a HUGE difference.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

I think the best approach is to talk to your neighbors. Both DSL and Cable can vary in quality even by going a few blocks in any direction. In some area's cable is horrible and in some DSL stinks. There is no way to know what works in your area. Chances are though if someone on the same block has Cable or DSL and it works great for them, yours will too.

I totally disagree about buying a modem. If you buy your own modem and have a problem the cable company will point their finger at your modem and say "that's" the problem and you are stuck trying to figure it out. When my cable goes down (which it does!) I call and can just say "It's your issue, fix it".
I'm on my 4th cable modem, a lightning strike cooked the last one and the one I have now is spray painted orange, it's one of the techs but it was the only one he had. If I bought my own I would have been out of luck.
I pay 4 dollars a month to rent the modem so it would be a 2 year pay back period to buy one. I haven't had one for 2 years yet.

 

[Mskanga]

Whatever you decide to get , I am warning you, don't get direcway ( the directv satelite internet service ) , you will be sorry if you do.
And as far as renting or buying the cable modem, I decided to buy it because my provider was charging $10 a month to rent it, I bought mine for $50 and never had a problem, and they usually come with a warranty , at least mine did.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Yikes, if it was 10 dollars a month I would buy it

 

[kadaten]

Originally posted by WebmasterAlex
Yikes, if it was 10 dollars a month I would buy it

Why I bought mine, too! $10/month is ridiculous.

I just checked to see if that was still the price....it is, but their purchase price has gone down to $69 from the $120 it used to be. Installation is $30 for the DIY kit or $100 if they do it....but they run specials....I got my installation and first month free.

Cox has been pretty good about maintenance issues, as well. We had something going on, and they could tell it wasn't the modem, but couldn't tell what it was, so they sent someone out. The wiring had been done poorly when it was installed, but since I'd had THEM install it, it was their problem to fix.

 

[nancy679]

Thanks to everyone for the replys

We decided to go with cable. And since I can now get rid of AOL, it is really only a few dollars more a month. (AOL is $24 for us) And they have a promotion of free HBO and Cinemax for a year with the digital.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

That would change my mind too! For 4 bucks a month I'll rent but I wouldn't for 10