I MUST get new high speed internet...opinions please

[KimRaye]

Comcast can go ........ UNBELIEVABLE night wasted with their sssllloooowww speed and, useless customer service. I mean, does it count when 2 of 3 people tell you the same thing? I mean person #3 was bound to tell me what ONE of them already said. Never mind that it contradicts what #2 said. AARGH!!!

ANYWAY..... looking for new service (disconnect set up for 12/18). Tried lowermybills.com and got Covad and Earthlink. Earthlink is DSL, no cable yet in my area. I will check Covad tomorrow. Does anyone have either of these and, how are they?

SBC yahoo was also suggested but, they have slower download speeds(??). (when compared to Covad & Earthlink)

Also, Earthlink mentioned 20 hrs of dial-up included. Is this what you use when they're down?? I DON'T want to do dial-up again!

Sorry, 1/2 vent, 1/2 questions.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Nutsy]

Can't offer any assistance mate, but I do feel for you tho..........


Hope you get all sorted out real soon..........

 

[ToyStory Fan]

I don't think you have much choice...at least not yet. I hear rumblings that smaller ISP's will be allowed to use the cable lines from other cable service providors to allow broadband connection through the ISP, but if you are already experiencing difficulties with COmcast you are probably out of luck. The other unfortunate part of it is that (at least in NY) the cable companies are regulated by the Public safety commsision, BUT it does NOT include the internet portion of their services. Are you able to do DSL?

 

[shep]

I heard Netzero.com has a DSL for $14.95 a month but not sure where all it is available...What does Dan use??

 

[Fire14]

I've heard good things about RoadRunner Is it in your area? I believe it's owned by timewarner.

 

[always quiet]

I have verizon dsl and haven't had one bit of problem. I am quite happy with it.

I believe Dan uses comcast. I remember him mentioning it to me once when Outlook Express wasn't working.

 

[KimRaye]

Originally posted by ToyStory Fan
Are you able to do DSL?

I don't know why not. I think that's what Earthlink was talking about setting me up with since cable wasn't available yet, through them.

Originally posted by shep
I heard Netzero.com has a DSL for $14.95 a month but not sure where all it is available...What does Dan use??

I think Netzero is slower than Earthlink or Covad but, I'm not sure. Dan uses Comcast also but, he's apparently on a different network.

Originally posted by Fire14
I've heard good things about RoadRunner Is it in your area

Last time I checked, it wasn't available yet in Chicago.

Thanks everyone, any more ideas/opinions?

 

[KimRaye]

Originally posted by always quiet
I have verizon dsl and haven't had one bit of problem.

Thanks! I hadn't thought about Verizon.

I'm at work now and, we have Comcast here, too. It's slow today as well but, not as slow as it was last night at home.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Do you have older cable wiring in your house that is causing the slowness in your connection speed? I haven't had problems with Comcast and we've had them over a year and have relocated since subscribing.

If I had to give up Comcast I would probably choose Verizion DSL or NetZero. Is Prodigy available in your area. I have relatives using their cable internet and don't hink they've had trouble.

 

[dzneprincess]

Why not call your local telephone company and see if you can get ADSL?

 

[jsmith]

We also have had very good luck with comcast-and there are a number of problems that may cause your slow internet that have nothing to do with comcast. Are you using a firewall? on the box or on the router? Firewall on the router can slow your connection-firewall on the box can occassionally take you offline to protect your computer. How fast is your processor-slow processor will slow your connection speed. How old is your modem. do you have old network in your house? Is it possible the problems you were experiencing last night were on the regional network in your area? IF you have answers to all those questions and still want to change providers and speed is really an issue for you look for another cable provider as opposed to DSL. DSL uses phone lines and is overall, not as fast as cable, and depending on who you local exchange carrrier is can be less stable than cable.
The thing to remember about the internet is that it is just like phone calls-Comcast does not carry your connection from your house to the hosting server-they carry it to a switch where it is most likely routed to a long haul carrier such as MCI or Global Crossing, who then route it to another switch and hand it off to another local carrier to connect to the hosting servers. Slowness can be caused by everything from a problem at your end of the connection to old network, to data congestion on the long haul carrier (notice how much slower it is during peak business or about 7pm), to congestion or problems at the hosting server.
good luck finding an ISP that meets your expectations! I don't know about Verizons internet service, but based on their phone service if no other cable provider is available I would choose them.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

If your area ever gets RoadRunner(cable modem) by TimeWarner....jump on it. We have had it for 3 years now and love it. I bet it hasn't been down more than 1 hour total in 3 years.

It is $43 a month($33 for us-DW a teacher) but it is well worth it. I would never go back to dial up again.

 

[chell]

We just recently switched to Earthlink DSL. We haven't had any problems and it IS so much better than the dial-up we had. They were running a special where you got the modem for free if you signed up for 1 year of service.

If you do go with Earthlink I would not install their software because too many people have had problems with it.

The 20 hours of dial-up can be used when you are on vacation! That's what I'm planning on doing.

 

[Alex]

The problem with Cable OR DSL is that the service is all local. Comcast or Roadrunner or Earthlink or Covad may have wonderful service in one area and someone just several blocks away may have awful service. None of them have what I would consider "great" phone support.
The best way to do this is to talk to your neighbors. If everyone on these boards says service X is wonderful but it's bad in your neighborhood it doesn't help you at all.

 

[KimRaye]

Wow, thanks everyone. Let's see....

Don't know how old cable wiring is (been here about 10 years) but, got the modem 1 year ago. All inside wiring is 1 yr old.

What's ADSL?

jsmith, you said a mouthful! I have run some of the online tests and ALL of the tests that Comcast gives me, every time I call and they give me this runaround. THEY don't know WHAT could be the problem except to say they're working in my area. In all honesty, I have never been happy with Comcast's speed OR service. I can count on one hand over the last year how many times I thought it WAS fast. And, when it was fast, LOOK OUT! Thanks also for the cable over DSL recommendation.

Nick, $43 is cheap compared to the $60 I spend.

chellnjr, if you don't install the software, what do you do?? I'm clueless.

Alex, you are SOOOO right! I only know what one neighbor is using and, they live about 8 blocks away.

I still need to check Covad and now, Verizon. Earthlink sounded really good but, it's DSL and now jsmith has me wondering.

 

[Alex]

Funny I just went through this today. A customer ordered Verizon DSL for his business. He had it at home, about a half mile away and LOVED it. When we got it set up today the speed at the office was slower than a dial up modem. It turns out that half a mile was just enough to put him at the fringe zone for DSL and it just wouldn't work.
A lot of people don't realize that DSL is VERY sensitive to the distance from the phone company central office.
That is why a lot of areas don't have it. Since they aren't building many more central offices that isn't likely to change.
They are working on new systems that should help with this

 

[dzneprincess]

HI, me again

Just to answer one of your questions.
Adsl is a type of service that works on your phone line. I happen to work in a central office for the local telephone company, and I install ADSL's everyday. What Alex said is true, when subscribing to ADSL it does matter how far you are from the central office of your telephone company. However that only applies if your telephone line is on a copper cable pair. Many telco's have installed "SLC" cabinets, which essentially a fiber cable pair, and if one of these is available near your address, then it doesn't matter how far you are from the CO (central office) only how far you are from the "SLC"
There is such a large demand for ADSL so I would be surprised if you do not have it available now, or in the near future. It won't hurt to call and ask. I have been on ADSL now for about 5 year, and I have NEVER been down in that whole time. (knock on wood here) oh yeah, everyday, I will have orders for customers that are working on a copper cable pair, switching them over to a fiber pair so they can get ADSL. Of course, I do not work for Verizon, but I am assuming that they do the same thing. HTH

 

[Alex]

That's really interesting... As far as I know they don't do that around here, the usual answer is that it is not available so sorry.

 

[chell]

Originally posted by KimRaye
chellnjr, if you don't install the software, what do you do?? I'm clueless.

You would just use the Internet Explorer that is already installed on your computer. The software they send you has nothing to do with the modem, it just has the pop-up blocker and other junk on it. Several people here on the boards had some major problems when they installed it.

 

[HomeToPIT]

Here's a link to an excellent website that discusses DSL versus cable access:

http://www.dslreports.com/

There is also a wealth of information on personal experiences with different vendors and a lookup tool to find out who provides access in your zip code area.

I'm using cable right now here at home (Comcast) I am extremely happy with it. I tried Verizon DSL this summer but I was not impressed with it at all. Slow, but the price was a bit cheaper than cable.

I do experience some slowdowns with cable. Usually in the late afternoon. I'm guessing that's when the kids get home form school and are on the Internet. If I have really big files to download, I usually will do it on a Saturday morning. The speed is unbelievable!

Peace