Picking an Internet Service Provider

Winky

So, I'm trying to find a new internet service provider for my mom since Comcast was beginning to get way too expensive. We're not sure whether we should try going with DSL or cable. The thing is, she wants something cheaper than comcast, but not too slow. So far I've checked out Charter, Earthlink, and Verizon and they all don't offer service to our area (we're in a Chicago suburb). AT&T offers a package for DSL for 3Mbps download for $20/month for the first year and then $40/month after that.

Is 3Mbps very slow? How would that affect her ability to stream youtube and netflix?

Does anyone have any suggestions for internet service providers?

Havok417

3 Mbps is the minimum required to play Xbox without too much lag.I have Embarq/CenturyLink.I wouldn't necessarily RECOMMEND them,as some of the routers and gateways they send can have some NAT problems,but its worked out okay for me.I have 1 Desktop,2 Laptops,and an Xbox360 all on it and it works fairly well.I play Guild Wars on my laptop and many many things on my Xbox.

That AT&T deal sounds pretty good,but keep looking.

MushroomStick

I live in a suburb of Chicago and over the years I have had Comcast, Wide Open West, AT&T DSL, and AT&T Uverse. Uverse is the best followed by Wide Open West in a distant 2nd. If you think Comcast's customer service is bad, then AT&T's DSL will lower the hell out of that bar for you. When I got rid of the DSL, it was because it just died one day and their service techs couldn't hit an 8 hour window everyday for 2 solid weeks before I told them to forget it and terminate my service. At the time I lived a few hundred feet from the building/hub/whatever that I was connecting to.

Uverse has been great though.

Void Slayer

The main problem with dsl is that probably reads up to 3Mbps, it depends on the distance to the hub (by wire), the quality of wire outside and INSIDE your home, phases of the moon, ect.

I managed to stabilize my own dsl only after learning how to debug it myself (earthlink Technical support is horrible) and dumping the provided modem for one I bought. It is now fast and stable at 4MBps, but if it was not for the 12 month commitment I HAD to sign up for to get the "free" modem I would be using a third party reseller with no technical support.

This website really helped me http://www.dslreports.com/

To Sum Up: DSL can be very fast sometimes, DSL can be tricky to install optimally, DSL support tends to be horrible (its not just earthlink unfortunately)

MichaelLC

MushroomStick wrote: »

I live in a suburb of Chicago and over the years I have had Comcast, Wide Open West, AT&T DSL, and AT&T Uverse. Uverse is the best followed by Wide Open West in a distant 2nd.

Uverse has been great though.

I'm in Chicago with UVerse too. It is a little fickle, particularly inside a condo building. Have the 'Ellite' with 1UP/6Down. Over wireless with 1o+ other networks visible (most also on AT&T):

MushroomStick

This is with Uverse's Max Plus package that claims 18 down and 1.5 up. It should probably be noted that when I ran that speed test the computer was hooked up over wireless, along with something like 4 other computers and a couple of PS3s.