Help me choose a new ISP

To make a long story short, my parents and I have been Bellsouth/AT&T customers ever since we first started using internet. I've come to the realization that the company is absolutely horrible, ESPECIALLY customer service. I've done a little reading on AT&T and have found nothing but negative things.

Now, I'm looking for some help on a new ISP since I really don't know what to get or look for:( We live just outside of city limits so cable is out of the question. At the moment we are using a wireless home network that absolutely sucks balls(which at&t is supposedly figuring out the problem) especially when the 2 computers are using the internet at the same time(my parents for internet browsing/facebook and me for GC/gaming)

How is satellite for gaming? My guess is not good, but I've never used it.
And should I just get DSL and figure out how to hook up a router?

Any suggestions or input welcome

Thanks:smoke:

If you are stuck with wireless/satellite/DSL, you are screwed. DSL is your best option out of those, but you should still call the cable company to inquire. Sometimes (not always, especially for home users) they are even willing to do some trenching/cabling to extend their network to a new customer.

Time warner/road runner is by far the best. So maybe try calling them, you never know.

Time warner/road runner is by far the best. So maybe try calling them, you never know.

I second this motion. Cant go wrong with TW.

the real question is where do you live? If you provide us with a zip code i could find some isp's that serve your area. Do you know if any fiber form of internet is in your area? like FIOS or some municipal internet company?

If you live in the area where comcast covers, i'd say them. i have them here and its perfect

You see that's what I want to get, Time Warner but not around these parts

the real question is where do you live? If you provide us with a zip code i could find some isp's that serve your area. Do you know if any fiber form of internet is in your area? like FIOS or some municipal internet company?

I dunno if I should give out my zip code on here haha. and no FIOS around here at least not yet.

Thanks for the input everyone. It's much appreciated.


edit: scratch my first statement I just found out my neighbors had TW (but had to pay them to come out and do whatever it is they do to extend nettwork). Anyways, they don't have TW anymore; said they didn't like it. I guess I could give TW a call and ask how much that would cost..but I'm not paying an arm and leg for all that

well whatever floats your boat i guess... my zip is 59044 , lil ole Laurel Montana, are you too afraid to say what state you live in also? Dont be afraid to post your location, there's so many people on this forum that show their entire grow ops plus they usually have their location blank filled out. Do you think posting your zip code will get the cops to come to your door? :laughing: Gotta love paranoid stoners. Sorry for the bashing but i just find it humorous.
Hope you find a reliable isp, my isp (Bresnan/cable montana) just got bought out by Cablevision so hopefully my internet will improve within the next month or so when the updates take effect. If you live east of the mississippi id say check out cablevision since they serve alot of the eastern us. They offer like 100 meg speeds . Im still on shitty ole 5/384... but once all the updates take effect i think im going with 18/1 speeds... fastest they offer.

Not worried about cops I post pics on here aswell , just cautious on teh interwebz. Idk just a habit I guess nothing wrong with that...but yeah, 28166 my zip code:eek:

Edited by tokin', 02 January 2011 - 05:49 PM.

If you live in the area where comcast covers, i'd say them. i have them here and its perfect

I would have to disagree with this notion. Comcast is notorious for regular outages, both intentional and unintentional, on a regular basis - not to mention, they take absolutely forever to repair these issues and have a Customer Service that leaves much to be desired. Just as well, they are known for sending cease-and-desist notices on a very frequent basis... the rules of the forum preclude me from saying for what, but I think most people here will know what I am talking about.

DSL is not terribly bad if you request a high enough bandwidth. Still, having experience with Roadrunner down in Florida, I can honestly say that they are your best bet. They are very honest about the bandwidth you are receiving, as most ISPs will tell you that you are getting, for example, 30 mb/s when, in actuality, you're getting more like 15 to 20.

I would have to disagree with this notion. Comcast is notorious for regular outages, both intentional and unintentional, on a regular basis - not to mention, they take absolutely forever to repair these issues and have a Customer Service that leaves much to be desired. Just as well, they are known for sending cease-and-desist notices on a very frequent basis... the rules of the forum preclude me from saying for what, but I think most people here will know what I am talking about.

DSL is not terribly bad if you request a high enough bandwidth. Still, having experience with Roadrunner down in Florida, I can honestly say that they are your best bet. They are very honest about the bandwidth you are receiving, as most ISPs will tell you that you are getting, for example, 30 mb/s when, in actuality, you're getting more like 15 to 20.

I wasn't going to say anything but I've never heard anything good about Comcast (No offense to the suggesters)
The bolded part is mostly what I'm looking for; a provider that doesn't lie! AT&T is notorious for that I'm on the phone with them at least 3 times a month..for very very very long periods at a time..mostly on hold..All I'm going to say is. FUCK AT&T!

Edited by tokin', 02 January 2011 - 06:06 PM.

I fired Comcrap the day FIOS was available here. In almost four years I've not had a single outage on FIOS and I always get the full 20 megabits as advertised.

Stick with DSL for now if you are a gamer and hope that FIOS comes to your area.

I fired Comcrap the day FIOS was available here. In almost four years I've not had a single outage on FIOS and I always get the full 20 megabits as advertised.

Stick with DSL for now if you are a gamer and hope that FIOS comes to your area.

what is fios and how much does it cost??

what is fios and how much does it cost??

It's Verizon's fiber optic network. Costs are comparable to cable. We use it for Internet, TV, and our phones here. Flawless service.

I would have to disagree with this notion. Comcast is notorious for regular outages, both intentional and unintentional, on a regular basis - not to mention, they take absolutely forever to repair these issues and have a Customer Service that leaves much to be desired. Just as well, they are known for sending cease-and-desist notices on a very frequent basis... the rules of the forum preclude me from saying for what, but I think most people here will know what I am talking about.

DSL is not terribly bad if you request a high enough bandwidth. Still, having experience with Roadrunner down in Florida, I can honestly say that they are your best bet. They are very honest about the bandwidth you are receiving, as most ISPs will tell you that you are getting, for example, 30 mb/s when, in actuality, you're getting more like 15 to 20.

Well, Comcast HQ is in Philly, so thats probably why.. During the huge storms when it does go out, it comes back on after the storm is over, or they fix it.

For customer service they usually come to the next day.

But i did hear FIOS is good

I've only had two outages that have actually affected me with Comcast and I've had it for about 6 years. I also have never gotten a letter and that's pretty much all I do with my computer. My speeds are also like 20Mbs+. I'm pretty happy with it.

Time Warner/Road runner.

GREAT customer service.

Full 24.0 Megabits 99% of the time

If you're a gamer satellite is not the way to go... out of those 3 options I'd go DSL. But try for Time Warner, you won't be disappointed.

edit: scratch my first statement I just found out my neighbors had TW (but had to pay them to come out and do whatever it is they do to extend nettwork). Anyways, they don't have TW anymore; said they didn't like it. I guess I could give TW a call and ask how much that would cost..but I'm not paying an arm and leg for all that

A lot of times if you are willing to sign a 1 or 2-year contract they will waive the cost of trenching/cabling to your location


I have to agree with the FUCK AT&T statement made earlier.

I actually spent a little over an hour cleaning up after AT&T just today. Another tenant in our building ordered AT&T DSL service. So fucking numnuts AT&T installer decides it's OK to steal our modem to use for their circuit. Disconnects our Internet and drives the fuck away.

But it gets better. We contact AT&T and tell them to fix their fucking shit. So retard #2 goes onsite with a new modem. He installs the new modem, resets our router to factory default settings, and bounces. Fucking motherfucker bitch ass shit damn cocksuckers!

Moral of the story: if you can avoid DSL, especially AT&T, do it.