Isp?

[Robo]

Well, I'm moving out, and I need a recommendation for an ISP. I was planning on getting an apartment right next to my campus, so I wouldn't have really needed internet at home, in fact, it'd be sort of nice to be able to concentrate on everything else. But that apartment complex got horrid reviews, so I'm getting a place a little further away. It has cable TV, but not internet.

What ISPs do y'all have? Are you happy with your service?

I'm looking for broadband (duh) but I'd really like to not spend to much on my bill. It doesn't need to be super fast. I've found some cheap DSL places, but I wasn't planning on getting a home phone line, and isn't that sort of required?

I've thought about just getting Cricket's wireless service, which is $35/mo if you also get Cricket cell phone service. But that wouldn't work on my PS3, and their current AWS modem doesn't support Linux. So it's sort of back to square one for me.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[kieran]

I dont' know if it's available in your area, but you can get DSL without a phone line by asking for "dry lopp" dsl.

They'll give you DSL without a phone line.. They'll probably give you a hard time in trying to get it, but if you keep asking, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to get it.

[Banana]

Indeed, I have standalone DSL with Qwest. The biggest liability is that you don't get to choose companies without going through the local phone company's territory so they're effectively the one with cheapest deals because they won't charge a fee for using their circuits on top of ISP's fee. (Unless it's a state deal- don't know if it's the same in other states?)

Cable, at least for my area, only make sense if you are going to have TV cable anyway because bundled package usually are better deal than bundled DSL package but for standalone, DSL usually wins.

[Ryan]

I'm not sure if they operate in your state, but check out DSL Extreme and Speakeasy. They might offer dry DSL cheaper than your phone company.

[Luca]

I also have standalone DSL with Qwest @ 7 Mbps. You should also make sure you get their Price For Life thing. It lowers your bill by $13 per month and if you stay with Qwest for two years, you will always be able to get service for that same price. If you cancel they don't charge you extra, they just reset the two year thing.

I am now paying $33/mo for 7 Mbit DSL. That's half the price of 6 Mbit Comcast.

[Robo]

That's a great deal, Luca! Unfortunately, I can't find any mention of it on Qwest's site. Not that it matters, because Qwest isn't available in Vegas. :(

The best deal I've found so far is Verizon DSL. $29.99/mo for 3 Mbps. That includes home phone service; oddly, it's the same price as the equivalent package without home phone service, and it actually includes five additional free months (for a total of six). It's almost like they're paying me $150 to get a landline. I'll take it! :)

They have another bundle for $19.99 a month; it's only 768 Mbps though, which might be a little on the slow side for me. If the extra $10 a month is too much I suppose I could switch to it...after my six free months of 3.0 Mbps. ;)

[iThink therefore iMac]

That's a great deal, Luca! Unfortunately, I can't find any mention of it on Qwest's site. Not that it matters, because Qwest isn't available in Vegas. :(

The best deal I've found so far is Verizon DSL. $29.99/mo for 3 Mbps. That includes home phone service; oddly, it's the same price as the equivalent package without home phone service, and it actually includes five additional free months (for a total of six). It's almost like they're paying me $150 to get a landline. I'll take it! :)

They have another bundle for $19.99 a month; it's only 768 Mbps though, which might be a little on the slow side for me. If the extra $10 a month is too much I suppose I could switch to it...after my six free months of 3.0 Mbps. ;)

You should check out the price after taxes. Even though it looks like they're giving away a free phone line, the taxes might not make the deal look as good.

[Banana]

Also, I'd double check to make sure that this isn't promotion pricing that jacks up after 3 or 6 months.

I know that my own process of figuring out the best price was a huge hassle in itself; it is as if they didn't want me to know the real cost!

[Robo]

Also, I'd double check to make sure that this isn't promotion pricing that jacks up after 3 or 6 months.

I know that my own process of figuring out the best price was a huge hassle in itself; it is as if they didn't want me to know the real cost!

It isn't. It's free for six months and then $29.99 thereafter. And yeah, I'd probably have to pay an extra couple bucks a month for those weird regulatory fees for the phone line, but I think it's worth it, for an extra five months of free broadband up front. Plus, I'd be able to have a phone for emergencies, or in case my cell is stolen or something.

And yeah, it is a huge hassle finding the true cost of ISPs. They don't seem to want to tell you until you sign up. And everybody has their promotional plans...

AT&T, for example, has a $9.99 DSL plan they're required by law to offer (it was a condition of the BellSouth merger). It's deliberately buried on their site, and almost impossible to find. (It's not a super great deal - it's only 768 Kbps and it requires a phone line - but it beats dial-up, I suppose.)

[Banana]

One more thing I just remembered.

With DSL ( don't know if this is true for Comcast or whether it's just Qwest being an asshole and all), the plan was quoted for naked dsl, but then they asked me who I would like to have for ISP. Apparently there's different ISPs that could be bundled- Qwest will like to push MSN as the ISP which would have had cost me $5 extra but I got Qwest.net as ISP because they said MSN wasn't compatible with Mac (and I let that slide- I'm a whore for savings. :D)

This was at last minute and I am still peeved at how they didn't give any indication that the plans quoted didn't include ISP charges (and I honestly didn't expect that as I had assumed they *were* the ISP. :grumble: Fuckers.

That was three years ago, though, so things may have had changed. (but cynical me doubts it)

[NosferaDrew]

Check out the reviews at DSLReports.com (http://www.dslreports.com/reviews) and see what people who already have service in that area are saying.