I NEED BITS
March 21, 2011 6:06 AM Subscribe
Trying to pick an ISP in Savannah, GA. Looking for recommendations other than AT&T. I do a lot of online gaming and netflix streaming, so I'd like something reasonably fast.
After moving into a new apartment, I signed up for 6mpbs DSL from AT&T. Turns out, they could only offer 1.5mbps at my location and instead of telling me this, they canceled my service. Yet, they still shipped and asked me to pay for the modem/router. After hours and hours of phone support insanity, I finally got the modem shipped back and the charges removed, but after this debacle I've decided that I'm not going to be using AT&T as my ISP.
I know Comcast offers cable internet in my area, so that's one option. Knowing their reputation, it would be my last pick (besides AT&T, of course). Are there any other alternatives?
Would other DSL providers be using the same hardware as AT&T and presumably be limited to 1.5mbps? If so, that's a major bummer. I've been spoiled by the 6mbps DSL at my old house. Still, if the price is right I guess I could deal with some slowness.
I'm 99.9% sure that Verizon FIOS is out of the question.
Clear or some other 4G provider would probably be available. What kinds of speeds are available with this technology? Is it reliable? Are there strict download caps?
Dial-up is not an option. Way too slow and I don't want a landline.
Are there any other options I am forgetting?
After moving into a new apartment, I signed up for 6mpbs DSL from AT&T. Turns out, they could only offer 1.5mbps at my location and instead of telling me this, they canceled my service. Yet, they still shipped and asked me to pay for the modem/router. After hours and hours of phone support insanity, I finally got the modem shipped back and the charges removed, but after this debacle I've decided that I'm not going to be using AT&T as my ISP.
I know Comcast offers cable internet in my area, so that's one option. Knowing their reputation, it would be my last pick (besides AT&T, of course). Are there any other alternatives?
Would other DSL providers be using the same hardware as AT&T and presumably be limited to 1.5mbps? If so, that's a major bummer. I've been spoiled by the 6mbps DSL at my old house. Still, if the price is right I guess I could deal with some slowness.
I'm 99.9% sure that Verizon FIOS is out of the question.
Clear or some other 4G provider would probably be available. What kinds of speeds are available with this technology? Is it reliable? Are there strict download caps?
Dial-up is not an option. Way too slow and I don't want a landline.
Are there any other options I am forgetting?
Best answer: DSL limits are generally related to distance from the CO, which stands for Central Office and now generally doesn't mean "central" or "office' in any recognizable form of the word. Every DSL provider who offers service to your location will, at best, have the same limitations as the local telephone company.
Sometimes the phone company can offer better service than smaller providers because they offer the others access to some kinds of COs and not others. Assuming that AT&T is the ILEC, that's the best DSL can do for you.
Ask them how far you are from the CO, that will tell you what you can get, servicewise.
If you are close enough for a higher band of service and can't get it because of old/bad copper, complain about noisy phone conversations. ILECs will often do more to fix a voice problem than a data problem, due to the outdated idea that people want quality voice service more than quality data service.
posted by Mad_Carew at 6:49 AM on March 21, 2011
Sometimes the phone company can offer better service than smaller providers because they offer the others access to some kinds of COs and not others. Assuming that AT&T is the ILEC, that's the best DSL can do for you.
Ask them how far you are from the CO, that will tell you what you can get, servicewise.
If you are close enough for a higher band of service and can't get it because of old/bad copper, complain about noisy phone conversations. ILECs will often do more to fix a voice problem than a data problem, due to the outdated idea that people want quality voice service more than quality data service.
posted by Mad_Carew at 6:49 AM on March 21, 2011
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I live in Savannah and use Comast. It's not a problem. We have a higher mb package, 20 or 30, can't remember which and we can have 3 different streams from Netflix going as we browse the web with no problem.
The connection was flakier early in the decade, but they seem to have gotten their act together speed wise.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:22 AM on March 21, 2011