Comments on: Internet connectivity options in Seattle?

Question: Internet connectivity options in Seattle?

tristeza — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:50:38 -0800

I live in Seattle, and I want an internet connection in my home. I don't have a landline, or cable TV. Is Clearwire my only choice?

Does anyone know of any other companies that provide the same sort of service as Clearwire? I need a service that does not require me to have a phone or cable TV, and I'm a bit of an idiot about stuff like this.

I've been reading not-so-great reviews of Clearwire, but am stuck for other options, and it's getting to the point where if I don't get Web access at home, I'm going to have to go move into a Tully's.

I'm in the Cap Hill/CD area if it matters. Thanks, gang.

By: lullabyofbirdland

lullabyofbirdland — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:57:39 -0800

Are you sure comcast doesn't do that? It used to. (Not that they're that great, but at least you'd have choices.)

By: DandyRandy

DandyRandy — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:58:09 -0800

You should be able to get cable Internet without subscribing to a TV package - that's how I'm a customer of Time-Warner Cable in LA.

By: superfem

superfem — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:01:43 -0800

DandyRandy has it. I do not have a TV, but I do have cable internet for $19/month. You just need a cable modem and service activation, no boxes.

By: Lokheed

Lokheed — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:02:08 -0800

Ditto here. No land line, no cable service, but cable internet provided by the local cable operator.

By: MrMulan

MrMulan — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:05:06 -0800

If you only have a laptop what about a
laptop air card? Hi speed Internet on the go!

By: Kellydamnit

Kellydamnit — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:10:28 -0800

Thirding. No landline, no TV, time warner internet.

By: matildaben

matildaben — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:11:31 -0800

I got DSL from Speakeasy in Seattle without a landline for an extra access charge, but I just switched to Clearwire because it is cheaper. I have no problem with them, but then I can see their tower from my home office window on top of the building across the street.

By: tristeza

tristeza — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:15:30 -0800

Dudes, awesome.

superfem, what company? I'm looking at Comcast and it's $57/month plus installation and Millenium's looking like $30/month for "speeds up to 256 kbps" (!).

By: lullabyofbirdland

lullabyofbirdland — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:23:46 -0800

Whatever company you go with, make sure to check about 'new member specials,' since there almost always is one.

By: superfem

superfem — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:31:24 -0800

@tristeza: Cox Cable, but I'm in California. I don't think Cox services WA. You can get Comcast for $19.99/mo through this site, but it involves rebates.

By: Good Brain

Good Brain — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:32:56 -0800

You can also get DSL from Qwest without having a landline. I think they charge you a bit of a premium ($5-10/month) to get it unbundled from phone service. You can either use them as your ISP , or connect to one of the many local ISPs (I've been quite happy with OZ.net for the last ~8 years).

By: tristeza

tristeza — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:39:35 -0800

superfem - of course, it doesn't apply to me, and it ends up being $60/month after the initial trial ($33/mo) period! Jesus.

Thanks for all the ideas - I really am an idiot, I always thought you had to have a landlien for all this. Yay!

By: trinity8-director

trinity8-director — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 15:42:22 -0800

Seriously, for 60 smackers/month you can do EVDO from Verizon (probably Sprint, too). Then your internet connection goes with you.

By: pombe

pombe — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 15:57:17 -0800

Speakeasy does DSL without a landline for (I think) a slight premium. If there is a premium it's less than the cost of basic phone service, so it's cheaper than getting a landline and then adding DSL. I set up my DSL this way and I'm very happy with it. It's about $50/month. I would highly recommend speakeasy - I've been using them for about 6 years with no problems and very good service.

By: jouster

jouster — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:22:36 -0800

Here on the East Coast, Verizon EVDO is $60/mo only with an accompanying cell phone plan (another $45+); it's $80 without a voice plan (Sprint has a $60 wireless plan without voice, though). And, for what it's worth, Verizon's is nowhere near the speed of anything you'd expect to be called "broadband"-- more like 802.11b wi-fi.

By: bizwank

bizwank — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 20:27:50 -0800

Be forewarned, Clearwire is fast and easy to set up, but they do massive traffic shaping on their customer circuits. In layman's terms, only your web browsing will be at the advertised speed, any downloading of large files or p2p traffic is crimped to 30 kilobytes per second (240 kbps). If all you use the internet for is email and browsing though this shouldn't be an issue.

By: jengineer

jengineer — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 20:55:02 -0800

Don't get Millenium if you can avoid it - I had it for a year and a half because that was the only cable I could get in the apartment building I lived in (in Belltown). it was really flaky - lots of cutting in and out (REALLY annoying). AND they don't have online billing, which was just another aggravation

By: wzcx

wzcx — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 13:00:44 -0800

Speakeasy is one of the country's best ISPs. And they're right there in Seattle! Their "OneLink" DSL is fast, easy to deal with, doesn't require a land line, and their service and uptime are phenomenal. I just ordered their top package, which at $100/mo is pretty steep, but they have other cheaper options. They do some of my web hosting too- and haven't EVER gone down while I've been a client.