Who is your DSL provider and how much do you pay?

[HBTiggerFan]

I am thinking about biting the bullet and getting DSL.

I currently have Earthlink dial-up for $9.95/mo and I would like to stick with Earthlink DSL. However I'm open to change. Earthlink has a $21.95 for the first 6 months then it's $41. Thats a big price jump. I'm going to ask them if I sign a year contract if they'll keep me at the $21.95 price.

Who do you have? How much do you pay? And most importantly, are you happy?

[Andrew]

I have Speakeasy (http://www.speakeasy.net/) DSL, $50 a month for 608/128. They are almost done with a local upgrade program that will see my speeds raised to 1.5/384 for no change in the monthly rate.

It's a bit more expensive than Pac Bell/SBC would be, but the quality of service is outstanding and worth the extra money. On the rare occasion when I need technical assistance, the phone reps treat me like an intelligent person instead of reading scripts at me (e.g. rebooting my computer is not going to fix a DSL modem which has lost sync).

Speakeasy is very home network friendly. They encourage you to use the service any way you want, be it networking all of your home computers or reselling your bandwidth to your neighbors.

Coming from @home/AT&T cable hell, it was a delightful change.

[Not Afraid]

We have linkline. (http://www.linkline.com/prodserv/dsl/pricing.asp) I have no idea how much we pay, but we have gadgets, multiple ISP's and stuff. We've had linkline the entire time we've had DSL and are very happy with the service.

[CoasterMatt]

I have DSL Extreme, and pay about 50 per month, 1500/128
I pay a few dollars more for 2 static IPs, and I don't have a yearly contract. I'm EXTREMELY happy with the service, and have only had to contact customer service once (in about a year of service) - that was a pleasant experience.

[mamabot]

We have been wanting to make the switch to DSL, but since we are in a more outlying area, we do not yet have access to DSL. We keep hoping that Adelphia finishes their rebuild soon.

It is really hard to go from my high speed access at campus to a whopping 52 kbps at home.

[DisneyFan25863]

We have Cable from RoadRunner. Coming from MSN DSHell, I have to say that I love it. For 45 bucks a month (5 bucks cheaper than MSN DSL), we get 3000/256. I love it. It is sooooo much faster than DSL, even! Plus, I don't need to deal with pesky phone filters which clog your line, and PPPoE (which took forever to configure with my router), PPP, and more. If given the choice between DSL and Cable, go Cable! :geek:

[cemeinke]

Originally posted by Not Afraid
We have linkline. (http://www.linkline.com/prodserv/dsl/pricing.asp) I have no idea how much we pay

We pay around $46.00. The lines provided by Verizon, but that's included in our linkline billing. So far their customer service has been very good to deal with. However, yesterday our DSL line went down and it may be up to verizon to fix it. I'll post a follow-up when it's resolved.

[mamabot]

Does anyone out there have the DSL service through DirecTV?

[JeffG]

I'm pretty sure that DirecTV discontinued their DSL service a while back.

-Jeff

[DisneyFan25863]

Originally posted by mamabot
Does anyone out there have the DSL service through DirecTV?

I've heard bad things about that. First off, it is outragously expensive, plus the download speeds are like 100 K, with upload over your phoneline (so you still need to use your phoneline). It's not actually DSL. I recommend going to it ONLY if you don't have other broadband choices in your area.

[HBTiggerFan]

Thanks!

What are the ###/#### thingies you guys are saying you have? Is bigger better?

It looks like most service is around $50. I wish it would come down in price.

[JeffG]

Originally posted by DisneyFan25863
I've heard bad things about that. First off, it is outragously expensive, plus the download speeds are like 100 K, with upload over your phoneline (so you still need to use your phoneline). It's not actually DSL. I recommend going to it ONLY if you don't have other broadband choices in your area.

I think you are talking about their DirecWay satellite-based internet service. As I understand it, that service has been improved quite a bit in the last year or so, including an upgrade that now allows two-way satellite communications eliminating the need to use a phone line for uploads. They also are now at least claiming typical download speeds of 500K.

It still is really mainly intended as an option for those that can't get any other type of broadband service in their area, though. It is more expensive than DSL or cable modems ($600 up-front for equipment and $60/month for service) and they openly admit that the satellite latency makes it fairly ineffective for multiplayer gaming, time-sensitive transactions (like real-time stock trading), or for using with a VPN.

At one time, they did also offer a regular DSL service that was DirecTV branded. Probably the main advantage of it over other DSL companies was that the billing could be combined with DirecTV satellite TV. They discontinued that service a while back, though, as it was losing money for them.

-Jeff

[mamabot]

Thank you for the info on DirecTV. I will put them in the no column.

So how does one go about finding a good, reliable DSL provider?

[Demigod121]

The ####/### you see are max upload/download speeds.

I have RoadRunner through Time Warner Cable, and have had it for about 3 years now....

With the exception of 2 times, I've never had a problem with the service - it's always been fast and reliable.

They even sped it up recently - I've been getting 450k/sec download speeds since! (3000/768 i believe is the ratiing now)

Cable is great!!!!!

For DSL - I would go to DSL Reports (http://www.dslreports.com).

-Demigod

[Not Afraid]

I have to say that I LOVE Linkline. Our DSL is out at the moment - and will be until the 23rd. Our phone line had a meltdown, our modem is having issues and it's time we do some minor upgrades to our jury-rigged 1927 house.

Linkline provides the service through Verizon. They take all of the pain out of dealing with Verizion and their notoriously bad service. They made sure Verizon called us and checked up on them after we were done. GREAT Customer Service!

Now, about my internet withdrawls................

[mamabot]

Ok, I just signed up for Adelphia Powerlink. 3000/256 Speed with a Free (after mail in rebates) Motorola high speed cable modem.

The service is $34.95 a month for the first 12 months, with no contract. After the first year, the service goes up to $55.95 per month.

And, it comes with a self installation kit, so we do not have to wait around for a tech to come out and plug the box in for us. Gotta love a brand new house with prewiring for cable!

Thank you for the original post Marla!

Thank you to everyone for the wonderful advice.

Nathan will thank all of you too after he opens this gift on Christmas morning. :D

[jeancbpugh]

WOW

$65/month for internet and cable TV

[DisneyFan25863]

Originally posted by jeancbpugh
WOW

$65/month for internet and cable TV


Are you saying that is high or low?