Broadband recommendations?

[rhu]

Last year, when the FCC mandated the analog->digital cutover, Comcast made a big deal about how we wouldn't have to do a thing because they were going to continue to provide analog signal.

Now they're pulling that plug. By the end of this month we need to get converter boxes (at no additional charge) from Comcast if we wish to continue to receive anything beyond the basic broadcast channels.

Well, if we need to go through that hassle anyway, it's time to look into our alternatives. Currently we have a bundle of internet and basic cable; historically I've been leery of combining our phone service with our internet service but now that cell-phone coverage in Newton is no longer abysmal we're willing to treat our cell phones as backups for our landline.

We want real bandwidth; especially downstream but also enough upstream bandwidth to telecommute and send large files to the corporate server and to Skype with my folks. We don't have any HD TVs and are not looking to buy a new set; we don't watch that much TV. On the other hand, BBC America and National Geographic would be a plus but not worth shelling out extra for; ditto a DVR. We don't use the landline much so included long distance, for example, is not a big deal (and we might even consider a bundle that doesn't include phone and then separately switching our phone service to one of those online-only ones, if any of them are any good).

It's really hard, looking at the different providers, to get a real apples-to-apples comparison. There are all sorts of hidden charges (installation; equipment rental) and some providers bury the bandwidth numbers.


So: Anyone out there have experiences, positive or negative, to share with us regarding Verizon Fios, RCN, or any other providers? Any corporate customer-relations departments who scan RSS feeds and who stumbled on this posting want to chime in and tell us why your service is best?

Comments

RCN + Vonage

[jikamens.livejournal.com]

We are quite happy with RCN + Vonage. All the reasons why that I posted on my blog (http://blog.kamens.brookline.ma.us/~jik/wordpress/2009/11/23/bye-bye-comcast-hello-rcn/) still apply.

Vonage has had one brief service outage since I started using it at the beginning of November. I haven't been using it long enough to know whether that's typical. Since we have cell phones as backup and Vonage emails us WAV files of our voicemail messages, I'm not too concerned about outages. Vonage also has a neat feature where if your box is offline for whatever reasno (e.g., your home Internet is down), they'll route all calls to your home number to any other number you've configured, e.g., your cell phone.

A couple of nerdly notes:

1. If you go with Vonage and you want to have multiple handsets in the house, then you need to either use wireless handsets that all talk to one base (and that's the base that you plug into the Vonage box), or know how to wire the vonage box into your existing telephone jack wiring.

2. The instructions that come with the Vonage box tell you to the box into your cable modem and then plug your computer / router / whatever into the Vonage box. But if you've already got a home network configuration and firewall that you don't want to mess with, and you've got a DHCP server running on your home network, you can just plug the Vonage box into your home network and let it get an IP address from your DHCP server.

I suppose it goes without saying that you should let me know if you decide to go with RCN or Vonage, because there's a referral bonus. Also, if you let me know about RCN, I'll put you in touch with the RCN sales guy who signed me up, since he gave me a good deal (a $5 discount off of the already discounted rate for my first six months of service).

Re: RCN + Vonage

[abbasegal.livejournal.com]

I have been using Vonage for work since 2004, including in Israel since 2006. At the beginning we sometimes had problems and needed to redial, but even from Israel I don't think I have had more than one or two times Vonage was down when I had internet (sometimes my local ISP had an outage, which I can't really blame Vonage for).

For most people I always recommend having Vonage be the first box connected to the cable/ADSL modem, as that way it will properly handle the Quality of Service and give the voice call priority, otherwise you are prone to have poor quality if you are uploading/downloading files while on the Vonage line. Of course, if the rest of your network can handle QoS tuning to give an inner-Vonage modem priority, this piece of advice can be ignored. (Most people I give this advice to are decidedly not techies, but could handle switching the order of what is plugged into what...).

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

For comparison purposes only, I'm on Comcast (TV and internet). I have an HD DVR; I telecommute using VPN and Remote Desktop. I have no bandwidth complaints at all, though I'm probably in a much lower usage region than you. I have no landline and don't miss it, which I think isn't practical for you; I've found Comcast's customer service to be much better lately.

That's not trying to sell you on remaining with Comcast, just a data point.

[fauxklore]

I have Verizon FIOS for phone and internet. (I don't watch enough TV to make it worth paying for TV.) In general, I'm pleased with it except for two things. 1) The phone service quality can be rather iffy - sometimes can't recognize the numbers I "dial" and can have a lot of static and 2) if you ever have to call their customer service, you might as well take a trip to the Kotel so you're deliberately talking to a wall. I have had all sorts of fun trying to persuade them that my power is not out and that I don't have backup power in my garage because I don't have a garage.

[rymrytr.livejournal.com]

Who ever you choose, be careful of the "Contract Requirement". I had Dish Network with Qwest and ended up paying $175 in penalties. I had passed the 2 year requirement, but since I had changed the "speed" of the Internet connection, prior to that 2 years, the 2 years re-started.

I'm not totally happy with Comcast, but there is no contract. I have TV, High Speed Internet and Telephone (the phone hooks to the internet and so there is never any long distance charges.) With the TV package we have, the 3 item are $175 a month. When my Mom passes on, there will be no TV! It steals your life. I know two families that did this and they now read books, play games with the 10 and 14 year old, talk to each other. She said it was really tough at first, but now she loves it. Hobbies and time with the kids.

Comcast certainly has a contract...

[jikamens.livejournal.com]

... if you sign up for one of their promotional deals (and why anyone would sign up for new broadband service without taking advantage of a promotion is beyond me), and there's certainly an early termination fee if you cancel Comcast service before the end of the contract.

RCN charges you an early termination fee as well, but they do something that I've never seen any other company do -- the amount of the fee goes down as you approach the end of your contract period, thus proving that RCN is the only company that is sincerely using the early termination fee as a vehicle for recouping their up-front costs, as opposed to as yet another way to screw the consumer.

This advantage of RCN as well as the other things I like about it are detailed on my blog at the link I posted in my comment above.