Decisions, Decisions...

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AnneL

AnneL

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Joined
Jul 11, 2001
Posts
15,946
Loc
Wautoma, WI USA
The local cable company (Charter) has finally finished upgrading their lines in our town and for the first time is able to offer high-speed internet here. We've been waiting for this to happen so we could compare what they have to what the local phone company (Centurytel) is offering. We really need to upgrade the internet at our business to something from this century and get rid of the world's slowest dial up, which is what we have now.

Here's the problem, I've looked over what both company's offer and I can't decide which one to go with. Prices are comparable, speeds are similar on the lower end packages, just not sure what would be better. Has anyone dealt with either company? Any insight as to how they are to work with, how good their service is, what their customer service is like? Any thing I should watch out for, hidden costs and pitfalls?

Thanks for your help.
 
Generally....

DSL - slower and less reliable (often sold at 0.7/"768k", 1.5, 3.0, 5.0, 7.0 speeds)

CABLE - faster (often sold at 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, or 20 speeds)

FIOS - fastest (often sold at 5, 15, and 30 speeds)

The phone companies are slowly rolling out FIOS in most markets to eventually replace their DSL service. FIOS can also handle HD television and phone, to compete with the cable company.

A new version of DSL can get up to 100 and is available in parts of the UK. Because of the FIOS rollout, i'm not sure if that will ever be seen in the USA.

I have had DSL(Verizon) and Cable(Cox) in the past. Cable was by far the most reliable in our market. We have had cable internet at home for probably 14 years now. We have also used cable telephone and internet at the frame shop, for 6 years now (this week is our 6th anniversary).

As a telecomm contractor/consultant, I set up probably 40-60 clients with the Cox telephone service and internet over the past 15 years... I'm not aware of ANYONE who was unhappy with the product. All the problems we have had were with Verizon and their dsl product. (wires would often be cut in error, etc... although probably a local HUMAN issue and not a technology issue)

A lot of it has to do with the provider and how up to date their network is, how trained their staff are, etc. The differences between markets and companies can be extreme.

Generally, any of them will be far better than dialup. It's a matter of comparing the speeds and prices for each package, to pick a winner. You can't go wrong no matter which one you choose, and you will probably be fine with their slowest package.

Happy shopping!
Mike

AnneL said:
The local cable company (Charter) has finally finished upgrading their lines in our town and for the first time is able to offer high-speed internet here. We've been waiting for this to happen so we could compare what they have to what the local phone company (Centurytel) is offering. We really need to upgrade the internet at our business to something from this century and get rid of the world's slowest dial up, which is what we have now.

Here's the problem, I've looked over what both company's offer and I can't decide which one to go with. Prices are comparable, speeds are similar on the lower end packages, just not sure what would be better. Has anyone dealt with either company? Any insight as to how they are to work with, how good their service is, what their customer service is like? Any thing I should watch out for, hidden costs and pitfalls?

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...
 
Watch out for teaser rates. Make sure you know "permanent" rate.

FIOS is not widely available - fiber-optic cable has to be installed in your community.

Total community bandwidth can be an issue. My local cable company's high speed internet is notorious for bogging down at peak usage times. My DSL provider is careful to limit customers per node and remains fast at all times that I have experienced - but that could change - you never know. You should really check with local users to see which is better.
 
Thanks Mike and Pat. Definitely some things to consider, especially since as a photo studio we really do have a need to be able to send large files fast.

Unfortunately, the cable is so new no one in our area has any experience with how fast it is, etc. On the plus side, since the cable is a brand new system it's the lastest tech they have to offer. The phone lines the DSL would be going through are old and sometimes iffy. They probably won't be upgrading them anytime soon since our rural area is probably low on their priority list. The cable company had to upgrade anyway so their system could handle HDTV.

Our daughter has internet through the same cable company in the city she lives in. She has had the issues with the rates changing and the speeds bogging down, but then she was in college and living near campus so their lines probably got heavy use at times. She's also had some problems dealing with their customer service department that make me a bit cautious of them.

The phone company has had DSL here for over a year so I've heard more about that. The people we've talked to are, for the most part, happy with it. A few have had some customer service issues when they've had trouble with their service.

Has anyone else dealt with either company?
 
Stupid question

but I really don't know the answer. If we go with the cable, will all our computers (3 plus a laptop) need to be networked together or can they run cables to each the way you would if you had more than one tv? And if they need to be networked, would a wireless one be better than physically connecting them with lines?
 
My experience is slightly different than Mike’s.

We used to have cable (Adelphia then ComCast), but it started becoming unreliable. We would have to reset the modem at least once a week. Then they went down for real and it took them three weeks to send a service tech to the store.

The cable guys wanted to charge us nearly $90 / month for the “business” package. I was able to get the “residential” rate for the store because I convinced them I didn’t need the e-mail and web services they offered.

When Verizon FiOS was offered, I snapped it up. They installed the next day after I ordered it. Although I rarely need it, their service is spectacular, and they charge me $59. / month. I have, maybe, had to reset the modem only twice. And, that was after storms.

If the costs are comparable, I would go with FiOS. We get DSL at home and after coming from the store, it seems very pokey.
 
Bill, I would love to get FIOs but it's not an option here. We just got cable internet last week! There is a super high speed cable (T1 line I think) that runs under the street past our studio and connects to the schools and governement offices but they are the only ones who have access to it unless we can figure out how to hack into it.
 
Too bad.

If I had to revert to either cable or DSL, I'd probably go with cable. Hopefully the service will be better for you than it was for me.
 
I used to have a life...But I traded it for Broadband!

I ,for one would glady give up a food group or two for my broadband service..Gee that`ll spoil you in a hurry! L.
 
AnneL said:
but I really don't know the answer. If we go with the cable, will all our computers (3 plus a laptop) need to be networked together or can they run cables to each the way you would if you had more than one tv? And if they need to be networked, would a wireless one be better than physically connecting them with lines?
Click to expand...

You buy a router, which is about $50, which lets you connect multiple computers. (up to 252 or so pc's!) Here's a crude diagram.

gtpnetwork.gif


http://www.getthepictureframing.com/gfaq/network.htm
 
Thanks Mike. We actually have a router somewhere that we bought when we got a fax machine but we never hooked it up. We could never figure out exactly where to hook it into our cobbled together phone lines. It's an older one but maybe it would work. We'll have to dig it out and see.
 
The Linksys WRT54g is a decent and fairly popular model.

It also has wireless capability, should you ever wish to bring in a laptop from home. With wireless, you have to MAKE SURE to either turn on encryption with a password/key, or disable it entirely.

Mike
 
"wireless network 2" is probably a weak signal from a neighbor's unsecured wireless router. They say over 80% of them are not properly secured, and the signal transmits several blocks. That is alarming, especially if the unsecured network is a business. (customer records, pricing, financials etc could also be shared with neighbors)

If you do get one and need help securing it, let me know. Most of them now include a cd that insists. 'WEP' encryption isn't very good. I suggest the newer and more secure 'WPA2' method.

The WRT54G are about $49 regularly at your local Staples or office supply store. The unit also includes a 4 port switch, so you can plug 4 computers in directly.

Mike
 
I use a WRTG45 from Linksys. It's great. Plus, it will show you the wireless encrypted password in case you forget. I was at my father in laws and he has a Netgear. It wouldn't show it to him, when I was trying to get onto the network at his house. Pain in the butt IMO. Linksys is the way to go. Also, WEP, WPA2, etc... As long as you have security on it, that's what matters. The scary thing........and if you all do a little digging, you can figure out where I work, is that any of those can be broken in a scary amount of time by someone dedicated to doing so. I can't say the exact numbers, but they're fast! SO the moral of the story is, use one of them at least, but don't expect 100% defense against someone who is absolutely determined, and in possession of the proper equipment.

dave.
 
wep can be cracked in about 5 minutes

WPA2 is much better
 
The message we get at the house is that "wireless network 2 is not connected". Our nearest neighbor is a quarter mile away. Can the signal transmit that far? Maybe I should take the computer for a stroll down the road and see if I can get a stronger signal!
 
Thanks for all the advice and help. We decided to go with the phone company's DSL. They are offering a small business bundle with high speed internet, unlimited local and long distance, and free "extras" like call waiting, etc for $99.95 locked in rate. When I crunched the numbers, it comes out to about the same or a bit less than what we are paying now for everything seperate, even allowing for taxes, fees, etc. There is a 4 port router included for an extra $3something a month fee that sounds like it will be wireless capable. There is also the option to upgrade to their highest speed for an extra $10 a month if we need to in the future.

The customer service rep I spoke with was very knowledgable, friendly and professional. She was able to answer all my questions and get everything set up right away. We should be up and running sometime next week.

After talking with people on here and on my photographer's forum, I think we made the right decision. There were several people on that forum that had problems with their cable internet on a regular basis and some had the same company we have here in town. Even though they were from another part of the country, they had many of the same issues our daughter has had with that company. Hearing their stories makes me wary of getting involved with them, especially since the phone company has pretty good customer service.
 
It sounds like you made a great choice.

The only thing I would have done differently is to get your own router for $50, instead of renting one for $36/year. But it probably does all that you need.

Welcome to the fast lane! :)

Mike
 
You'll NEVER want to go back to 10 year old dialup technology again, once you've had high speed :)

Mike
 
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