DSL, Cable Connection? or Dial-Up?

[Phoebe]

We are in need of a better, faster internet connection. We currently operate on a simple AOL dial-up but are having lots of problems and I would like to rid of them.Which type do most of you use? I have researched some of the companies offering specials like SBC and AT&T. The DSL hook-ups aren't available in our area because our neighborhood is newly developed and used to be a cornfield. That means I would have to use our cable company which charges $44/month plus installation. Is that expensive or a competitive rate to what you have seen. I realize that everyone is in a different part of the country. I just have no idea what I am doing.

Thanks for any response!

Jennifer

I currently have a ricochet wireless modem and love it. No phone line and one less wire on my desk. But it's not available everywhere (this specific service, anyway). It's $29/month.
Used to have DSL and really liked that until Qwest partnered w/ MSN and I had *all* kinds of trouble. Big PITA. It was $39/month for always available access.
$44 does seem a little pricey but the fast connection is really nice. For DSL service you have to be within a certain number of feet from the central office of the phone company. So, if you don't meet that now...that might not change any time soon.
Does AOL offer a high-speed connection?

I'm on top of a mountain, so I kind of know what you mean about being in the middle of a cornfield... I use the high-speed internet from Cox Cable, and it's $39.95/mo, but I use the computer a LOT for work, so it's worth it--and you can't beat the speed. I got hooked on DSL when I lived in a city, and it would have really been hard to go back to dial-up.

[Sheherezade]

Our cable connection is 41.95 in Boston. We tried a cheaper DSL connection and had all kinds of trouble getting it to work consistently. It might be better now, but who wants to take days (or weeks) offline trying it out? I think you should talk to people in your neighborhood--they would know what the best deal/best connection is locally. Besides, in my experience, people love to talk about internet service problems and hassles (or maybe that's just Boston) .

Angie

We have Road Runner High Speed cable and run a wireless network adaptor. We have DHs computer downstairs and my DD computer all running through it and pay $45 a month. We absolutely love it.

[mommax3]

We have Road Runner also ($44.95/month) and really love it. We have had it for a year and 3 months and in that time, there has only been one period of a few hours where the service was interrupted.....they got it back up pretty quickly. I love having high-speed.

Sally

[SueC]

Road Runner here, too, for the same price the others are paying and I have to say I don't think I could live without it!!! Once you start using a "high-speed" internet connection, you can't go back or you would go insane waiting for pages to load. We can deduct the expense on our taxes since I use my computer for business, so that helps a little. We are looking at getting wireless connections sometime, too, but can't justify the expense right now. It would be nice to be able to take my laptop elsewhere in the house, though.

I am using DSL with SBC, paying $26.95/mth. We have had it for almost 19mths. During that time I had one day that I wasn't able to get on, but it was also about 10 degrees for the high and there was ice on most everything....anyway, I complained and got a month free of charge.

Overall, I am very pleased. Was an AOL leech(in laws subscribed never used it-we used a sub account and didn't have to pay!) before with dial-up.

If I had to go back to dial-up, I would have some serious withdrawl problems....

[Meenah]

I use the comcast cable $45/month and it is well worth it.
Luanne

[PrincessFiona]

We are using cable too, but it is all bundled up in a package for $60/month. This includes our phone service, cable (for the tv) and internet. It sounds pricey, but it is actually cheaper than paying for each individual service.

kris

[peggyfromwastate]

We've been looking into this and I have to say that Kris you are getting an amazing deal. The comcast cable internet stuff here is $44 a month (plus taxes, IF you get cable which costs over $50/mo in addition) and if you don't have cable (we don't- we use the DirecTV) it's $60 a month, plus taxes. In my lovely neighborhood, located approximately 2 miles from the "Technology corridor of Maryland" we don't have DSL thru any reasonably priced company. The cheapest high speed I've found is actually Comcast, and so I'm not doing that. What's this road runner thing? Anyway, we were having such huge problems with our dial up and it turns out that we had multiple viruses on our computer, even something called a "drive by". My brother the computer genius has been cleaning up my computer for the last few days, and now it is working much better. It was really, really bad before... If I upgrade anytime soon, it'll probably have to be to Earthlink's "supercharged" dialup which is supposedly faster, but anyway... This has been a frustrating thing for me lately!!!! I feel your pain!!!!!!

[Phoebe]

Thank you for the replies. Road runner is the service through our cable company. I will pay the price if I have to. Maybe I should bite the bullet and get it. AOL does advertise a broadband service, but I haven't looked into yet because I am annoyed with them. I will scout around the neighborhood too.

Thanks!

Jennifer

[PrincessFiona]

AOL sux

8)

We have Earthlink cable and its about $40/month or so. We also have the wireless router for our laptop and that is really nice. So far there hasn't been a day without service (actually the only time we were without service was when someone tried to steal the cable in our apartment and the wires were sliced. A repair man was out within a day). We actually dropped our phone line and got cable internet and cell phones which works out really well for us. There was no installation charge and no charge for the modem. I know what you all mean, if we ever had to go back to dial-up I would be hurting. You really get used to 'instant'.

We have a cable modem through Starpower (might be a regional carrier, not sure) and we pay $39.99/month. It's worth every penny. Also, we can deduct it as an unreimbursed business expense since DH needs to access journal articles at home and I need to be up-to-date on the news. We can also access AOL through our cable modem. Good luck!