

Most recommended from 49 comments

Tony0945

join:2015-03-26

Streamwood, IL 5 recommendations Tony0945 Member I know people will scream "Socialism" But I advocate a public network operating at cost. States and municipalities can borrow money much cheaper than corporations. It would be like water and sewer, charging by usage at cost. If you don't pay, they shut you off. If they do a bad job of maintenance, you vote for somebody else. With private unregulated monopoly internet, some get charged a bunch, others a pittance and the company doesn't care about maintenance at all.

ctaranto

join:2011-12-14

MA 4 recommendations ctaranto Member I feel "spoiled" I have access to both VZ FiOS (up to 500/500) and Comcast (whatever crap they offer).



Happily with FiOS at 75/75 (83/92 with bloat) until they offer gig speeds at reasonable prices in our area.



My parents have access to VZ FiOS, Comcast, and RCN (about 15 minutes west of Boston, 128 belt).

Harddrive

Proud American and Infidel since 1968.

Premium Member

join:2000-09-20

Mission, TX 4 recommendations Harddrive Premium Member AT&T Gigapower at $80.





Yep, that's right. $80 a month for symmetrical 1 gig. derek4484

join:2016-08-16

Lexington, SC 4 recommendations derek4484 Member Unfortunately... I fall into this category. My two choices are TWC/Spectrum or Windstream at "up to" 12mbps.

TechyDad

Premium Member

join:2001-07-13

USA 3 recommendations TechyDad Premium Member One ISP That's me. I can get my broadband Internet from Charter's Spectrum (formally TWC) or I can do without.



Sure, there are the "options" of DSL (slow, just as expensive as cable, and a technology phone companies want to do away with), Satellite (slow, expensive, very low caps), Wireless (good for "data on the go", but caps are too low if you want to stream videos at home), and dial-up (do I need to list the downsides to this?), but none of those will actually provide me with service to meet my household's streaming video data demands.



If FIOS were to expand into my area, there might be some competition, but instead Charter can do whatever it wants and it knows it has a captive audience.

C0deZer0

Oc'D To Rhythm And Police

Premium Member

join:2001-10-03

Tempe, AZ 121.4 9.8

3 recommendations C0deZer0 Premium Member Not much better here, either



Even if it came to be that the PC's in question can't encode and stream that high, at least let me have enough upload to give it an honest try. In a way, I have some measure of competition, but not really. I could choose between Cox, Comcast, and century Link. In spite of excessive marketing about it, none will offer gigabit internet service to my apartment at any price. And the fastest packages offered lacks the upload I would desire to broadcast and stream at the rate I'd most want to do.Even if it came to be that the PC's in question can't encode and stream that high, at least let me have enough upload to give it an honest try. Tlamming

join:2001-08-21

Howell, MI 2 recommendations Tlamming Member weird Its really weird how Comcast and charter's territories seem to end right next to one another in michigan. Its almost like they've devided up the territories and planned it this way... hmmm. Where are all the apologists that say that the market is competitive and alive and well?

Anone5f5d

@teksavvy.com 2 recommendations Anone5f5d Anon Fair to Say That this unregulated approach the industry keeps wanting isn't really working then, is it? Although I guess it depends on where your focus is.

pjsutton

join:2013-06-25

Kempton, PA 2 recommendations pjsutton Member Makes sense I'm one of those 19.3 million. It's 3 Mbps Verizon DSL here, or nothing. Fortunately for us our lines are in great shape and it never drops out. silbaco

Premium Member

join:2009-08-03

USA 2 recommendations silbaco Premium Member One Provider It's always nice to have access to multiple providers. But ultimately having access to only one or one-hundred providers doesn't really matter. The question is can you get reliable internet access for a reasonable price (reasonable for your market and usage)? Unfortunately most people can't which is the problem.



I only have one provider but I fall into the category of having reliable internet access for a reasonable enough price.

StuckOnVZDSL

join:2015-02-26

Pittsfield, PA 1 edit 2 recommendations StuckOnVZDSL Member Only one provider and very slow Verizon DSL is the only "real" provider. I can use Satellite, but the latency is too high to work remotely. I could use Wireless, but the caps would be shot with a teenage daughter at home who uses Netflix. DSL is my only option, and at 3M/768K it's not a great option. I have to reset my modem at least a few times a day, sometimes (especially if it rains or is windy) I will lose my connection repeatedly, and I'm talking 20-30 times per day. The last alternative left after that is dialup.



Saying that someone can "Only" get 25Mbps seems like a slap in the face. I'd pay upwards of handsomely for that speed if it was available. Right now I am paying $66/month after taxes and fees for my DSL.



As a further note - yes, I am in "rural" Pennsylvania, but if you looked at a map, you would see I am between a multitude of small towns that are all serviced by cable providers - Time Warner (Charter I guess now), Atlantic, and a local company (Eaglezip?).