Can anyone recommend a good ISP?

[Kurt Codean]

Hi I'm not sure if this question technically belongs in this section, but it was either here or in Anything Else. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good ISP? I live in the North East part of the USA. Currently I am using Time Warner's TV/Internet/phone combo plan and I feel like I am being ripped off. My bill last month was around $165.00 even though I called a Time Warner representative 2 months ago and she said my bill would be $150 per month from then on. It was $150 for that month when I spoke to her but the next month it went up to $165. Before I called her though my bill went as high as $195.00 so I called to see if I can have it lowered. She promised me that i would get a $45 credit on the month when it was lowered to $150 but I never got it . It looks like I have to call them again but I really am sick of TIme Warner. It seems like they are sneaky and start raising your bill and hoping that you won't notice it. I was wondering if anyone knows a good and affordable ISP that provides the basic Internet cable speed (which is 100mgb/sec I think). I think I would be willing to terminate my basic cable tv service but i would need to find another company to get a house phone number. I used to have a friend who had this portable Internet hotspot box from the Clear company, but I think they were taken over by another corporation which I am not sure of at the moment. But he told me he only paid $50 a month for that service. So I feel like I am being ripped of by Time Warner right now. Does anyone know of a good ISP for under $100 a month? Thanks in advance!

 

[PTFC]

WOW! Sorry I can't help you, but the price of broadband in US seems like daylight robbery! I'm lucky in the UK to have a cable provider who you don't even need to have a landline with and fibre optic speeds up to 200Mb for a fraction of that price. Most other providers here require you to take a landline though. I only have the BB, no landline nor TV package.

 

[wait4it]

If there is competition you'd have to change providers to take advantage of introductory rate for a yr or so ... BUT ... I just moved and this may help ...

There is only 1 provider in my new community, so needed to cancel with existing one. When I placed cancellation call was offered an extremely attractive bundled service rate ... Oh, yes, they will ask the reason ... Dble Ck competition first ... 

 

[Kurt Codean]

If there is competition you'd have to change providers to take advantage of introductory rate for a yr or so ... BUT ... I just moved and this may help ...

There is only 1 provider in my new community, so needed to cancel with existing one. When I placed cancellation call was offered an extremely attractive bundled service rate ... Oh, yes, they will ask the reason ... Dble Ck competition first ... 

yeah it seems like such a hassle to switch cable companies. First of all you would have to have your current equipment removed and then another company come in and install their stuff. And yeah there seems to be only one other option other than Time Warner, and that's Verizon FIos. I've heard that Fios isn't that great for some reason. They do have a low introductory rate for a cable/tv bundle for like $89.99 a month, but that's only for one year or so then the price goes up and I'm not sure by how much. I just feel like it's too much of a hassle to switch cable companies right now. Even If I got some kind of way to just get the Internet for $50 a month, I would still have to pay for a landline phone which would be like $30 a month and possibly basic cable or get that digital converter box they use now. Oh yeah and if you try to cancel your current service the customer rep will definitely try to talk you out of it. They might even offer to lower your rate to that of the competitor for a limited time. I think the Verizon Fios service might not be as reliable as Time Warner, like possibly too many service interruptions, but that's just what I've heard.

 

[wait4it]

It's a hassle, true ... I know neighbors who switched providers routinely just to get the rate ... suffering thru new equipment glitches and changes in net speed ... but as hinted at in another topic/thread - we may not be able to "beat" the establishment monster out there ... Good luck, friend.