Most Americans are off of dial-up internet service and have moved on to either DSL or Cable broadband connections. The real question is which service provides the fastest internet connections for the lowest price. Fiber Optic broadband is clearly the fastest way to connect to the Internet, unfortunately it's only available to like 7 million people. The majority of us are stuck with limited selections - usually 1 cable company in our area and 1 phone (DSL) provider. I live in an area with Comcast as my cable broadband provider and I also have the option to go with Qwest for their DSL services. A friend of mine subscribes to the Verizon FiOS broadband and they are very happy given the price is lower than my connection with Comcast. Pricing is not nearly as competitive as it should be since there is very limited competition in most regions. Experts agree that once more phone companies can offer high speed internet services like those from Verizon, cable companies will be forced to compete on pricing. I know my internet broadband connection has never come down in price over the last 3 years.
Many surveys have been done to determine which internet service is the best or has the highest customer satisfaction. Consumer Reports did a recent survey and found that the Verizon FiOS service received the highest scores for speed, reliability, and tech support making them the leader in the field. Again, their service is only available in certain metro areas but by 2010 it should be offered to millions more. My personal experience with Comcast has been very good. The few times I've ever need technical support my problem was solved almost instantly. The broadband connection has been up and running continuously for the last 3 years with perhaps 15 hours of total downtime. I like that Comcast offers a free subscription to McAfee antivirus and anti-spyware software as long as you are a paying broadband customer. The download speeds are fast, although I wish the upload speeds were faster since I maintain a few websites and constantly need to upload files to my servers online. The other top cable broadband companies in the U.S. are WOW, Earthlink, RCN, Cox, Road Runner, Cable One, Charter, and Adelphia. You'll need to check in your local area to see which company is available. Expect to spend about $40 to $50 a month for your cable broadband including the modem rental fee. When comparing the speeds at which you can download things off the Internet, understand all speeds quoted are those at optimal levels. Fiber optic lines give you 50 Mbps (Megabits per seconds), cable gives you 5 Mbps, and DSL is closer to 1.5 Mbps. Most files you download (like music or photos) should only take a few seconds. DSL services are very affordable at around $25/month for the low end speeds and $35 for the higher speeds on DSL. Verizon, Qwest, and AT&T are the leaders in this field although reliability is still not as good as cable or fiber connections. Satellite broadband providers get some of the worst scores from CR and customer reviews are no better. Companies like HughesNet( DirectWay) and WildBlue are what many people have to select from in small cities and rural areas. Pricing of satellite broadband is also the most expensive of the bunch at close to $60/month. Lastly, there is still dial-up service available if you have a land line phone. Yes, AOL (American Online) still exists, although there subscriber base to dial-up is going away fast. Some of the cheaper options for dial-up are Juno ($8) or NetZero ($12) although speed and reliability are not very good. If you have access to computers at school or in your local library, that is almost a better solution than dealing with dial-up services. You can always get an email address online at Google, Yahoo, or Hotmail for free and login while at the library for free. Dial up is almost dead, so don't rely on it being available in a year or so. Other sources we used to find the best internet service providers were J.D. Power and Associates, PC Magazine, CNET, and PC World. Down below we have listed our "top picks".
Best Cable Broadband Provider:
Since cable broadband is what most of us have access to, we decided to leave the fiber-optic serice of Verizon off this list (eventhough it rated the highest). If it is in your area, seriously consider switching to it from cable broadband since FiOS is faster and cheaper. In terms of cable broadband providers, up and coming companies like RCN (in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, NYC, and Washington DC) and WOW (Illinois, Michigan, Ohio) are making names in those cities but have yet to reach a nationwide audience. Same goes for Optimum Online (Cablevision) which rates well for speed and reliability compared to the other cable broadband providers is also available back east in limited areas. You will have to work with what is available in your area, there's really no way around that. The good news is that cable internet providers offer mostly the same services and speeds. I have found Comcast to be reliable, fast (not as speedy as I would like) and a good value given I use their 'bundled' services.
Top Rated DSL Broadband Service:
Verizon and AT&T offer some of the best DSL broadband services in the country for about $30/month. Although speeds are not as fast as though offered through cable or fiber, DSL still allows you to download files at a pretty good clip. If you are just a web browsing type of person and don't do a lot of downloads, then DSL will speed things along and let you surf the Internet fast. You can go online to Verizon.com or Att.com to find out if their services are available in your area. Earthlink is another option, although pricing on their DSL tends to be higher than most. We actually have heard better things about Earthlinks cable broadband service than their DSL.
Satellite Broadband Connection:
Unfortunately, not all people live in metro areas where broadband connections are available throughout the United States. Dial-up is really one of the few options in many areas still, and then there's satellite broadband services. Satellite internet connections are rated very low for speed and reliability. As more wireless services become offered in remote areas, that may be the best solution. Hughesnet.com is the site to get started on to check out their rates and areas of availability. The cost is close to $60/month which is no bargain, we suggest staying away from satellite broadband providers whenever possible.
Best Value Dial Up Provider:
I can still remember using dial up service back in 1995 when I first went online. The cost was $29.99/month and I got a free website to play with as a bonus. Today, dial-up internet still exists but costs have been reduced dramatically with the onset of DSL, Cable, and fiber connections. Juno is one of the best choices for dial-up service with pricing as low as $8/month. You can get free service from Juno but you have to look at a lot of ads while trying to browse the Internet. We say stay away from that service. Speed can be unbearably slow at times with dial-up connections and reliability is touchy at times. For an extra $20/month you can get reliable internet connections and much faster speeds saving you time and potentially money.
