Internet Service Providers Rants and Raves

[LuckySmiles]

I know in some places your limited to one choice or maybe it might be too specific, location-wise giving out who you use... i don't know. keep that in mind I guess if you don't want to share...and I understand location can effect your quality of service as well, so some of it might be subjective.

But I'm curious, good/bad experiences with internet providers, and why. I'm moving from a place with only one choice to an apartment with three options and don't know how to choose. It's obviously important!!

In my experiences for example, I currently have Charter's fastest internet package in my area and the speeds itself are good. Down from time to time... Seems to cut out a few times a month around midnight/1am when I'm home which is frustrating because I'm typically camming or trying to watch netflix in bed at that hour.

But other than that the speeds have been pretty good. I typically have just under 50 mbps download and 4-5 upload.
In my last apartment my only option was ATT Uverse, their speeds are not the fastest but seemed good enough? I streamed movies and cammed without issue. I didn't cam as much on SM at the time, though so I'm not sure if they'd be good enough again? It was never down and their customer service is the best I've ever dealt with. Anytime there was a hiccup I was able to talk to a human quickly and was able to get my account credited more than once over issues, but I only ever ran into issues mostly with the cable and equipment, rather than internet connection.

I've had verizon fios in the past, including when I first started camming, and it was meant to be the best/fastest but I think I had the most issues with both losing internet, speeds not even close to what I was paying for and a total nightmare of customer service. Verizon for years caused me lots of problems and headaches.

For my next apartment my available options are ATT, WOW, or Comcast. Comcast I think is advertised to be the fastest but from what I've heard their customer service can be a nightmare, and as a company they seem kind of like Verizon's jerk cousin.

I have never heard of WOW before, so I have no idea. And I know ATT can be good, but still they're not supposed to be the fastest. They might be comparable to what I have already though, and then maybe worth it.
I just want the fastest and most reliable, without having to rage smash a cell phone while trying to get in touch with a human if any issues do arise.

thoughts? experiences? opinions?

 

[mynameisbob84]

I've had so much trouble with TalkTalk/BT over the years. TalkTalk claim my shitty internet is due to shoddy BT wiring outside my house, BT claim it's all TalkTalk's fault. In fairness, it's not been too bad as of late, but there were times when my internet was the cuntiest cunt that ever did cunt.

 

[JaneJupiter]

I was just going to make a post about this. I've had mostly good luck with Charter in the past, but I moved and now I have to either choose Comcast or AT&T. I've been avoiding Comcast because I've heard so much shit about them, but they seem to have the highest speeds. I've also been staying at my partner's parents place for 3 weeks now while mine is being renovated, they have Comcast and their internet seems great. Luckily, they also live a block away on the same street so hopefully mine will be the same. Anyone have experiences with either company?

 

[weirdbr]

For the US and Canada (only those so far, but I hear it should expand to other countries sooner or later), I recommend checking the rankings provided by a few media companies, so you can get an idea of what their users can get from a given ISP on the area. While the results of those can be in theory skewed by the ISP working with them to host their machines/proxies locally (Google's Global Cache or Netflix's Open Connect for example), it still should give you an idea of what the ISP network behaves like - for example, an ISP that has a google/netflix cache locally can still get bad results if their last-mile infrastructure sucks.

Google/Youtube: https://www.google.com/get/videoqualityreport/
Netflix: http://ispspeedindex.netflix.com/usa

Another good one that should have data for ISPS all over the world is http://www.netindex.com/, from the guys that run Speedtest.net. It just aggregates the data from all the speedtests they get and generates a score based on that.

 

[SaffronBurke]

Mediacom is the best quality provider in my area. We get random outages that suck like no other when they happen, yet I have flawless service during thunderstorms of a truly evil proportion. Their customer service isn't the best, but they have lovely speeds.

 

[EmilyConrad]

Comcast has faster speeds with better prices but yeah their customer service sucks. Once I called because my internet was out and after doing all of their very simple troubleshooting steps (which I had already tried on my own before calling anyhow) my problem still wasn't resolved and the guy said, "I've been happy to help you. Have a good day!" Um, help me? No ya didn't dude. Be prepared for possible internet outages especially in the summer. I've had my internet bill go from around $50 (an introductory price) to $64 to $84 to $94 in only 3 years with no explanation for why they were raising other than the first with the promotional period being over. With that being said, I wouldn't switch providers at this time. The positives (faster internet, cheaper prices) outweigh the negatives for me.

 

[LuckySmiles]

I didn't realize, I just plugged in the new address in the WOW, ATT, and Comcast sites and it's not even close. I have to get comcast, the others' speeds are way lower where I'll be living.

But I couldn't get an installation appointment before next Thursday.

SORE TITTIES!! I hate them already :-D

 

[KudosKids]

Comcast is literally the worst service you can get. Yes they have fast internet, but if that internet and the price is worth the 1 thousand problems you will end up having with them then go ahead and do it at your own risk. I have comcast, and randomly in the last 8 months my internet would just stop working. It went from a couple times a week to multiple times a day. It would just shut off for hours, and then randomly come back on for 20 minutes to 2 hours and then shut off again. Not only did I have to make 5 calls in just one hour til I got someone who would just send a technician to the house instead of arguing with me about what other things I can do by myself to fix it, and yes they will argue with you. You have to yell at these people til someone does what you ask. I had to do this every week for 5 weeks. Yes thats right, I had 5 different technicians come out to solve one problem. The 4 other technicians said they fixed the problem, but then the internet would shut off the very next day. Finally I got one with a brain! And actually cared about his customers to figure out what the problem was, and it was seriously the easiest resolution. I don't know why it took 5 people to fix it. Comcast is on my shit list. Good luck if you get it!

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Comcast is literally the worst service you can get. Yes they have fast internet, but if that internet and the price is worth the 1 thousand problems you will end up having with them then go ahead and do it at your own risk. I have comcast, and randomly in the last 8 months my internet would just stop working. It went from a couple times a week to multiple times a day. It would just shut off for hours, and then randomly come back on for 20 minutes to 2 hours and then shut off again. Not only did I have to make 5 calls in just one hour til I got someone who would just send a technician to the house instead of arguing with me about what other things I can do by myself to fix it, and yes they will argue with you. You have to yell at these people til someone does what you ask. I had to do this every week for 5 weeks. Yes thats right, I had 5 different technicians come out to solve one problem. The 4 other technicians said they fixed the problem, but then the internet would shut off the very next day. Finally I got one with a brain! And actually cared about his customers to figure out what the problem was, and it was seriously the easiest resolution. I don't know why it took 5 people to fix it. Comcast is on my shit list. Good luck if you get it!

^^^^^^^ This!

Almost every time I hear about a model or someone else having recurring problems with their internet I hear the word Comcast somewhere in the discussion. It's sad they are the only option for so many people because they do appear to be one of the worst out there.

After I graduate and get a job I'm looking at the possibility of moving...anywhere. The sad thought of having to subscribe with them has already been on my mind.

 

[weirdbr]

Ah.. Comcast... Reminds me of this article - http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/4/596025 ... lways-late

(There's a few other articles on The Verge about them that I recommend checking out...TL;DR - it's all about optimising costs, trying to tie clients in and not letting them leave easily, while avoiding investing in infrastructure and service.. I bet it's the same for all other large ISPs)

No wonder they are the worst company in terms of consumer satisfaction... Followed by Time Warner... Which they are trying to acquire - maybe they want to become the worst company by a large margin...

 

[LuckySmiles]

booo... yeah that's what I'm afraid of. One of my good friends used to have a bitch of a time with them.
But it's also like... if I did AT&T Uverse their fastest package available at my apt is half the speed of package I'd get with comcast for the same price soooo I mean... it sucks.

is it better to just go with lower speeds if it never cuts out on you... :? Maybe they'll sort themselves out? They won as the worst American company of 2014. That's assuring.

 

[KudosKids]

I would not know from a models stand point on how fast you need your internet to be. You are streaming so I would assume very important, as models who tend to freeze regularly through out there time online can lose viewers. But on the other hand if it does cut out on you and you have the same problem I did. You may go days or weeks without even being able to work. So it's really up to you. I hope a model can reply to this post so you can get a better perspective on what is a better option.

 

[Misono]

I've had so much trouble with TalkTalk/BT over the years. TalkTalk claim my shitty internet is due to shoddy BT wiring outside my house, BT claim it's all TalkTalk's fault. In fairness, it's not been too bad as of late, but there were times when my internet was the cuntiest cunt that ever did cunt.

It's weird, because I've been with BT Infinity for 3 years and it has been excellent. One day of downtime, and that was because of an issue affecting the entire region. Couldn't fault them!

 

[Rose]

Comcast, both residential and business class, can suck my asshole. I hate them with a passion, but there are literally no other options whatsoever. I cannot stand them, so it's no surprise that I've complained my way to free service more than once. I cannot wait for the day when another, better option becomes available. Ugh!

 

[RubyDimples]

Comcast does in fact suck donkey balls.

Always cuts out for me and have no idea why!

Anyone know why this happens?

 

[EmilyConrad]

Comcast does in fact suck donkey balls.

Always cuts out for me and have no idea why!

Anyone know why this happens?

If you're on Wifi are you using one of their routers?

 

[RubyDimples]

It's wireless internet with a router they provided. Better to get my own?

 

[EmilyConrad]

It's wireless internet with a router they provided. Better to get my own?

Yeah definitely. I was having so many problems with my internet earlier this year so I bought a new router (I had been renting one from them) and now I only have problems when there's an actual area outage. Plus my speeds even went up a little!

 

[RubyDimples]

Do you have a router that you recommend?

 

[DDuckworth]

Please just move to an area with google fiber and save yourself the headache.

Nobody really realizes just how screwed they all are by their ISP's, even charter (which I'm on)

Paying $30+ a month (specialty rate) for 30Mbps is pretty shit considering it goes up to $79.99 a month after a year. Fiber is 1000Mbps for $70 a month. So $10 less for over thirty-three TIMES more speed. It's a ridiculous injustice and we desperately need competition for these monopolies which are currently working on merging together. If enough people are moving into google fiber areas they will see that fiber is necessary and it will be implemented or google will actually be able to spread thanks to the interest even though they don't have plans to become national, they may end up without a choice.

For RubyDimples, I use to sell routers, so if you describe the size of your location that you need router coverage for total, as well as distance to your PC I can do my best to recommend a good router for your situation. (1 or two story, how many walls between router and computer, type of walls sheetrock concrete etc.)

 

[RubyDimples]

Just a small apartment. In a given day it'll cut out five or six times