ISP Question which is the best?

[tiredtoo]

i think that is the correct acronym for service provider. I currently use a jetpack from Verizon. Don't really like it, slow and limited data. Considering going to DSL. any thoughts on this?

[NYC_SKP]

1. My smart phone 4G is faster than my old DSL was. Cable has been the fastest connection I've had.

Speeds vary by location.

You might want to ask locally and if you have a netbook or laptop with wifi you can even test download speeds at different locations by going to speedtest.net.

Good luck!

[steve2470]

2. my advice

http://www.dslreports.com/

Go to the link above, register for the forums and start asking around. IMHO it's the best ISP forum I've found. Good luck.

Steve

[ChromeFoundry]

3. Are you planning on streaming movies?

Check out this page:
http://ispspeedindex.netflix.com/usa

Fastest ISPs of 2013:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2424456,00.asp

And, if you want to learn more about the games ISPs are playing with data and Net Neutrality - Level 3 had an excellent write up on their observations a few days ago: (not exactly light reading)
http://blog.level3.com/global-connectivity/observations-internet-middleman/

[tiredtoo]

4. Well yes sort of

if i could get a server that didn't place limits on usage, i would like to use the netflix feature on my new tv. do not mind a bit of buffering but what i have now is ridiculous. I would never try to stream a movie using my current provider. I have enough trouble just going to web pages and posting notes and so on.

[ChromeFoundry]

5. Netflix and TVs

If you are streaming directly to the TV and not an "appliance" (ie: Roku, PS3, XBox, etc), your TV will have a very limited buffer size. This means that if your connection becomes unstable for 30 seconds, an appliance will have enough buffer space to make this a non issue. TV manufacturers are notorious for only offer a small amount of RAM to the built-in apps (netflix) so the buffer will only give you about 15 seconds worth of buffering... or so.

One thing you can do is change your Netflix account setting to stream in a lower quality.. such as SD vs HD or Super-HD.

[hunter]

6. With DSL you can choose a local provider in many places.

My internet connection started as an "alarm line" bare copper wire back when AT&T didn't quite know what to do with the internet. I've dealt with quite a few powerless Dilberts.



These days I'm just the cranky "get off my lawn" grandfathered customer of a local ISP using AT&T lines.

Comcast and AT&T are at best clueless, at worst not nice. I give them as little business as I can, but I'm a hypocrite about all these these things. GoDaddy and Photobucket host my DU photos. I swear, it was an accident of business, but feel free to criticize me that I'm too lazy to change the domains I own and I don't want to lose the photobucket stuff in older DU posts.