How do you access the internet?

[dd74]

Earthlink has let me down. I've had trouble with their DSL service for two weeks. Two days ago, a "priority resolution" had been assigned to my case, and yet I still have not heard hide no hair from them. I've been an Earthlink customer for going on five years, and have waded through other problems with their DSL service. But this last interruption has pretty much done it for me. So I'm looking for alternatives and ideas if you guys have any. What I'd like is:

1) to connect to the Internet anywhere wirelessly, but with a reliable global service. Satellite such as Hughes, isn't an option since there aren't Hughes dishes everywhere I go.

2) If at all possible, I'd like it if I connect to the internet via my cellular phone. Is that possible?

Thanks for the help.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

That's what work is for.

[slakjaw]

Earthlink is an ISP your DSL is provided by your local LEC.

[84porsche]

I am also an Earthlink DSL user as well and just called and gave them an earful about me paying so much so they dropped my price $15 a month. They lease the lines from the phone company so when you have a problem they have to go through the phone company to get the damn thing fixed.

Anyway, for reliabilty, I have heard cable is faster and more reliable but I suppose there are complaints against cable as well.

If you want full wireless for anywhere - check out Verizon - http://b2b.vzw.com/productsservices/wirelessinternet/

[HardDrive]

Unfortunately, service is really a local thing. The same provider can have great service in one city, and terrible in the next.

I'm on Comcast cable in Seattle. We have the occasional outages, but never more than a hour or so.

12MB downloads. Just screaming fast.

[slodave]

SBC/ATT. Never much of a problem for me. I was down for about an hour a month ago or so, but I can't remember a time before that. I have a business account, so not sure if that has anything to do with the uptime.

Dave

[masraum]

Was Southwest Bell --> SBC --> ATT dsl

6Mb down / 768kb up.

I've had the same service for at least 9 years. Very few problems, and the speeds are always good.

[dd74]

Originally posted by slakjaw
Earthlink is an ISP your DSL is provided by your local LEC.

Hmmm...interesting. When I called Earthlink, they said they would take care of the problem. There was no mention of another company. Our phone service is AT&T, and quite frankly, I was looking at their service to see if it's faster/cheaper. It seems good.

I'm still looking...

Satellite: Hughes seems good, but I hate the idea of anywhere one goes, they need to have a Hughes dish to obtain internet service.

Cable: that would be Time-Warner - they have a nice HDTV/DSL package, but at a whopping $104 a month.

DSL: several of them are in my area. Verizon, AT&T to name two...

Any other ideas?

[Jim727]

Sonic. Can't say enough good things about them.

www.sonic.net

Great service, great support. They are everything an isp should be. Disclosure: I'm not on the payroll in any manner whatsoever; I just love the service and support I get from them.

[Paco Anton]

Do you have UMTS in the US?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umts

If you have covergae in your area you can access the internet through your cellular at decent speeds.

Here in Spain we are already using it and works very well.

[Seahawk]

Originally posted by dd74
Satellite: Hughes seems good, but I hate the idea of anywhere one goes, they need to have a Hughes dish to obtain internet service.

I have Hughes and have zero problem accessing other wireless networks when I travel.

My wireless card is not retricted to Hughes, it looks fow any available system. I use T-Mobile a lot at airports and never have issues with any hotel provided wireless or hard wire.

[red-beard]

Primary - Road Runner with Time Warner Cable - It is about to change to Comcast - $44/month
Secondary - AT&T DSL (750kb/s) - $15/month

Also - T-mobile GRPS and Hotspots.

My wife runs her business out of the House, so I keep a "backup" internet connection around on a second router.

[rfuerst911sc]

I have Earthlink cable modem provided thru Brighthouse. Occasional outages but overall very happy. I also have Earthlink cable phone service.

[stomachmonkey]

Satellite is cheaper than cable in your area? That's a shock.

At the house Verizon FIOS (not DSL).

I have an unlimited data plan for my cell phone and BT tether that to my laptop when nothing else is available.

[BertBeagle]

Bellsouth DSL and I have had 3 modem failures in 3 years plus other problems. In another location I had Road Runner cable and had no problems plus it seemed faster.

I now have Direct TV and don't want to switch to cable to get Road Runner.

Eventually I believe Direct TV will have a better option. Anyone know about this?

[jriera]

At home Cox cable at 10Mb, no FIOS yet in my area
While on the road t-mobile WiFi
Verizon EVDO or AT&T Edge and a 'last resort' methods

[slakjaw]

Originally posted by dd74
Hmmm...interesting. When I called Earthlink, they said they would take care of the problem. There was no mention of another company. Our phone service is AT&T, and quite frankly, I was looking at their service to see if it's faster/cheaper. It seems good.

I'm still looking...

Satellite: Hughes seems good, but I hate the idea of anywhere one goes, they need to have a Hughes dish to obtain internet service.

Cable: that would be Time-Warner - they have a nice HDTV/DSL package, but at a whopping $104 a month.

DSL: several of them are in my area. Verizon, AT&T to name two...

Any other ideas?

Earthlink has so many accounts / lines with the LEC's that sometimes they have more pull when it comes to getting things fixed. Maybe faster then the guy who has ATT for his DSL and ISP?? I cant believe they wouldnt send a tech out to the house to check the lines though. I always recomend DSL over cable but there are a lot of choices. Plus WiMax is coming very soon. It will be this Dec in Minnehopeless.

I had static on a line once and it took 6 Qwest techs, I asked the 6th one to please put me on a new pair all the way to the CO and that fixed it.

[masraum]

Originally posted by BertBeagle
Eventually I believe Direct TV will have a better option. Anyone know about this?

Highly unlikely. Where I work we provide data and voice over satellite. It's actually the same basic system as satellite TV DVBS. The cost of BW over satellite is very high, especially compared to other systems where you can pump a ton of data over existing wires. I just don't see the cost ever catching up. The cost of putting satellites up in the sky and maintaining them is just too high.

[Seahawk]

Originally posted by masraum
Highly unlikely. Where I work we provide data and voice over satellite. It's actually the same basic system as satellite TV DVBS. The cost of BW over satellite is very high, especially compared to other systems where you can pump a ton of data over existing wires. I just don't see the cost ever catching up. The cost of putting satellites up in the sky and maintaining them is just too high.

+1. I would adopt a different method if is was available, very similar to Red Beards.

Hughes is expensive, almost $100 a month for our small business plan

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally posted by HardDrive
Unfortunately, service is really a local thing. The same provider can have great service in one city, and terrible in the next.

I'm on Comcast cable in Seattle. We have the occasional outages, but never more than a hour or so.

12MB downloads. Just screaming fast.

I'm an Comcast Cable guy too - Earthlink is my ISP tho. Fast? You can say that again! In fact, it's so fast we share our wireless system with our neighbor and don't notice any lagging at all.
Outages are usually pretty short, and don't happen terribly often here.