So the house is half packed and I am already thinking about creature comforts at the new place. I’ve had RCN digital service in Boston. Phone is fine; we just use it for local calls. Cable modem has been pretty good as well - I think I have more of a problem with the weirdness in my house. I can d/l from 600-400 kbps (it’s been as high as 1200 kbps) and upload at about 500 kbps.
RCN had a pretty convenient package with internet and phone service; I think I paid just over $100/month for it.
My parents have Time-Warner and Roadrunner, which is decent for me. But I’m curious to learn what the other Austin ISP options are, and your experiences with them. I would most likely go with cable vs. DSL. Good service, high speed, and few outages are most important to me. Oh yeah, price as well!
Also curious if anyone has tried the DirecTv satellite internet connection. How’s that work?
I had SBC when I lived there, a phone and DSL. They’re now AT&T. I never had many troubles with the service, I recall, just the customer service. And the mysterious charges on the bill for services I never ordered. Like long distance.
If you’re getting cable, why don’t you just get a voice over ip phone service? It’ll probably add up to just as much. The name of the most popular one escapes me at the mo.
The other big cable/internet provider in Austin is Grande Communications. (they’re actually the only cable provider I can get in my nieghborhood because a truck ripped down the Time-Warner line and there’s some stuff about easements and putting up another pole) On the plus side, a smaller, local company. But other than that, their packages are almost identical to Time-Warner. They do have good customer service; when another truck ripped down my Grande line (damn those breakfast taco trucks!), they got it fixed that day.
Ron and tremorviolet, thanks for the responses. I’m a little hesitant to deal with at&t… we have a bad history. I’m not ready to take the leap with VoIP just yet - I’ve heard too many issues about sound quality, etc. And what happens if you have internet connectivity issues?
I am interested in Grande, partly because our house is about 75 yards from their North Austin headquarters. It seemed like they didn’t have service in my zip code though (78727)! I’ll maybe give them a call.
I am using RoadRunner. I actually have the Timewarner cable/phone/roadrunner deal. I have had it for a year or so and really have no big complaints. It seems as if I need to call their customer service once a quarter or so, but each time they have fixed the problems promptly and at no charge. Not many outtage issues.
Honestly, I’ve never relied on VoIP, b/c I’ve never had it, except for the year when Skype was free. If I had it, and it failed in an emergency, there’s always my cell phone.