Hey all,
I’m moving back to New York for the summer, and my roommate-to-be has tasked me with doing some research on DSL and cable modem providers to find the best overall deal. Any of you charming, intelligent New Yorkers want to help me out?
cnet has a section where they rate isp’s in an area.
also if he is going with entry level dsl then IMHO the only real choice is verizon - others will just repackage the exact same service. verizon still provides it. you have a problem you will have to call your isp who will call verizon to fix it.
in general cable will give you faster speeds (apx 4x faster), dsl used to give you dialup backup which was it’s big plus against cable but IIRC they charge new subscribers for this now.
you can get $5/month off if you have certain calling packages
cheak out http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=115167
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For reviews and to find service in a given area, try DSLReports. They’re pretty comprehensive as far as I’ve been able to see. Additionally, you can find the reports from users to get a decent range from the geeks who tweak their whole house to get the last kbps to the normal people who plug and go.
I have been more than satisfied with Time Warner Cable’s RoadRunner service. The disadvantage is that by the time you add a decent cable package (the usual cable channels, no Showtime or HBO), RoadRunner, and taxes, you end up at about $92/mo.
I have been most reluctant to try DSL. Verizon established such an awful reputation early on (and you have to deal with Verizon regardless of who the ostensible DSL ISP is) that I still wouldn’t touch it.
I got Verizon DSL up and running with no (Verizon) problems. I recently double-checked to see if I could get it cheaper with a third-party provider or Road Runner and the answer was no. It’s more expensive now than when I signed up, but I haven’t gotten the “We’re raising your rates notice” and my price hasn’t gone up, so I guess I’m currently grandfathered in.