DSL/Cable provider in Boston area

[el3ktro]

Hi guys,
I'm looking forward to moving to Boston or Cambridge for one year in a few weeks, working at the US branch office of my company. I'll have to look for my own apartment and I'll definitely need a DSL or Cable connection. Since I have no idea of the American DSL/Cable market, I'd like to ask you which provider you can recommend. I'm doing a lot of stuff online, so I'd love to have at least 10 MBit/s, if possible faster. I don't know how expensive that is in the US though and which providers are reliable and have good service.

I'll appreciate any tips & hints!

Thanks,
Tom

[DJ_Peng]

We used to have Verizon DSL but the customer service was so horrid that we switched to Comcast for cable 'net a couple of years ago. We have phone, cable and 'net with Comcast and we're pretty happy with them. (We're actually in Malden, but Comcast is in Boston itself, as well as in Cambridge.)

[el3ktro]

Hi,

hm Comcast looks good but it seems very pricy, $42 for just 6 MBit/s is REALLY expensive, or is this a normal price range for the US? (As I said I really don't know the US DSL/Cable market). They also seem to not offer more than 8 MBit/s, I hoped I could get at least 10 MBit/s. But thanks for the tip, I'll have a closer look at them!

[markbuntu]

Verizon offers FIOS (Fiber Optic Internet Service) now in almost the entire Boston area. You can get packages from Verizon or Comcast or whatever cable operator for phone and internet and tv for about $100/month. FIOS is blazing fast and no download limit. Comcast has just initiated a download limit. I think it is 4GB a month.

[el3ktro]

Verizon offers FIOS (Fiber Optic Internet Service) now in almost the entire Boston area. You can get packages from Verizon or Comcast or whatever cable operator for phone and internet and tv for about $100/month. FIOS is blazing fast and no download limit. Comcast has just initiated a download limit. I think it is 4GB a month.

Sounds interesting, I couldn't find any info on the Verizon homepage though. Can you tell me how fast this actually is? Or do you have a direct link?

Thanks,
Tom

[mips]

Hi,

hm Comcast looks good but it seems very pricy, $42 for just 6 MBit/s is REALLY expensive, or is this a normal price range for the US?

I don't live there but the price seems about right. Never noticed how those in the USA moan about the slow speeds & hight prices?

[mips]

Can you tell me how fast this actually is? Or do you have a direct link?


10-50Mb/s down, 2-20Mb/s up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FiOS
http://www22.verizon.com/Content/ConsumerFiOS/

[el3ktro]

@mips: No I've never heard anyone moaning about high prices, but now I do understand why they do it :-) This is freaking expensive! Just for comparison: NetCologne, the local provider for my home town Cologne offers optical fiber connections with 100 MBit/s for $50! I guess I'll opt for a DSL line then, the prices for that are alright, although they're not that fast.

Thanks for all your answers!

Tom

[mips]

@mips: No I've never heard anyone moaning about high prices, but now I do understand why they do it :-) This is freaking expensive! Just for comparison: NetCologne, the local provider for my home town Cologne offers optical fiber connections with 100 MBit/s for $50! I guess I'll opt for a DSL line then, the prices for that are alright, although they're not that fast.

Thanks for all your answers!

Tom

Be grateful you are not coming to live in South Africa then. Over here we are way more backward. We only have 384kb/s, 512kb/s & 4Mb/s second dsl lines from one provider, you can pick a different ISP but that is a farce as they all get their bandwidth from two places. My 384kb/s dsl with 3GB monthly cap costs about 25euros a month!!!, That is what I would call expensive ;)