Bad Internet Connections

As most know I have a wife son and daughter + a Daughter to be and my self all using the internet here. They are all wanabe Bill gates,s so usage is high.

We have Itt which in my opinion is the biggest rip off artists in the land. my net goes down at least 5/6 times a month some times for days. no kiss my a** just a "we'll get to it as soon as we can". this time it was down for 3 days over a week end.

I pay well over 200/ 250 a month for it and the phone, can any one help. there has to be a better way.

Ouch! That's terrible? Do you live in a remote area? Out here in Wyoming, I know a few people that receive Internet through Dish Network or Hughes. They don't seem to complain about it to me (I repair computers as my "day job"), and I know that they aren't paying that much!

I can't believe that you're paying $250/month for Internet. Something has to be going on there! Ours is less than $60/Month.

I have to be missing something.... I hope!

Ever thought of switching over to Verizon Fios? I pay $144/mo for 75/35 fiber, 200+ cable channels, and phone service. It might be a bit cheaper for you as we added a dvr and a couple of other things. Net speed for me personally is a bit faster pushing 85/40, but my desktop's right on the Verizon supplied wireless router. They also had to come in and set up the fiber-optic converter in the basement(they could've wired it upstairs but the installer thought it was best to put it there as the Time Warner hole is already there and didn't see the need to drill any un-necessary holes, yet I ended up drilling a hole for the phone cord).

Currently we have my computer, my wife's laptop(that became a desktop; long story), my step-brother's desktop, and two Xbox 360s running almost all the time and have had no problems with the net. I've stressed the connection as much as I could and it took it all. asking for more. Even before moving to TN we had Fios 50/25 and was able to handle whatever we threw at it and then some so the service is reliable. The stb/dvr's always updating itself and even if you don't have a smart TV, Fios has widgets that makes the service act like a smart TV. When I first moved in here in 2010 we'd have my computer and my wife's laptop hooked up and one of us would loose net. If I lost net, my wife had it and when I got net back, she'd loose it. It was time to change. Time Warner use to service this area of Galeville but doesn't anymore because they lost it to Verizon.

Wow that was more then I wanted to explain(it was simple in my mind)
-Matt

85 Down? Wow! At work, I only pay for the 20/5 plan, and it's way more than enough for me!

If you can get 85 Down for less than $150/month, that sounds a lot better than what OldDude has.

Any idea why his costs so much? Taxes? Rural area (We don't have that problem here, but you never know),...?

matador: "I'm confused!"

That is for both tell and internet. (you think thats bad, you should see my other utility bills. they are higher then my brothers 4 story house with basement in Omaha). all 5 cell phones are on a different system. im 30 miles from panama city on the main hwy. Verizon sucks here and fiber isn't available yet. I have thought of satellite but we get a lot of rain here. any other options ?

I live on a sandbar.

I have Hurricanes.

I had DSL, and DirectTv at one point.

I only lost internet in one storm. It made me sad.

Never lost tv tho!

Late night infomericals in the middle of a hurricane..FTW!

YMMV.

Look I'm such a recycler..I recycle quotes when the thread calls for it...

Sirscrapalot - A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing. - Emo Philips

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Originally Posted by olddude

That is for both tell and internet. (you think thats bad, you should see my other utility bills. they are higher then my brothers 4 story house with basement in Omaha). all 5 cell phones are on a different system. im 30 miles from panama city on the main hwy. Verizon sucks here and fiber isn't available yet. I have thought of satellite but we get a lot of rain here. any other options ?

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You could do the NO rain dance then satellite may be a viable option

I use verizon for dsl and phone (and my wireless), but I seethe hatred for them. Their service is very good but their customer relations is lousy. Their representatives will lie right to your face. If you do have a problem, they will let you know they will have someone out to work on your problem on April. "What time?" you will ask. They will tell you "April, make sure you are there or the next available date will be March". I went in for new cellphones and a new 2 YEAR CONTRACT because I wanted the new advertised lower rates for phone/text/data and specifically asked what I could expect my bill to be. I was told around $90, but a month later my bill was $232... I asked why and was told itwas equipment upgrade, transfer charges, blah blah blah., next month would be the bill I would expect. OK, I understand. Next month, $160... Why? "Well, you have to pay for the free phones we give you... You should have not been told $90.... sorry, nothing we can do. It has been 2 months and you have a contract."

Hey Olddude.... I feel your pain about the service here. I can tell you that Hughes satellite is ok, better than dialup but not fast. You're right about satellite going out when it rains, or is cloudy, or a bird flies over..... I have Centurylink on the phone lines and it's faster but it has close to the same problem you have, not down for days at a time, just very slow (I mean 20 minutes to open an email because it has one picture slow). Then it will perk back up to normal for no reason and be fine for close to a week. I really think the problem is the phone lines themselves.

I've considered using one cell phone on 4G as a mobile hotspot and link everything in the house to it but my 4G service isn't the best here either. Yours may be better closer to PC (I'm not sure how 4G is delivered). That might be an option for you.

I like my Centurylink for 14.95 a mo. When my service went down (which is almost never) I had a repairman here next day, he says the router went dead, time for the new and improved router. Faster, and automatic password protected. Didn't cost a dime for repair as we pay an extra $1 a mo for inside insurance, which means anything hooked to their box outside and coming into the house is covered. Does not matter even if it's a cat 5 cord. No charge. I'll go a month at a time with no down time.

Thanks every one.

Centurylink here as well...no major complaints or outages. About $80 mo for DSL and Landline.

Direct TV net might be your best bet. When we were in TN we had Wildblue net via satellite. During the day they metered it, after midnight it was open. Quality was still like Time Warner: more then one pc and there goes your net. DSL might be a way to go also. Wheen I was living in FL I worked for a guy who used Bellsouth DSL for his computers and never had an issue. He had maybe 10-12 pcs running at once? Just passing some more thoughts around the table.

lol I got tired of paying for internet and cable and since there is free wifi everywhere I just use it all from having coffee or my other job and download other stuff to watch at home but mainly cause cable is the fastest around here were I live and its to high and goes out all the time so I got rid of it but another company is coming close to having lines by me so I will see about theres in the future

Old,

You might try checking around to see if your area is covered by a small wireless internet service provider. It might be an alternate for you.

Thats what I have right now...$45/mo for 4Mbps down and up from a small outfit. Works OK and local service.

The choices around here are few: dialup and satellite. Oh, and data service through a cell phone (4G?) I had to use this "cell phone internet" for a few months when I was out on a contract job. Pretty costly but the speed was OK. With your household full of data chewers you would have to step up your scrap buz to pay for the cell service!!


Jon.

Check out AT&T's current U-verse "specials" (tv and dsl) Good luck.

Olddude Depending on your cell plan and if you have a smart phone. But you can turn your cell phone into a Hotspot, and allow only YOU to attach to it. I do it all the time, when I'm out for work and need access via laptop. By the way will be on vacation in Panama City Beach in late June. Love it down there. Shell island is a great place. We rent a boat every year and take it there

Just put a coin slot on the kids devices. Make them pay for Internet! :D

As much as I hate AT&T, uVerse might be the best option.