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August 25, 2009 at 8:31 pm #592055
RebeccaMemberWe are new to Seattle and looking for a cable Internet provider for our apartment in the Junction. In Chicago, I paid $40/month for AT&T service. I welcome your suggestions – thank you!
August 25, 2009 at 8:59 pm #675553
christopherboffoliParticipantRebecca: Welcome to Seattle and, more specifically, to the West Seattle Junction!
With this being a modern, wired, high tech city I think you’ll be delighted with the vast array of options for blazingly fast, fiber-optic, high-speed Internet at ridiculously low cost. Because we live in a free market system, healthy competition between Internet companies keeps the prices competitive and leaves the consumer free to pick and choose among the best services.
Um, oops. I just remembered that we’re in Seattle and not Inchon, Korea. Let me revise…
Despite Seattle’s reputation as a modern, wired, high tech city, governmental incompetence along with extremely effective lobbying by the Telecoms has ensured that Seattle’s Internet options are stuck in the 90’s and that there is no real competition. You basically have to choose from a limited number of providers with their draconian rules and fee schedules. You’ll have to determine the lesser evil. Qwest and Comcast (DSL or cable) are basically the only games in town. While the past couple of years have seen the introduction of fiber-optic Internet out in the sticks, much of the fiber in Seattle (already in place) is still dark. (Is it too late for you to move to Enumclaw?)
I’m someone who frequently works with large image and video files. So fast Internet is important to me. I’ve had Qwest DSL at 7MBps (down) since I moved to Seattle. But I have had a revolving door of trouble with getting constantly kicked down to slower connections until I call and complain. So recently I made the move to Comcast to 20MBps service for the same price. This will be my first experience with Comcast and I’ve heard more negative feedback about them from friends and neighbors than positive. So it remains to be seen how that will go.
Qwest has been talking about a fiber optic rollout for ages now. But when it will actually be available remains to be seen. For some reason which only makes sense to those in government (and the corporate interests who finance their campaigns) Sprint’s FIOS service, available on the Eastside, is unavailable in Seattle.
I hope this info (despite its pithiness) is helpful to you in some way. Again, welcome!
August 26, 2009 at 1:25 am #675554
JayDeeParticipantI was researching DirectTV and they claim to offer real satellite Internet connections. Now I get confused how fast it is (1.5 MBps?), but it may be another option. I have Covad ADSL through Earthlink, and it works OK, but is not as fast as a Cable Modem.
And I agree with Christopher that we should be able to get Verizon FIOS service–It rocks and offers a choice. I am sure Mayor Mallahan will get right on it, after all he is a telecom expert. Comcast is evil and I will be ditching Cable for DirectTV satellite in the near future now that Comcast is stripping digital signals without a box and $130/month for HD.
August 26, 2009 at 1:44 am #675555
clark5080ParticipantJayDee
Maybe I am missing something but Comcast is going to charge $130 for HD? Where do you get this info?
Jim
August 26, 2009 at 1:57 am #675556
JayDeeParticipantWell, the research is 5 months old, but between what would be expanded basic (except with 150-200 HD channels), rental of the box ($6/month for box, $8/month for no box (back when it was optional), their version of a DVR and ignoring the temporary deals, this is what I calculated. When I got to the part where the were going to charge me more rental to not get a box, I hit cancel.
My last foray into Direct TV suggests that I can get a similar package for $75 after the temporary deals expire.
Not being an accountant, maybe I missed something.
August 26, 2009 at 4:43 am #675557
RebeccaMemberThank you for the welcome and the overview of the surprisingly bleak situation here regarding connecting to the Interwebs. I’ve also heard horror stories about Comcast, so I was hoping to avoid them, but maybe this will not be the case. Grr. But, again, thanks!
August 26, 2009 at 4:57 am #675558
christopherboffoliParticipantI decided to stay away from the Comcast cable TV service altogether. By dumping both my Qwest DSL and landline and going to Comcast high-speed internet and digital voice I’m actually getting significantly faster Internet speeds for less than I was paying before. I get all of my TV and movies over the Intertubes anyway, a la carte, downloaded to either my Mac or to directly to my AppleTV. And the content can be moved freely between them and other devices, giving me the option of watching TV and movies on on my computer, on my HD television, on my iPhone or iPod. I find that most of cable TV is either cack or commercials anyway. This system works well for me.
August 26, 2009 at 3:10 pm #675559
dhgParticipantSpeakeasy w/Covad provides service. You can also get a split system where Qwest provides the DSL part and a 3rd party (such as drizzle) provides the ISP part.
August 26, 2009 at 3:42 pm #675560
KenParticipantthe content can be moved freely between them and other devices
… as long those devices have the word Apple in their name.
:)
If your budget is not a limiting factor, there are pros and cons for each system.
Comcast, the company and it’s support structure and billing dept. are evil.
The internet service is quite speedy and while outages are silent and phone calls will be answered by sullen drones from a variety of countries the are relatively rare and usually regional rather than just you. (I have an unopened donated cable modem for qualified distressed citizens) The peering and network structure are sound and administered by pros you will never ever be allowed to talk to.
Qwest dsl is not much better for support but you can still get lucky and get bumped to someone who knows the difference between a blocked port and and a firewall.
The service goes down occasionally but there is usually a recording on the repair number that tells you if you are in the down area.
From the timing of the last few, scheduled down time is not announced but takes place on the hour and is usually on weekends.
At least Qwest will allow you to choose from multiple ISP’s, some of which can set up transparent bridging on their end so you can make qwest just a network provider and they will otherwise leave you alone.
While dsl service is limited by how far you are from the central office, most of the copper in WS has now been upgraded to eliminate long electrical length.
Satellite internet should be your last choice though Dish and direct can be a good choice for tv.
FIOS is still a dream unfulfilled unless you buy a house in the eastern burbs both north and south where they are being built with it included.
If you work nationwide and fly a lot, sprint and verizon have pc cards for the EVDO network using cell towers and fiber.
http://www.sprint.com/business/products/products/map.jsp?map=Seattle_WA&mrkt=Seattle,%20Wa
The cost is a downside unless you can justify and expense it through work. There are limits on speed and surcharges on amount of transfer depending on plan.
For sheer bandwidth, you still have a tough time beating fedex overnight with a stack of DVD’s
:)
August 26, 2009 at 4:48 pm #675561
SueParticipantKen, I know this isn’t cable internet, but do you know how Clearwire compares in terms of service reliability, customer service and tech help? We’ve got comcast now and were considering Clearwire. They’re all hard to compare though, when you have so may pros and cons for each company.
August 26, 2009 at 5:36 pm #675562
KenParticipantI have not used Clearwire. I have worked on a few installations but that mainly consisted in making sure the receiver is best positioned to get signal.
Some have complained of slow on here but that can be objective as well as dependent on how close your house is to the nearest antenna.
It all depends on how you use the net.
I have pretty much a naked DSL with one of my former employers as the ISP. I pay 5.99 a month for ISP and the lowest price speed available from Qwest for the basic.
However I get 5 ips as well as a /27 range (28 usable ip’s) at no extra charge.
This is considered slow by those who want to download movies while they make popcorn, but I have several servers and about a dozen computers using the link at any one time as well as bridging to other houses in the neighborhood via wireless routers and repeaters.
Every other isp or service combination would prohibit my freedom to network or feel they could charge me an arm and a leg to use my own equipment to it’s fullest and still not increase my upstream speeds.
So each situation is unique. Call me if you want to discuss specifics of your needs and I can make suggestions.
Google voice 206-801-0349 rings every phone I own.
:)
August 27, 2009 at 1:27 am #675563
christopherboffoliParticipantKen: I prefer that those devices have Apple in their names. That they do suggests that a lot of thought has gone into the user experience. However, you’re not completely correct. I get plenty of content from non-Apple sources in other formats that I can easily watch with VLC or convert (with free software) to watch on the AppleTV.
September 2, 2009 at 10:58 am #675564
kamranistanMemberSTAY AWAY FROM CLEARWIRE.
I had them and you are stuck with a 1 year contract for about 45.00 a month. Its not even worth it, the internet is strikingly slow. Not to mention the internet ‘bars’ never get past the 2nd or 3rd bar on a modem that has ‘5 bars’ which indicate the signal strength. Don’t Do It. I don’t know about the rest. I still don’t know who to go with . Comcast just gets way too expensive after their promos expire.
September 2, 2009 at 9:00 pm #675565
KevinParticipantMy wife and I have had Comcast from the day we moved to West Seattle 11 years ago.
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Some folks may remember that West Seattle was a test market when broadband first arrived introduced in Seattle.
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There have been occasional bumps in the road along the way, but overall Comcast continues to get better and better with each passing year.
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Now days we even have our telephone service with them. I don’t feel that Comcast is any more prone to issues than other carriers.
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Comcast has ALWAYS been very good at resolving service issues – usually by the next day at the latest if they have to send someone out.
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Their customer service is excellent, and most issues are usually handled on the first call. They have also been very good about crediting my account when occasional service interruptions occur, even when they have not been down for a whole day.
September 3, 2009 at 1:27 am #675566
johnnyblegsMemberDO NOT USE CLEARWIRE.
I was in the middle of my contract when we replaced our windows with more energy efficient double panes. The signal would not go through the double panes, it couldn’t and we were told it wasn’t designed to. The signal wasn’t a problem with our window open though. Customer service told us to just leave the window open for service. As you know, that’s ridiculous when it’s winter. It took a while but we got out of the contract without penalty.
Now we use Qwest. Not great but the best for the money. Qwest is owned by Verizon. Our bill is therefore bundled and discounted because of that.
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