I am interested in internet service only for my daughter in Tuscaloosa. Comcast has absolutely horrible ratings on Google, but their rates are cheaper. Does anybody have any comments on the quality or reliability of either service provider? I’m not planning on getting a bundle with TV or phone.
If you aren’t locked into a provider by your lease then check with Whitesky. They provide excellent service as a local company. If you choose Comcast, a bundle may be your best option even though you don’t want it. A student bundle is around $89 plus fees, but the student account has no monthly contract and may be cancelled at any time. Be aware of data limits if planning to use Apple TV or Netflix with your internet. The customer service stinks, but the service is okay usually.
http://www.whiteskycommunications.com/about.html
Xfinity (previously Comcast) is advertising 3M service @ $14.99, and 25M @ $24.99. AT&T can only do 3M @ $29.95. Which indicates to me that it’s a relatively long DSL loop for AT&T to her address, if they can’t go any faster than that.
Comcast has atrocious customer service, and in my experience their speeds are usually waaaaay under what’s advertised online. Are you locked into choosing one of those two providers? I’d say CenturyLink has been the best provider I have used as far as reliability and cost, if you are definitely interested in broadband.
You could also check out satellite internet, which can be faster than DSL sometimes depending on the area. Might be hard in a dorm-type setting because of all the concrete used in construction, but if she is living off-campus I’d look into it as another option.
There are two comparison sites that I’ve used that seem pretty accurate: http://www.bestsatelliteproviders.com/ and http://www.dslreports.com/gbu so maybe go there and see if you can get a better idea of which one would be right for your daughter.
Hope that helps!
For internet only, Comcast is cheaper and faster, albeit with notoriously bad customer service and, in some locations, less than stellar reliability. U-Verse TV outclasses Comcast’s service in every way, but that doesn’t do you much good if you only want internet.
I’d start with Comcast, but don’t sign a contract in case there’s a lot of downtime. When my parents had Comcast we lost internet at least every other week, but I have it now and haven’t had any issues with it.