Getting DSL. Which provider? How much do I pay?

[ariellyn]

I talked with SBC who has a promotion for about $20 mo. but it goes up drastically and is part of a bundle including phone and digital cable service. Plus they want my firstborn child as a downpayment. :crazy:

I want to get internet phone service, hooked with wireless DSL (and digital cable too instead of my current dish setup.)

Any recommendations?

[hobbit709]

1. DSL

means having a phone line from the local phone company. Cable broadband doesn't need a local phone line. You can get internet phone service either way. It's a question of which setup is more cost effective to you. If you add up the cable bill, internet phone and wireless your probably looking at a good $150 a month total.
I have SBC-DSL with local phone service only for about $55 a month. My internet VOIP phone with unlimited long distance is about $30 a month (SBC long distance was costing me 60 a month-we make a lot of calls), and our Directv is about $45. The advantage is that I have 2 phone lines for less than what SBC would charge. That's here in Austin-I don't know what kind of deals you can get.

[ariellyn]

2. So I'm getting that there's not that much to save...thanks for the

response. I just read something at About.com as well, that says internet phone service is not as reliable, as it's susceptible to viruses, computer crashes, etc. They recommend it as a backup to landlines. Still mulling over the possibilities...

[bemildred]

3. A data point.

I use Earthlink/Mindspring (:puke:).
It's $40/month, seems fast and reliable, and their "support"
is largely useless, although their online documentation is
not bad. I took me quite a long time to diagnose and fix
issues related to my house wiring being noisy.

[RoyGBiv]

4. Soem cautions ...

Disclaimer : I'm in a business that competes with those who offer DSL service.

Counter to Disclaimer : I'm not trying to sell you anything, just letting you know what I know about DSL service.

It was already mentioned that DSL runs across a phone line, so you must have a landline phone service for it, making Internet phone service essentially useless. You can get a good deal for LD with it, but you could likely get a similar deal from your landline phone provider.

DSL service is still less reliable than cable broadband and tends to be slower as well, depending on the offerings of your local cable providers. The reasons are technical, so I won't go into them unless you ask. If you're wanting to hook up a wireless network (wireless DSL is nothing but a DSL modem connected to a wireless router), even with only one computer, this could cause you more problems than are average. The nature of those problems will be low speeds and keeping a stable connection. In addition, you have to have a filter on each of your phone jacks so that you can still use them for voice conversations.

Read the fine print: SBC requires you to sign a contract. If you break that contract for any reason whatsoever, you're going to pay huge sums of money. I've known of instances of SBC declaring a contract being broken because a person had a late payment or changed their service in some way.

SBC does not offer "digital cable" in most areas, which is what you said you want. What they offer in most locations is in fact television service through either DirecTV, Dish Network, or some other sattelite provider. They are starting to offer their own video service in some areas, and if yours is one, ignore what I said here. I don't know the quality of this service as I have not seen it first hand. Additionally, the fees for breaking the contract with these services are even more enormous than the fee for breaking a DSL contract. I've known of people who pay $150 *per room* for doing so. Again, read the fine print, twice.

[Lugnut]

5. I have cable broadband

My daughter has Verizon DSL. My internet service is faster and more reliable than her DSL. I pay $30 per month that is added to my cable bill. Her rate is based on the phone service package (caller ID, call waiting, domestic long distance calling plan, etc.) she has. I'm sure that all depends on the individual provider.

[KitchenWitch]

6. Something you may want to consider when choosing broadband phone

The local phone companies will not allow broadband phones access to 911. So you either need a cellphone, or an actual landline to access these services.

[Longhorn]

7. Internet Phones Given 911 Deadline

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/05/19/national/w080235D40.DTL

From a May 20 article:

Internet phone providers were ordered Thursday to begin supplying reliable 911 emergency call service after regulators heard an anguished Florida woman describe how she was unable to summon help to save her dying infant daughter.


The Federal Communication Commission gave companies 120 days to certify that their customers will be able to reach an emergency dispatcher when they call 911. Also, dispatchers must be able to tell where callers are located and the numbers from which they are calling.

(snip)

Roughly half the nation's estimated 1.5 million VoIP users are served by cable television companies that already provide full-blown 911 capabilities because they only offer phone service to a fixed location.

[Warpy]

8. Talk to them again

and tell them that you're just looking for DSL service. Of course, they'll want to sell you a cable package because the profit is higher, but although cable broadband is faster, theoretically it's easier to hack. DSL is plenty fast unless you're downloading pirated films.

I've had DSL through a land line telephone for about 3 years and I'm completely spoiled by it. The local promo started at $30 and now it's $44 plus tax, but I still consider that a bargain when I price DSL from other carriers.

My only problem was in the beginning, convincing them that YES, a woman could install her own damned internal DSL modem and I didn't need that $100 service call from one of their technicians, thanks very much.

The only problem you might face is that the phone lines in your area haven't been upgraded yet, and cable broadband may be the only option available. It's worth a try to get that DSL first, though.

[RoyGBiv]

9. Hacking ...

Why do you say cable broadband is theoretically easier to hack than, I presume, DSL?