Author Topic: Best price for fast Internet  (Read 7680 times)

almc

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Best price for fast Internet
« on: February 22, 2018, 10:55:42 AM »
 What is everyone paying for Internet? I work from home so it needs to be fast. Cox is the only real option I know of in my area, and their rate is $89/mo without any of their crazy cable and phone bundles.  👎   I'm trying to find a better option!

ketchup

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2018, 11:02:04 AM »
I pay $70/mo for 1000mbps down / 250mbps up fiber-to-the-home internet access from a regional provider. 

Other options in my area are Comcast cable internet ($25 for 25mbps, $50 for 100mbps, 300mbps for $100, 1000mbps for $140, and 2000mbps for $300, all current bullshit 1yr intro rates) and AT&T DSL ($40/mo for 50mbps).

Comcast rates were much shittier and AT&T DSL service was only 20mbps until last year when the fiber provider moved in and rolled out their network.  Competition, it works.

Eric

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2018, 11:06:16 AM »
Knowing what the rest of us pay isn't going to help you if you don't have competition in your area.  Maybe try one of these sites to see what your options are?

https://broadbandnow.com/

https://www.inmyarea.com/internet

EmFrugal

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2018, 11:15:41 AM »
Knowing what the rest of us pay isn't going to help you if you don't have competition in your area.  Maybe try one of these sites to see what your options are?

https://broadbandnow.com/

https://www.inmyarea.com/internet

Agree with Eric. I just went down this path because we are paying $89 for Cox high speed as well (no other services included). Our only other competitor is Verizon and feedback was negative from neighbors who have tried it. So, we are sticking with Cox. I also tried to negotiate our rate but that failed miserably. I feel better paying $89 knowing that there truly isn't another option for us (for now).

NoVa

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #4 on: February 22, 2018, 11:44:51 AM »
Knowing your area is everything. Just went through this last year, had been doing Cox cable for more than 10 years, 5/50. They normally would discount a bit, this time they absolutely refused to budge off the ever-increasing bill, now $64.99 a month. I got internet only through Verizon FIOS, 50/50, no renting of the modem (got my own off EBay), free installation, $39.99 first year, $49.99 second year, no commitment/contract. But those are the only two providers in my zip code.

JLee

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2018, 11:45:44 AM »
It depends dramatically where you are.  Gigabit fiber is $80/mo in northern NJ.

Ozymandiaz

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2018, 02:02:17 PM »
What is everyone paying for Internet? I work from home so it needs to be fast. Cox is the only real option I know of in my area, and their rate is $89/mo without any of their crazy cable and phone bundles.  👎   I'm trying to find a better option!
What cox internet level are you paying for? I'm guessing you are on their mid or upper level plan, which is probably unnecessary. We have Cox cable internet (internet only, no tv) and "downgraded" to their *starter level*, even though the cox agent said it would be way too slow. The starter speed is "only" 5mbps I think, unlike the higher speed packages, but it's plenty fast for everything we do, including streaming netflix. We pay $42.99 for the starter level, while my neighbor across the street is paying about $90 because he thinks he needs the "better" package. If you're on a higher package (which based on your rate of $89 you must be unless you're getting tv too), I'd suggest you downgrade to the lowest level and see what you think. I'll bet you never even notice the difference, except in your monthly bill. By the way, the same thing applies to cellular service... if you're paying AT&T or Verizon, you're very likely overpaying! I'd suggest checking out a provider like Tello (as long as Sprint coverage works for you, since Tello uses Sprint), or any other cheap MVNO. The big four providers are way overcharging people. Unfortunately Cox has a monopoly on the cable internet for the market it services, but you can still go to a "slower" package since the super high speeds really aren't needed for regular household use. Good luck!
« Last Edit: February 26, 2018, 12:38:25 PM by Ozymandiaz »

inline five

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2018, 02:17:30 PM »
Earthlink resells internet in a lot of places. I'm on their billing program, it's $42, compared to the company they subcontract out from which is $65 for 50/5 service.

NorthernBlitz

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2018, 03:09:55 PM »
Earthlink resells internet in a lot of places. I'm on their billing program, it's $42, compared to the company they subcontract out from which is $65 for 50/5 service.

This is pretty much the same as us. We have a TW reseller. I think that we were a bit below $40 before TW became Spectrum and a bit more than $40 after they were making "improvements to the service" or whatever.

We have always went with the slowest speed available. We have found that internet speed is mostly a marketing thing. The biggest difference when we moved from Canada (at about 8 MBPS) to the US (at ~ 25 MBPS) was that the US signal (Time Warner) was far less stable. That sucked because it was the most expensive internet I'd ever had and it was the least consistent.

Were pretty low internet users. At most we have 2-3 instances of Netflix open.

My understanding is that an HD Netflix stream pulls down about 3 GB/hour. Unless my math is off, that's 0.833 MB/s. Spectrum's website now says that speeds start at 100 MBPS. I'd much rather pay less to 10-15 MBPS. But, they can increase my cost and say that they are "improving service" if they crank up the max speed (which I'm basically never going to use).

nemesis

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2018, 03:11:59 PM »
I also work from home. I get 100% reimbursement on my home internet.  If you don't get reimbursed can you write it off?

I wouldn't go cheap on internet, since I work remotely.

Clever Name

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #10 on: February 23, 2018, 06:33:17 AM »
Were pretty low internet users. At most we have 2-3 instances of Netflix open.

My understanding is that an HD Netflix stream pulls down about 3 GB/hour. Unless my math is off, that's 0.833 MB/s. Spectrum's website now says that speeds start at 100 MBPS. I'd much rather pay less to 10-15 MBPS. But, they can increase my cost and say that they are "improving service" if they crank up the max speed (which I'm basically never going to use).

Your math is fine but your units are off. Spectrum starts at 100 mbps, which is not the same as 100 MB/s. MB is a megaBYTE, which is 8 megaBITs, so Spectrum's starting speed is about 12 MB/s. Still more than you need for Netflix, but not by as huge a margin as you thought.

Anyway, for people who work from home there is definitely a legitimate reason for going with the higher speed tiers. For one thing, upload speed is usually a smallish fraction of your download speed, and is critically important if you have a job that involves a lot of video conferencing and/or large file transfers. My job in particular also routinely requires downloads of several gigabytes or more, which take way too long on a slower connection. Fast internet is a huge productivity boost.

NorthernBlitz

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #11 on: February 23, 2018, 07:56:33 AM »
Were pretty low internet users. At most we have 2-3 instances of Netflix open.

My understanding is that an HD Netflix stream pulls down about 3 GB/hour. Unless my math is off, that's 0.833 MB/s. Spectrum's website now says that speeds start at 100 MBPS. I'd much rather pay less to 10-15 MBPS. But, they can increase my cost and say that they are "improving service" if they crank up the max speed (which I'm basically never going to use).

Your math is fine but your units are off. Spectrum starts at 100 mbps, which is not the same as 100 MB/s. MB is a megaBYTE, which is 8 megaBITs, so Spectrum's starting speed is about 12 MB/s. Still more than you need for Netflix, but not by as huge a margin as you thought.

Anyway, for people who work from home there is definitely a legitimate reason for going with the higher speed tiers. For one thing, upload speed is usually a smallish fraction of your download speed, and is critically important if you have a job that involves a lot of video conferencing and/or large file transfers. My job in particular also routinely requires downloads of several gigabytes or more, which take way too long on a slower connection. Fast internet is a huge productivity boost.

Thanks for the correction...I'm just a mechanical engineer and these electrical things often confuse me!

I agree that spending more for upload speeds can be the bottleneck depending on your use case.

But, I think that the average internet user gets seduced by the speed of their connection despite the fact that they never use it.

ketchup

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #12 on: February 23, 2018, 10:02:57 AM »
Anyway, for people who work from home there is definitely a legitimate reason for going with the higher speed tiers. For one thing, upload speed is usually a smallish fraction of your download speed, and is critically important if you have a job that involves a lot of video conferencing and/or large file transfers. My job in particular also routinely requires downloads of several gigabytes or more, which take way too long on a slower connection. Fast internet is a huge productivity boost.
Absolutely this.  I find it frustrating as hell that my home line is 250mbps up but at work our upstream bandwidth is only 30mbps.  And they pay way more than I do at home, and have far more frequent outages. <_<

swampwiz

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #13 on: February 23, 2018, 11:49:12 AM »
In my little hamlet in the USA, my only option had been AT&T, which was semi-decent 768K, but at the ridiculous price of $50/month, and with AT&T's horrific customer service.  However, as I am "low income", I am able to get internet service at $40/3-month at pcsforpeople.com, which uses the Sprint mobile hotspot.  At times the speed was a bit slow (I like to pirate stream sporting events), but I think that it's just going through teething pains and will eventually get better.

I also spend a lot of time abroad in Eastern Europe and I typically pay about $7/mo for 100MB service.

Livingthedream55

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #14 on: February 28, 2018, 11:23:34 AM »
The only thing that ever works for me is to change providers every year or two (getting the new customer incentive.) Right now Verizon FIOS is offering 100 Mbps for $39.99 /mo for 1 yr. Plus taxes, equip. charges & other fees. After 1 yr. it will go up to $49.99 plus fees.


FamilyGuy

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #15 on: March 01, 2018, 11:45:57 AM »
I'm paying $44 after tax with Time Warner. We do a lot of streaming and I work from home at least 1 day per week.
(No games though).

ketchup

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #16 on: March 01, 2018, 11:54:11 AM »
Knowing what the rest of us pay isn't going to help you if you don't have competition in your area.  Maybe try one of these sites to see what your options are?

https://broadbandnow.com/

https://www.inmyarea.com/internet
FYI this info can be out of date.  My fiber provider rolled out last year in my area and is not listed on either resource.

NorthernBlitz

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #17 on: March 01, 2018, 02:43:02 PM »
The only thing that ever works for me is to change providers every year or two (getting the new customer incentive.) Right now Verizon FIOS is offering 100 Mbps for $39.99 /mo for 1 yr. Plus taxes, equip. charges & other fees. After 1 yr. it will go up to $49.99 plus fees.

When Fiber Optic services were new, I had heard that they physically cut the cable connection to your house and that it very expensive to go back to cable.

I don't know if that's true (it seems drastic), but I'd still double check if I was installing Fiber internet. Otherwise, I might limit my ability to change every few years to get the promotional rate.

katsiki

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #18 on: March 01, 2018, 02:52:43 PM »
For anyone in AT&T land, check out toast.net.  It was recommended by Daley in another thread.  I have been using them for about 6 months.  They resell ATT (business dsl) to consumers and businesses.  Great pricing, installed and maintained by ATT.  I think they also offer other providers in other parts of the country.

If anyone wants a referral, send me a PM.  I think we both save 5-10 bucks if so.

ketchup

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #19 on: March 01, 2018, 02:54:04 PM »
The only thing that ever works for me is to change providers every year or two (getting the new customer incentive.) Right now Verizon FIOS is offering 100 Mbps for $39.99 /mo for 1 yr. Plus taxes, equip. charges & other fees. After 1 yr. it will go up to $49.99 plus fees.

When Fiber Optic services were new, I had heard that they physically cut the cable connection to your house and that it very expensive to go back to cable.

I don't know if that's true (it seems drastic), but I'd still double check if I was installing Fiber internet. Otherwise, I might limit my ability to change every few years to get the promotional rate.
I can confirm that no such thing happens.  I still have both a fiber line and cable line running to my house.  I could switch back to Comcast if I wanted without installation.  One of these days, I'll remove the cable line myself.  It's ugly.

NorthernBlitz

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #20 on: March 02, 2018, 07:38:51 AM »
The only thing that ever works for me is to change providers every year or two (getting the new customer incentive.) Right now Verizon FIOS is offering 100 Mbps for $39.99 /mo for 1 yr. Plus taxes, equip. charges & other fees. After 1 yr. it will go up to $49.99 plus fees.

When Fiber Optic services were new, I had heard that they physically cut the cable connection to your house and that it very expensive to go back to cable.

I don't know if that's true (it seems drastic), but I'd still double check if I was installing Fiber internet. Otherwise, I might limit my ability to change every few years to get the promotional rate.
I can confirm that no such thing happens.  I still have both a fiber line and cable line running to my house.  I could switch back to Comcast if I wanted without installation.  One of these days, I'll remove the cable line myself.  It's ugly.

That's good news! I thought that it seemed a bit over the top..

vivian

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #21 on: March 02, 2018, 08:23:37 AM »
I will politely challenge the idea that you need “fast” internet just because you work from home. I frequently work from home, often when someone else in the house is streaming Netflix. We have the “slow” $25 plan from Comcast and it works fine. I would try whatever cheap plan is in your area, then move up only if it doesn’t meet your needs.


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ketchup

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #22 on: March 02, 2018, 08:31:57 AM »
I will politely challenge the idea that you need “fast” internet just because you work from home. I frequently work from home, often when someone else in the house is streaming Netflix. We have the “slow” $25 plan from Comcast and it works fine. I would try whatever cheap plan is in your area, then move up only if it doesn’t meet your needs.


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The OP didn't say exactly what his use case is, but plans can be very asymmetrical and upload speed tends to matter for remote work.  I've heard of such awful plans offer 50mbps down and a pathetic 0.5mbps up in some areas.  Sometimes you need the top-tier plan just to get a reasonable upload speed.  I'm not saying it's wrong to challenge that assumption, but more info is needed.

CoffeeAndDonuts

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #23 on: March 02, 2018, 10:27:26 AM »
$34.95/mo for 50mbps up and 50mbps down on fiber in S. Minneapolis. Excellent reliability.

I'd go slower if they offered slower but am darn happy with this and think the use case for needing more is pretty rare.

One call and can bump up to as high 2.5Gbps. I have no idea what the use case is for anything beyond about 250Mbps for a household but it's neat that I could do it if I wanted to.

In our prior home, I got frustrated with Cox cable's unreliability for VOIP and dropped it out of spite and lived with 6Mbps/768Kbps AT&T for quite a while. That worked surprisingly well for what it was. That said, it was nearly a total failure when asked to simultaneously support VOIP calling and web conferencing software. Upload speed matters a lot in real-time communications scenarios.

As others have said, the use case matters a lot and unfortunately you usually don't have much in the way of choice.

Minneapolis's internet options are great and very competitive though ranging from Mpls Public Wifi at $15/mo (annual plan) on up to substantial coverage by Centurylink or USI with Fiber plus the usual comcast options.

jinga nation

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #24 on: March 02, 2018, 01:07:50 PM »
Frontier FiOS 100/100 Mbps for $30/month for a year. This was a cyber Monday deal. For an additional $10 could have got 150/150 but didn't need it. Had to pay one-time installation fee of $75 and equipment fee of $10.

ketchup

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #25 on: March 02, 2018, 01:19:32 PM »
Frontier FiOS 100/100 Mbps for $30/month for a year. This was a cyber Monday deal. For an additional $10 could have got 150/150 but didn't need it. Had to pay one-time installation fee of $75 and equipment fee of $10.
Holy crap, that's the best price/speed junction I've ever seen for a US internet connection, and symmetrical too.  Damn.
« Last Edit: March 02, 2018, 01:21:05 PM by ketchup »

JLee

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #26 on: March 05, 2018, 11:21:49 PM »
Frontier FiOS 100/100 Mbps for $30/month for a year. This was a cyber Monday deal. For an additional $10 could have got 150/150 but didn't need it. Had to pay one-time installation fee of $75 and equipment fee of $10.
Holy crap, that's the best price/speed junction I've ever seen for a US internet connection, and symmetrical too.  Damn.

Google Fiber is 1000/1000 at $70/mo, I believe. 

$30 for 100/100 is super cheap, though. Verizon FiOS is $40 for 100/100 and $80 for gigabit (roughly 880-940 symmetrical actual).

jim555

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #27 on: March 06, 2018, 03:48:23 AM »
The first year for a new subscriber is $40 100/100.  You need to bounce between providers so you are always "new" or the price goes way up.

ketchup

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #28 on: March 06, 2018, 08:22:38 AM »
Frontier FiOS 100/100 Mbps for $30/month for a year. This was a cyber Monday deal. For an additional $10 could have got 150/150 but didn't need it. Had to pay one-time installation fee of $75 and equipment fee of $10.
Holy crap, that's the best price/speed junction I've ever seen for a US internet connection, and symmetrical too.  Damn.

Google Fiber is 1000/1000 at $70/mo, I believe. 

$30 for 100/100 is super cheap, though. Verizon FiOS is $40 for 100/100 and $80 for gigabit (roughly 880-940 symmetrical actual).
Yeah, I was aware of Google Fiber symmetrical at $70, and that's what I pay for 1000/250, but even the cheaper option (100/50 I believe) from my fiber ISP is $50/mo.  I've never heard of 100 up for $30/mo in the US, even on a promo.

GrumpyPenguin

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #29 on: March 06, 2018, 01:19:57 PM »
I just negotiated 200/10 mbps down/up for $35/month with Comcast for a year.  Speed increases announced today will increase that to 250 mbps for the same price.  It's typically overprovisioned in my area so it will probably speed test around 300 mbps down. I really do get these speeds as long as I'm using wired-ethernet.  Wifi is so saturated in my area.

The only way to maintain these decent prices though is to have at least two options and be ready and willing to change every single year. It's a pain.

JLee

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #30 on: March 06, 2018, 04:42:45 PM »
I just negotiated 200/10 mbps down/up for $35/month with Comcast for a year.  Speed increases announced today will increase that to 250 mbps for the same price.  It's typically overprovisioned in my area so it will probably speed test around 300 mbps down. I really do get these speeds as long as I'm using wired-ethernet.  Wifi is so saturated in my area.

The only way to maintain these decent prices though is to have at least two options and be ready and willing to change every single year. It's a pain.

Switch to 5Ghz -- it doesn't penetrate walls nearly as much as 2.4Ghz does, and there's more bandwidth/frequency space available.

ketchup

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #31 on: March 06, 2018, 08:11:49 PM »
I just negotiated 200/10 mbps down/up for $35/month with Comcast for a year.  Speed increases announced today will increase that to 250 mbps for the same price.  It's typically overprovisioned in my area so it will probably speed test around 300 mbps down. I really do get these speeds as long as I'm using wired-ethernet.  Wifi is so saturated in my area.

The only way to maintain these decent prices though is to have at least two options and be ready and willing to change every single year. It's a pain.

Switch to 5Ghz -- it doesn't penetrate walls nearly as much as 2.4Ghz does, and there's more bandwidth/frequency space available.
+1. I’m using 5Ghz now and able to hit 400/250 with it on a speed test. (actual wired connection is 1000/250). 2.4Ghz is something lame like 50mbps for me.

GrumpyPenguin

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #32 on: March 07, 2018, 07:24:44 AM »
I just negotiated 200/10 mbps down/up for $35/month with Comcast for a year.  Speed increases announced today will increase that to 250 mbps for the same price.  It's typically overprovisioned in my area so it will probably speed test around 300 mbps down. I really do get these speeds as long as I'm using wired-ethernet.  Wifi is so saturated in my area.

The only way to maintain these decent prices though is to have at least two options and be ready and willing to change every single year. It's a pain.

Switch to 5Ghz -- it doesn't penetrate walls nearly as much as 2.4Ghz does, and there's more bandwidth/frequency space available.
+1. I’m using 5Ghz now and able to hit 400/250 with it on a speed test. (actual wired connection is 1000/250). 2.4Ghz is something lame like 50mbps for me.

I use both, and it used to help, but that was years ago.  Doesn't help much anymore in my area.

JLee

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #33 on: March 07, 2018, 06:08:41 PM »
I just negotiated 200/10 mbps down/up for $35/month with Comcast for a year.  Speed increases announced today will increase that to 250 mbps for the same price.  It's typically overprovisioned in my area so it will probably speed test around 300 mbps down. I really do get these speeds as long as I'm using wired-ethernet.  Wifi is so saturated in my area.

The only way to maintain these decent prices though is to have at least two options and be ready and willing to change every single year. It's a pain.

Switch to 5Ghz -- it doesn't penetrate walls nearly as much as 2.4Ghz does, and there's more bandwidth/frequency space available.
+1. I’m using 5Ghz now and able to hit 400/250 with it on a speed test. (actual wired connection is 1000/250). 2.4Ghz is something lame like 50mbps for me.

I use both, and it used to help, but that was years ago.  Doesn't help much anymore in my area.

Have you done an RF scan to see what your environment looks like?

GrumpyPenguin

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Re: Best price for fast Internet
« Reply #34 on: March 08, 2018, 11:05:23 AM »
I just negotiated 200/10 mbps down/up for $35/month with Comcast for a year.  Speed increases announced today will increase that to 250 mbps for the same price.  It's typically overprovisioned in my area so it will probably speed test around 300 mbps down. I really do get these speeds as long as I'm using wired-ethernet.  Wifi is so saturated in my area.

The only way to maintain these decent prices though is to have at least two options and be ready and willing to change every single year. It's a pain.

Switch to 5Ghz -- it doesn't penetrate walls nearly as much as 2.4Ghz does, and there's more bandwidth/frequency space available.
+1. I’m using 5Ghz now and able to hit 400/250 with it on a speed test. (actual wired connection is 1000/250). 2.4Ghz is something lame like 50mbps for me.

I use both, and it used to help, but that was years ago.  Doesn't help much anymore in my area.

Have you done an RF scan to see what your environment looks like?

Yup.  Scanning and choosing the least saturated channels helped a little, but still not too much.  Gone are times where 5 Ghz or simply changing channels can significantly help in some locations. In my area, I pick up an insane number of signals across both 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz frequencies.