Author Topic: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...  (Read 7423 times)

FuckRx

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Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« on: August 26, 2013, 06:34:55 PM »

i'm going to be moving into an apartment, they have Cox cable that's already paid for by the building, sure it's basic cable but i don't even watch cable. i need to purchase my own internet, any suggestions on cheapest route?

daverobev

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Re: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2013, 06:57:57 PM »
Country would be helpful! An following that, state province or county, and city or town.

No - saying all that - they cheapest is to use the library's free wifi, at work, etc.

pop pop!

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Re: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2013, 07:05:03 PM »
I've had good experience with Freedompop's $18.99, 10GB monthly service.  Not good for heavy user, such as someone who streams feature-length films or tv shows.  But for streaming music, web browsing, and sometimes working from home, it's been reliable and provides sufficient speed.  Caveats: Freedompop is a Clear reseller and uses 4G Wimax, which is on the way out as a standard.  You have to buy a modem (which doubles as a wifi hub) for something like $100.  So you'll have to do the math for yourself.  In my case, cancelling Comcast and switching to Freedompop paid for itself in a about 3-4 months, taking into account the modem purchase.  They may require me to purchase a LTE modem at some point, or they may leave me on the legacy wimax network, and my calculus may change in the future. With those caveats aside, the set-up was easy and I've had no dropped connections like you read about.  And it's month-to-month, so no contract.

StarryC

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Re: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« Reply #3 on: August 26, 2013, 07:21:01 PM »
I use DLS, via "Century Link."  We purchased our own $60 modem, and currently pay $25 a month plus a few taxes.  The regular rate is $50, but every time I call they just reduce it one way or another.  I think we have 1.5 MBS

With DSL, they will usually want to provide you with a modem/wireless router for $5-$10 a month.  It pays off very quickly to buy your own if you have the cash up front. 

It is kind of slow and annoying.  I do stream movies with Netflix/Hulu.  I also have a roommate, and live in an apartment building (DSL is affected by the number of people who are using the same system).  It seems that during the evening if I'm streaming and she's streaming, Netflix often has to resort to visibly low quality and Hulu takes a while to load after each commercial.  However, when I get frustrated I look up the faster speed and see that it is $60 and decide against it.  Also, I remind myself that it is pretty amazing that I can watch almost whatever I want at the time I want, without leaving my house,   and that if I am too annoyed watching my endless low cost entertainment I could always, you know, read a book or clean the house. 

Daley

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Re: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« Reply #4 on: August 26, 2013, 09:19:04 PM »
Mashori, this is exactly the sort of question the Superguide is meant to help guide on (it's not just cellphones, honest!)... read this post so you can go into ISP shopping informed, prepared, and aware of a few lesser known options.

Now, regarding some of the other suggestions, internet sharing is not only a violation of the terms of service contract with nearly every single consumer ISP, there's further legal and security risks involved and should only be considered if a great deal of trust can be had with all parties involved. Just because some people do it doesn't mean it's a good idea, even if they blog about how great an idea it really should be.

Freedompop's not exactly worth considering either for the money. Wired network connections will always be more robust, usable, reliable and cheaper. The only reason why Freedompop isn't more expensive as a wireless provider is because they datamine the crap out of you and sell your marketing information for a reduction on the end cost. Some people think it's worth doing, and if you're one of them? More power to you, but at least be aware of what you're getting into before doing so. Always read the terms and conditions with any provider before signing up.

Given you've got Cox in the area, that might be the best route for the money. One of the lesser nightmare inducing providers, too... it's who we have, and of all the broadband ISPs I've dealt with over the years, I can honestly say I've had far worse (Comcast, AT&T, Rogers, SWBell).
« Last Edit: August 26, 2013, 09:21:37 PM by I.P. Daley »

FuckRx

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Re: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« Reply #5 on: August 26, 2013, 09:51:05 PM »
oops, San Diego, Ca.... zip code 92101

FuckRx

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Re: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2013, 12:50:14 AM »
Great info on your posts. I have read them many times. I didn't see anything on hotspots using the cell phone for home wifi. I have to keep looking to see what my best options are. Right now cox wants me to pay 30 dollars for a self install which I don't get and 60 for them to come out. They want 100 for the modem and 100 something for modem and router together.

Daley

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Re: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« Reply #7 on: August 28, 2013, 07:02:58 AM »
Great info on your posts. I have read them many times. I didn't see anything on hotspots using the cell phone for home wifi. I have to keep looking to see what my best options are. Right now cox wants me to pay 30 dollars for a self install which I don't get and 60 for them to come out. They want 100 for the modem and 100 something for modem and router together.

There's no info on cell phone WiFi hotspots basically because wireless data is expensive, and one shouldn't resort to it unless one absolutely has to. If you go back a couple posts and read the part on cell phone service (or just the full first seven posts), it'll make more sense as to why it wasn't included.

If you want to go the Cox route, buy your own modem and router. There's already info in the Superguide on solid equipment for far less, or you can read this as well. It deals with Comcast and not Cox, but DOCSIS-based cable modem equipment is blissfully interchangeable between providers given DOCSIS is an industry standard with cable based ISPs. If you've got your own equipment already, you shouldn't need to pay for a self-install kit and you should be able to easily negotiate a free self-install as you've already got service to your unit... that or wait for a free self or pro install offer to show up, it happens frequently. Maybe poke your head into a local Best Buy and ask about Cox internet service there and "self install" there, just tell them you already have the equipment. Also check with your property manager, typically in situations like yours, they have special offers and discounts to grease the install wheels with the renters for this stuff. It is important to have your equipment already available before the scheduled install date, however. They'll need the cable modem's MAC address to provision and establish service.

Otherwise, your only real cost-effective solution is going to be DSL. Consult the same link I already provided for options, but if you're in an AT&T area, you may find those affordable options... limited.
« Last Edit: August 28, 2013, 07:04:52 AM by I.P. Daley »

daverobev

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Re: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« Reply #8 on: August 28, 2013, 09:57:22 AM »
I used 3g internet for.. a year? A year and a half? when I first moved to Ottawa. Reason was it was $22.60 a month, vs probably $50 or $60.

I caved after a while as I was using a remote desktop program to connect to a computer in the UK, and because the service got worse. It was 'unlimited' but throttled after 10Gb I think. I was actually pretty happy with it.

So then we went to DSL, which - with 'dry loop' fees - was $48 a month. It wasn't any faster, but the connection was more stable, and the ping was better. Now we're on 7Mb 'FTTN' DSL for $28.

IF you just need to check emails and whatnot, I'd say there is no issue using 3g internet. If you want to watch videos... not so much.

Now, we've moved out of where we could have that internet for $23, and for $28 it's a no brainer. But if it was $23 for 3g vs $48 for wired, I'd *probably* go back to 3g. If for no other reason than it'd probably keep me off the internet!

jrhampt

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Re: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« Reply #9 on: August 28, 2013, 12:33:02 PM »
I just have the slowest comcast speed which is set at $39 a month in my area.  Of course, that's after buying a modem as, er, IP Daley suggests upthread.

FuckRx

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Re: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« Reply #10 on: August 29, 2013, 12:59:56 AM »

as always, great information, thanks.

FuckRx

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Re: Advice on most affordable internet for the house...
« Reply #11 on: September 07, 2013, 07:06:34 PM »

I ended up purchasing a used motorola modem/router all in one for $55, new sells for $130.
I purchased the 1mbps plan from cox cable for $28/mo.
There was a $30 self-installation kit that i have contacted them about to see if i can have that waved (already got charged to the account...i don't really wanna be cheap, frugal yes but not cheap...if it's something that they charge everyone and it's "fair" i'll pay it... but i got it up and running without any "self install" kit and nobody had to come to the apartment to install anything ...

i've been able to watch neflix pretty well so far, not much trouble...
able to listen to netflix...i thought anything less than 3mbps would be bad but not so...
able to browse the internet ...
the porn sites, ehhh not so well but that's ok...

so i'm pretty happy so far...