[Hidden-tech] Comcast v. Verizon

[Jan Werner]

My limited experience with Comcast was trying to set up my wife's 
stepmother in Connecticutt with a computer so she could keep in touch by 
email. It was a disaster: Comcast mail servers were so unreliable that 
she became frustrated and gave up on the whole thing within weeks. Zero 
tech support as well.

I have been using Verizon DSL in Pittsfield for over 6 years now and 
while they were flaky at first, they have generally been quite reliable 
for the last 3-4 years. Tech support is no worse than most big computer 
outfits today, meaning you only want to call them as a last resort, and 
then expect to have to run through endless scripts before you actually 
get to a useful dialog.

With the $29.95 1.5 megabit Verizon residential package, I usually get 
about 180kbs transfer rate. Quite a bit lower than cable's top speed of 
600kbs, but it doesn't vary much, regardless of time of day or network 
traffic, and is more than adequate for anything but huge downloads. The 
upload speed is capped at 128 kilobits, so if you send many large files, 
you may want a different package.

Verizon also offers a number of commercial DSL packages that provide up 
to 6 megabits download and 1.5 megabits upload, as well as static IP 
addresses, but they cost quite a bit more.

Jan Werner
____________

Ron Miller wrote:
>   ** Be a Good Dobee and help the group, you must be counted to post .
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> 
> You've probably been over this before, but I'm considering switching 
> from Comcast Cable to Verizon DSL for my ISP.
> 
> I've been having issues with my Comcast Cable (strange, intermittent 
> issues where certain web sites I visit all the time suddenly don't 
> display) and I received an offer from Verizon. For $29.99 per month, I 
> get their highest speed package and they will provide the modem and 
> software (and no installation visit is required).
> 
> In addition, they will give me a $15.00 break on my bill for the first 6 
> months, meaning I get it for $15.00 a month for 6 months. I'm paying $45 
>  per month now for Comcast Cable.
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone has had both and been able to compare. If not, I 
> typically get download speeds of around 600-700 kbs when the system is 
> running at top speed and I'm wondering how this compares with the 
> Verizon experience.
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Ron
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