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Comparing High Speed Internet Promotions by Kara Glover kara@karathecomputertutor.com
Are you shopping around for high speed internet and getting totally confused? $12.95 for 6 months, or $14.95 for 3 months? Upload speeds of 128 kbps or download speeds of 768 kbps? What does kbps stand for anyway? Hopefully this article will help you make some sense of all the promotions out there.
I compared the promotions (as of May 2006) being offered by most of the primary DSL and cable modem providers in Southern California. It's hard to fit a giant Excel spreadsheet into a text article, but see if you can use the information I provide to at least try to compare apples to apples. The two main criteria I focused on are price and speed.
A few points to clear up first so you can be more educated in your choices: kbps: kilobits per second
mbps: stands for megabits per second. A megabit is 1,000 times faster than a kilobit. So 1.5 megabits is equal to 1,500 kilobits.
download speed: The download speed is for downloading web pages, software, etc. and is what you probably use most of the time.
upload speed: The upload speed is used, for example, when you might upload photos to the internet (for instance to Snapfish or sending an attachment to an email), or if you have your own website and upload your own pages. Since you are only downloading most of the time, high speed internet companies focus primarily on download speeds, which are invariably faster than upload speeds. You might want to focus primarily on download speeds as well, depending on your type of usage of course.
Also, the general consensus is that the typical download speed for home DSL (before all these promotions started coming out recently) is about 1.5 kbps. So it is worth a word of caution that the cheapest promotions may or may not be the best for you.
Several companies are offering very good prices for 768 kbps of download speed. I have been told that this speed is adequate for people who mainly use email and do light web surfing. So you have to think about how much you use the internet. Do you download music? Are you a web surfing addict?
One thing I'll tell you is that if I, as a computer consultant, had an internet speed of 768 kbps, I'd probably be rather unhappy. But if you're a light user, you'd probably be fine. OK, now you can read about the different offers and see for yourself:
AT& T (formerly SBC):
Their lowest promotion prices are $12.99 per month and $17.99 per month. You also have to pay a $12.95 shipping and handling fee. (And you have to pay $49.99 up front for a modem, but you get a mail-in rebate of $49.99 as well.) The $12.99 price is for download speeds of 384 kbps - 1.5 mbps. The $17.99 price is for download speeds of 1.5 - 3.0 mbps.
Those prices are good for a 1-year contract, but beware. If you don't call AT&T before the year is up (I believe they send you a letter to remind you), the price goes up to $50/month. Once you call, though, AT&T will offer you whatever promotion they have at the time. There is a $99 termination fee if you break your 1-year contract.
Summary of AT&T prices: Lower speeds: $12.99 Faster speeds: $17.99 Other fees: $12.95 shipping and handling, $99 termination fee.
Verizon: This company is offering a base price of $14.95 for download speeds of up to 768 kbps and upload speeds of 128kbps. The first month is free, however there is a $19.95 shipping and activation fee. This $14.95 offer is good only if you order via the internet though (a little Catch 22 there). If you call and speak to a live person instead, it'll cost you $17.99 a month. Ha!
For heavier internet users, Verizon has another, slightly more complicated promotion. For download speeds of up to 1.5 mbps, you get the first month free. Butttttt, for the second and third months it will cost you $21.95, and $29.95 for months 4-12. (Where'd they come up with that plan?) Upload speeds are about 384 kbps. These Verizon promotions come with one-year contracts and a $79 termination fee if you break it. You also need to call before your term is up to get decent rates for the next 12 months. (for the second offer you can stay at $29.95.)
Summary of Verizon prices: Lower speed: $14.95 Faster speed: $21.95-$29.95 Other fees: $19.95 shipping and activation fee. $79 early termination fee.
AOL: AOL doesn't have its own high speed infrastructure per say. It provides AOL service but uses AT&T or Verizon to deliver it in the Southland. The price is $25.90 per month for a one-year term. After that year, Verizon customers are still charged $25.90 per month, while the service with AT&T goes up to $29.99 per month. The speeds are generally 768 kbps for download and 128 kbps for upload. With Verizon there is a shipping and handling fee of $19.95 and a $79 early termination fee, just as if you'd went with them without AOL. AT&T (as shown above) asks for a $99 early termination fee.
Summary of AOL fees: $25.90 for 768 kbps download speed ( for other fees see AT&T or Verizon fees.)
Earthlink: Earthlink: This company is offering a promotion of $12.95 for the first six months in certain regions of the country, with a price of $29.95 after that. This promotion is for decent speeds: 1.5mbps for download speeds and 128 kbps for upload speeds. They also charge a $19.95 shipping fee, and $149.95 if you break your 1-year contract. (So I'd guess you'd better be sure you want to stay with them!)
Summary of Earthlink prices: Faster speed: $12.95-$29.95 Other fees: $19.95 shipping fee, $149.95 early termination fee.
DSL Extreme: DSL Extreme offers a promotion of $12.95 per month for customers with SBC phone service. That promotion offers speeds ranging from 384 kbps - 1.5 mbps for download, and 128 - 384 kbps for upload. Those with Verizon can expect to pay a little more, $14.95 per month. Speeds with Verizon are 768 kbps for download and 128 kbps for upload. These prices don't include $15.43 for the shipping and handling of the modem. As with the others, you're in for a 1-year contract. But if you renew before it expires, you can lock in the price DSL Extreme is offering returning customers at the time. That price is not yet determined: Watch out, though. The early termination fee if you decide to end the 1-year contract is a whopping $250!
Summary of DSL Extreme prices: Lower Speeds: $12.95-$1495 Other fees: $15.43 for shipping and handling of modem, $250.00 early termination fee. I also talked to a couple of companies that offer cable modem: Comcast: The prices for cable modem tend to be a bit higher, but the two cable companies I called offered faster speeds than the DSL promotions I looked at.
Comcast is offering a promotion of $26.95 for the first three months with download speeds of 4mbps and upload speeds of about 386 mbps. But after your honeymoon the price goes up to $45.95 if you have cable TV with them or $56.95 if you don't. One good thing - there is no contract, so that means there's no early termination fee.
You also have to either buy a cable modem at an electronics store (Comcast doesn't sell them) or rent one for $3 a month. So be sure to include that fee in your calculations! Adelphia: To begin with, Adelphia offers a basic package which happens to be very basic. Both its upload and download speeds are 256 kbps (kinda slow if you ask me). This package's price is $24.95 per month. The company also offers a more reasonable package that costs $24.95 for the first three months, then goes up to $43.95. The speeds with this package are pretty fast - 4 mbps for download speeds and an upload speed of 384 mbps. As with Comcast, Adelphia's packages are month-to-month, with no contract and no termination fee. But, also like Comcast, you have to either purchase your own modem or rent one for $3. Also, you don't need to have Adelphia TV cable service to get those prices. The prices are the same for both cable TV and non-cable TV customers alike. ©2006 by Kara Glover
Kara Glover is a Computer Tutor and Troubleshooter. You can find her free tips, articles, and tutorials at her website: http://www.karathecomputertutor.com
About the Author
Kara Glover is a Computer Tutor and Troubleshooter. You can find her free tips, articles, and tutorials at her website: http://www.karathecomputertutor.com
