[chabig]

Remember that cable companies state the maximum download speed their networks can provide--speed that you'll seldom get in reality. The phone companies, on the other hand, sell you lower speed, but they guarantee you'll get it.

So for me, I'd rather have 6Mbps max, with actual speed dependent upon network load than a guaranteed lower speed.

By the way, the cable guy doesn't have to come to your house to install internet service if you already have cable TV.

Chris

[tycheung]

Moving back to the Boston/Cambridge area. I had verizon phone/dsl service the last time I was here and was relatively happy with it. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations whether nowadays it's better to get comcast or verizon? Is comcast more of a hassle to deal with vs. verizon? (i.e. typical cable company/cable guy/waiting around for install type issues) Is the speed difference noticeable w/ typical everyday use?

All I really need is the landline/voice and internet, don't really need cable all that much.

[Applefreak01]

I say Verizon. Comcast which my girlfriend had until today (she switched to EarthLink) has been nothing but horrible for her. Her speeds she should've got was 6mb download. She was lucky to get over 386k. I hated playing online games with her just because of the lag. We have partically identical PC gaming computers and World of Warcraft was our game we played. I could walk through Stormwind with zero or very little lag. She on the other hand couldn't move at all.

Then again it might be that she's in Indianapolis, or around it and I'm in the middle of no where, but not for long. I'd head over to www.dslreports.com, look up verizon and their forum and see what customers think and do the same for comcast.

[mduell]

With DSL you are not guaranteed any speed, unless you're paying the big bucks for an SLA. I'd take Comcast.

You may also want to look into Verizon's FIOS service (FTTP); but beware, when they install it, they rip out your copper lines, so you can never go back to POTS/DSL.

[SirCastor]

I've always gone with comcast to avoid a contract. They've always been pretty good to me. A few months ago at my old place, I was supposedly on the "4mb" plan, but I was getting in the 300-400K (yes, Kilobytes) from some of the better servers. Their 6mb is universal, and yesterday a speed test told me I was doing 1.5 mb. Not fantastic, but I'm splitting it with 2 roommates and We got a deal on 6 month for something like $30.

The Cable companies are not much better than the Phone companies, but I went with the lesser of two evils. (Or at least I think so)

I worked for a phone company once, knowing how they treated their customers, I'd be hard pressed to pay them for much of anything.