internet access at the weirs

[Weirs guy]

OK, so I finally have to break down and get a computer for the house. The kids are old enough to use one without freaking me out, and the wife and I just feel left out without one! :laugh:

Anyway, I'm wondering if I can get some opinions on the best ISP in the area. We do have metrocast for our cable, but don't currently have a home phone service (we use our cell phones all the time), although I'd entertain the idea of getting a home phone. I'm not looking for top of the line access, just basic web surfing and e-mail stuff. Most of the heavy stuff I can do at work. Any sugestions would be appreciated.

[Water Camper]

Metrocast offers Internet access. Cable access is the fastest, although also the most expensive. But if you consider the costs of installing a phone line etc. the price may not be that bad.

Bill

[redc5]

I use Metrocast and bundle it with my cable TV.

BTW, i don't have a "home" phone either

[Hermit Cover]

We use it and are pleased with the service...

[lfm]

Anyone know of any access points free or pay to connect?

[Weirs guy]

Anyone know of any access points free or pay to connect?

My house in a few weeks? OK, seriously thanks guys for input. I was leaning towards metrocast but wanted to check other options first.

[WINNOCTURN]

Weirs guy,

If you are thinking of putting in a phone line check out VERIZON DSL capability. If the area you are in has it you may save a lot of money over time that may offset the cost of the phone installation. They have two low cost packages available, first is 3mbp at 768k for $24.00 a month + a 1 year contract, and second is 786mbp at 128k for $14.00 a month a 1 year contract.

If you lean towards Metro Cast you will probable be paying at least $50.00 for the 768k service. When you talk to the customer service rep ask if they have a slower speed service available, say 256k. It could be half the price of the 768k service.

I am in Moultonboro and where we are there is no DSL available yet. I went with Adelphia. They have a 256k service that they do not advertise for $24.00 a month. You have to know about it and ask for it. I found out about it from a VERIZON repair Tech. I work form home two days a week. I started up with a dialup service at first but it was taking some 20 minutes to download a 4meg file. I found the 256k service quite satisfactory, it would download that same file in under 2 and a half minutes.


WINNOCTURN

[EllyPoinster]

I'd recommend you check into DSL as well. I've been a seasonal customer of Metrocast cable for many years and for their broadband service the past two years. This year when I called them for a restart on the broadband, I was told that my seasonal information had been inexplicably deleted from their systems and a filter to block usage had been installed on my pole. Worse, it would be a week before they could send a technician my way to essentially re-install me at a $49 charge. As a work-at-homer who moves the office to Merrymeeting Lake for the summer, this was not acceptable so I looked for other options.

The local telephone company (Union Communications) was able to have a technician at my home the next day to install a DSL line. I went with their higher speed service for $39.00/month. If the download speed is slower than broadband, I can't tell. No charge for the installation or DSL modem and they even added a second jack for my office phone.

When I move back home, I just call them to turn the seasonal service off and leave the DSL modem in place. Next spring, I call them again to restore the service. They do charge $25 for that but, if you call them early enough in the morning, it will be done the same day.

I think they understand the needs of a seasonal customer better than Metrocast. Your mileage with other DSL providers may vary.

[jetskier]

We just signed up for internet access with Metrocast. They have an introductory rate of $34.95/mo for the first 6 months and then the rate goes up to $39/mo. This is vastly cheaper than my Comcast internet access in MA.

Metrocast has a tool that you can use to measure the performance:

speedtest.metrocast.net

Our installation was a complete horror show, but after 4 phone calls and a second visit, it all seems to work fine. I measured 2.9Mbps down/540Kbps up, which is very good. Note that the cable head end is shared amongst the served cluster, so there is statistically shared bandwidth and your milage may vary.

If you are considering DSL, you need to be cognizant of how far away from the CO you are. DSL speeds degrade very quickly with distance. Some carriers offer on line tools that will give you a view of potential performance.

Good luck,
Jetskier:coolsm:

[WINNOCTURN]

FYI

Here are two other sites that will test your connection speeds. They are usable on both DSL and CABLE. You will only have to check what type of service you have (DSL/CABLE) and what State you are in. It will tell you your speed and how it compares to other services in New Hampshire.


http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/

http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html

It should give you a comparison to what Metrocast is showing.


WINNOCTURN

[Weirs guy]

So its good to see I'm not the only one who finds Metrocasts customer service, uhm, less then acceptable. And I'm a year round subscriber too!

[jetskier]

They did the installation with loose connections (exterior) and crappy connectors. Geez....

I called them and did all the requisite tests to show it was not anything that I did. The next day they claimed there was a regional outage; sorry, my connection still did not work. So, I called tech support again. The nice lady said: "well sometimes these things fix themselves." I told her: "lady, I work for a telecommunication equipment manufacturer and nothing in telecom fixes itself!" :D

Anyhow, it works now. We will see when we go back up to the lake in a couple of weeks;) Note, Comcast is not much better. I had a snowplow dig up my coax cable in MA during the winter and they wanted me to wait until May for it to be fixed. Hmmm....

Good luck!
Jetskier:cool:

[KBoater]

I have had nothing but good service from Metrocast. Where I am in Wolfeboro Metrocast is the only option. At Christmas they turn my service on for 5 days. years ago there was no charge since I have been a customer for several years. Their technical service has always answered my question and the hold time is less than any tech. service I have dealt with. Guess I'm luck or Wolfeboro has better service.

[mcdude]

Another DSL option available in Laconia is Worldpath (http://www.worldpath.net/residential/dsl.php). $39.95/month. Local company (Farmington) with great tech support. Not sure about their seasonal options.

[GWC...]

FYI

Here are two other sites that will test your connection speeds. They are usable on both DSL and CABLE. You will only have to check what type of service you have (DSL/CABLE) and what State you are in. It will tell you your speed and how it compares to other services in New Hampshire.


http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/

http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html

It should give you a comparison to what Metrocast is showing.

WINNOCTURN

Thanks for the links.

Here's my test result from the first link for a comcast connection:

Speed
5.3 megabits per second

Communications: 5.3 megabits per second
Storage: 652.6 kilobytes per second
1MB file download: 1.6 seconds
Subjective rating: Awesome