Internet Service Providers (for residential and small business service)

There are many, many companies who can provide an Internet connection to residential and small business users.  These companies are commonly referred to as “Internet Services Providers”, or ISPs.  The three most popular ISPs for residential and small business Internet service in the Tech Wizards service area are Time Warner/Road Runner Cable Internet Service which provides an Internet connection over a cable TV connection, AT&T FastAccess DSL Telephone Internet Service which provides an Internet Connection through your telephone line, and Clearwire “Broadband Wireless” Internet Service which provides a connection that does not require any cable coming into your service location. 

In this article we discuss what to consider when choosing an Internet Service Provider and the pro and cons of each of the three above-mentioned ISPs.

Please note that the recommendations in this posting are based on the personal opinions and experience of the author.  Although based on the facts provided by each ISP’s web site and on his basic understanding of the services discussed, not all readers will agree with the opinions of the author.

Each ISP offers several different plans with different download speeds.  Your download speed will determine how fast you can surf the web (how fast web sites take to load and files take to download to your computer).  Whichever service you choose, we recommend selecting a service plan that provides at least a 1.5 Mbps (Megabytes Per Second) download speed, and if your budget allows, you will be happiest with a download speed of 6 Mbps or more. 

Which should you chose?  That may depend on which service is available at your address, as not all service is available in all locations.  However, assuming all three services are available to you, we recommend Road Runner cable service as the fastest, most reliable, and easiest to service if you have problems.  AT&T DSL telephone service is sometimes slower than comparable Road Runner service plans (see details below) and problems are sometimes more troublesome to resolve than problems with cable service.  Clearwire wireless service is less expensive than the other two options but is more limited in its availability and has other issues related to the wireless technology used to deliver the signal to the modem in your location (see details below).

Time Warner Road Runner- Cable Internet service is simple, fast and usually easier to fix than other types of Internet services if problems arise.  Cable Internet service download speeds are generally much more consistent than are those of other Internet services, meaning that if you have a 1.5 Mbps cable Internet service plan, your download speed will usually be very close to that rate, with very few “slower download” periods.   At the time of this writing, Time Warner Road Runner was offering a ”Lite” plan with a 768 Kbps (equal to about 0.75 Mbps) download speed for about $25/month, a “Basic” plan with a 1.5 Mbps download speed for about $35/month, and a “High Speed” plan with a download speed of 7Mbps for about $50/month (Road Runner offers discounts if you also have cable TV service through Time Warner).

AT&T FastAccess- DSL service is provided through existing telephone lines and download speeds are often affected by the “load” placed on on the telephone system at any given time.  In other words, if a lot of people in your neighborhood are on the phone and/or browsing the Internet with their DSL service then your download speed is going to be slower at that time than when not as many people are using the local telephone lines (this is why the advertised speeds for their plans are listed as “up to” a given Mbps speed).  Although DSL connections have gotten simpler over the last few years, troubleshooting problems can still be more difficult than with cable Internet service.  Generally speaking, DSL Internet service is a bit less expensive than comparable cable Internet service, but remember that download speeds may not be as consistent as are cable Internet service download speeds.  At the time of this writing, AT&T was offering a “Lite” plan (“up to” 768 Kbps, or 0.75 Mbps) for $19.95/month, an “Ultra” plan (up to 1.5 Mbps) for $32.95/month, an “Extreme” plan (up to 3 Mbps) for $37.95, and an “Extreme 6.0″ plan (up to 6 Mbps) for $42.95.

Clearwire- Clearwire wireless Internet service is provided by transmitting an Internet signal “over the air” from Clearwire’s transmitting towers to the modem in your home or business.  Clearwire is less expensive than the other two options and it does have the following advantages:  It may be available where cable or DSL service is not; and the modem is ”portable”, meaning you can unplug your modem from your computer and the electrical outlet, take it to another location (within the Clearwire service area), plug it in to the wall and a computer, and have a working Internet connection.  However, “broadband wireless” Internet service can be less reliable (depending on your location) as far as download speed and “up time” of the service; it can be affected by local topography (good service in the winter when the trees have no leaves, intermittent service in the summer when the trees are in full bloom); and service availability can vary locally to a significant degree (even from house to house within a neighborhood) due to the service’s dependence on receiving a good signal from the nearest transmitting tower.

Final note: Although standard “dial up” Internet service via a telephone line and 56K telephone line modem is still available through AT&T and other service providers, most users prefer the speed and convenience of a “broadband” Internet service such as those discussed above.  Even for users who only check email and do very little web surfing or downloading of files (software, photos or videos), the “lite” services provided by Road Runner and AT&T FastAccess are actually less expensive than most dial-up service monthly service charges while being more than 10 times faster than the fastest available “dial up” service.  And broadband Internet services such as Road Runner and FastAccess do not tie up a telephone line as “dial up” services do (you cannot talk on your telephone while on the Internet if you are using the same phone line that is connect to your computer’s telephone modem).

Once you have selected your ISP you may want to decide which email application and/or web browser would be best for you.   Click here for our review of the most popular email applications and helpful add-ons, as well as information regarding Instant Messaging (IM), or click here for our review of Internet Explorer and alternative web browsers as well as several useful web browsing tools, add-ons and utilities.  You may also be interested in our article on Web Browing Monitor and Controls (especially if you are a parent or business owner).

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