Best bets for Internet service
Pretty much everyone wants fast Internet service at home and has a cell phone. To save money a lot of folks are putting these two services ahead of a land line. Take my friend Maggie.
"I need new internet service and I don't know where to start," she writes me. "Basically I want to save money paying ONLY for internet, and not DSL + the phone line. I don't need a land line, so while I'm cutting costs I figured this was one good place to do it!"
So what are your best bets for Internet service without paying for a land line? I started by looking at a chart on MyRatePlan.com that explains the differences between dial-up, DSL, Cable, and Satellite Internet service.
When I got overwhelmed I called Bill Belt, a knowledgeable director at the Consumer Electronics Association. There are actually six types of internet connections available to residents and he talked me through all of them, from fastest to slowest.
First he reassured me that my confusion was a good thing. "It's a sign of how much competition is in the market," Bill said. "The more choices they have...that service is generally going to be better and the price is going to be cheaper."
Competition gives consumers...
...living in cities with more than one provider a lot of negotiating room. Research the options offered by your provider and their competitor, then call your provider and talk to them about the options at another provider. Focus in on whether you want a cheaper bill or better services.
"You will be surprised how they can find special deals that are unadvertised for you," Bill says. They may only offer the deal for a year, but when your year is up, call them up and have the same conversation. Remember, the cost of acquiring a new customer - or losing one - is steep for the provider.
1) Fiber optics is basically a glass wire that replaces the traditional copper wire that delivers phone and Internet service. It provides the fastest Internet connection available today.
Pros and cons: Incredible speed and it can be purchased as a bundle with other services like cable TV and phone service. But the service is very new and not available most places. And it can be difficult to install in your home because it the service has to be distributed within rooms, which requires running cables in your house or setting up a wireless network. "Initial set up can be tricky for a novice consumer," Bill says. But the provider goes "to great lengths to help you."
A la carte: Yes, though very often bundled with TV and telephone service.
Needs land line: No
Provider: Verizon (called FIOS) and AT&T (called U-verse)
Reliability: Extreme
2) Internet service provided through your cable company is the next fastest option.
Pros and cons: It is widely available and has been around for a long time. Cable is "slightly slower" than fiber optics, but companies are making upgrades to improve speed, Bill says.
A la carte: Yes, but has bundle options.
Needs land line: No, but you can add voice options with an adapter (think Vonage or Skype).
Provider: Comcast, Time warner, Adelphi, and many, many smaller providers.
Reliability: Very.
3) DSL is Internet service on copper wires.
Price: Not as much as fiber optics or cable.
Pros and cons: Extremely reliable because it runs on a telephone network that was built to be dependable in case of an emergency. DSL service is available anywhere phone service is available. But it is slower than cable and fiber optics and may be too slow if you play a lot of video games, are obsessed with YouTube, or download movies. It is fast enough for e-mail, photo sharing, and basic Web surfing.
A la carte: Yes, but be wary of providers trying to upsell you to fiber optics.
Needs land line: Yes, but does not require that you use the land line for a physical phone service. This is commonly called "naked DSL."
Provider: Your phone company.
Reliability: 99.9% reliable.
4) A lesser known way of getting Internet service is through your cell phone with a very small USB modum that plugs into side of your computer. It relies on cell towers and has many of the same perks and drawbacks as mobile telephone service.
Pros and cons: It is available in most urban areas, but is not as fast as fiber optics and cable. Until recently cellular Internet service was much slower but now it rivals DSL speeds, Bill says.
A la carte: Yes, with bundle options.
Needs land line: No.
Providers: Cell phone companies.
Reliability: Like your cell phone, it is mobile and can go with you but you might lose coverage in a tunnel or elevator.
5) Satellite service is provided through a satellite in space.
Pros and cons: Universally available with minor exceptions like homes in canyons or ones obstructed by tall buildings. It may be the only option in very rural parts of the country like Native American reservations. Satellite is less susceptible to damage by natural disasters when power may go out because it will work as long as you have a generator, battery or hamster on a wheel. This makes it especially useful for public safety applications.
A la carte: not sure.
Needs land line: No
Provider: Echo Star, Direct TV, other satellite TV companies.
Reliability: Very high.
6) Dial-up is the old school method of connecting to the Internet through your copper phone wires via a traditional land line.
Price: As low as $10 a month.
Pros and cons: Cheap and nearly universally available. But it is very slow, "bordering on worthless" except for the most basic of applications, such as email, instant messaging, and visiting Web sites heavy on text and light on images. "That describes very few Web sites today," Bill says.
A la carte: Not sure.
Needs land line: Yes.
Provider: Earthlink, your phone company and many smaller companies.
4 Comments
Leave a comment
About The Bargain Hunter
Daily News staff writer Julia Scott loves to find bargains on everything from groceries to Gucci. Her tips will help keep your hard earned cash where it belongs - in your pocket.
My Facebook Profile
You can get dsl without a phone line in at&t areas not uverse that is fiber optic, which is sold as tv and internet but ask for hsi direct, it is dsl without the telephone.
A few notes/corrections:
Fiber: Verizon FIOS is the only thing that supplies fiber all the way to the house. U-Verse only runs fiber to a node in the neighborhood. Some cable company advertising also suggests (very disingenuously) that since they have fiber in part of their network that it's the same as Verizon. That being said, very few people really need that extra speed.
DSL: It should be noted that most DSL service is only available within about 3 miles of your telephone company central office. Thus, even in an urbanized area like Los Angeles, many people are unable to get DSL. Some telephone companies are starting to work around this by putting nodes out in the neighborhoods (like the U-Verse nodes I referred to) that behave like a C.O.
Also, although I haven't checked this lately, I think some telephone companies charge a little more for DSL if you don't also get voice service from them.
Satellite: One really doesn't have to be that far out in the sticks for satellite to be the only game in town for high speed access. Many people in the more sparsely populated outskirts of a population center won't have cable in their area and will be more than 3 miles from their telephone company central office, so no DSL. Satellite does have a few pros and cons that DSL, fiber, and cable don't, so do plenty of research (especially if you play online games.) Also, although I haven't researched this lately, there used to be at least one satellite access provider that *DID* require a telephone line.
My internet provider is charter cable. I pay $29.99 a month. I got this price as a promotion for one year. I call every year to get this price. :) Or else I will be paying $49.99. Also I get free basic cable tv without having to pay for it. The cable tv goes through the same cable wire I use for internet. So there if you want free cable tv just get cable internet.
When my sister called to cancel her land-line they gave her a huge discount to keep it--something to consider.