How Is Your Isp?

got century link

is comcast better

 

I have Armstrong Cable.I have been using them for over 10 years.And rarely have issues.I only pay for internet be cause mainly that's what i use.
If any one is in pa and has Armstrong cable near them it's worth the money.We did have a 250GB cap per month.But with the Virus going around.They released the restrictions and we now have unlimited for now no caps.Due to the schools being setup in home and working from home.

My speeds

 

It's a similar picture with Virgin Media in the UK. Time to time they tell you you have been upgraded for free - last for me just this week, upgraded to 100 Mbps. I don't see any diiference except service breaks are definitely becoming more frequent though not usually more than once or twice a day for perhaps half an hour or so, sometimes for hours though. Neighbourhood website confirms it's not just me.

 

I use Optus in Australia. We actually have NBN and Optus is actually just the people that charge for the connection.
The major issue with our system in Australia is that if you have issues, you have to phone Optus and if they can't fix
It (which is most times), they notify the NBN and then THEY come to fix it. A little inconvenient but there is little
choice.

 

TimW, you had me at "Windstream." (insert vomit emoji here)

When I moved into my house 13 years ago, the real estate agent warned me to avoid them like the plague. In the suburb of Houston I live in, it's either them (DSL) or Xfinity/Comcast (Cable).

I chose Comcast as the lesser of the two evils - a very wise choice on my part. I'm currently paying around $45 for a claimed 75Mbps upload/5Mbps download. In reality, speedtest.net normally shows me at around 80/6; the absolute worst I've seen in the past year was around 65/4 - plenty for two HD ROKU streams and occasionally having to work from home. Unscientifically I'd say their uptime is about 99.99%; the only time I seem to have issues is if I'm still up around 1 AM and they start doing maintenance a few times a year.

Every year a month or so before my contract is up I call Xfinity/Comcast and ask for their "retention department." If the agent refuses to transfer me I simply hang up and try again. Once I get on the line with an agent in the retention department, I politely mention how long I've been a customer and that Windstream is trying to woo me away with an incredible offer - "What can you do to keep me as a customer?" Doing this saves you from being bumped to their open rate of around $70/month for the same speed. In 13 years, my Internet speed has tripled while my bill has only gone up $5/month versus 2007.

 

If you're concerned about limited usage bandwidth caps, root around a bit and see if either of the cable providers offer "Business" Internet service.

The Business-grade cable ISP option is a bit pricier than the home use one but, in the case of Comcast, you can order it at a residence if you swear to them you're using it to work at home. I know their Business plan has no monthly data cap and I believe you also get a Service Level Agreement guaranteeing at least 99.99% uptime.

If you ever decide to make the switch to a cable ISP, you're best off skipping the $15 or so to rent the cable company's box; you can get a very decent Arris (Motorola) cable modem for about $80 then add whatever speed Wi-Fi router you need ($50 and up). I've only had to replace my modem once in 13 years due to being forced by Comcast to upgrade to the DOCSIS 3.0 standard; I find Wi-Fi routers usually have a useful lifespan of 3-4 years before either the Wi-Fi signal starts getting wonky or I get concerned about security issues using an older router.

As for the monthly cost, most companies have new subscriber specials requiring a year contract and giving you a 30-day out clause at the beginning if you don't like the service. From there, you can at least try to negotiate it as I do every year with Xfinity/Comcast to keep the introductory rate. Depending on the company, a higher or unlimited data cap may also be a topic they can address to win and keep you as a subscriber.

I do not work for or have any financial interest in Comcast or any other ISP. It's just your personal decision if the few dollars a month you're currently saving with Windstream is worth the unreliability issues you are having.