2011 - 2012 Reviews

High Speed internet in the Berkeley Hills

AT&T is requiring us to upgrade to their new UVerse internet, which appears to have a 12 month contract, just so we can get the same barely adequate DSL speed we have had for 10 years (1.5 Mb/s). We live in the Berkeley Hills next to Tilden Park, so we are far away from the AT&T DSL centers, Verizon FIOS is not available, and I don't think we have line-of-sight to any of the wireless provider towers. So that leaves Comcast. Can anyone tell me whether Comcast speeds are better in the hills? Or maybe you know of a better option. Thanks. Steven

So, that's what I would not recommend.

...

Here's what I do recommend:

Unwired Ltd. (www.unwiredltd.com). They're a Berkeley-based WISP (wireless internet service provider) with an excellent track record for providing reliable, speedy, and customer-friendly service. At least one of the founders is from South Africa, hence the 'Ltd.' part of the name, but they are local. They also provide service to San Francisco, Marin County, and most of Alameda County. I've used them for more than a year in a half-dozen locations (residential and business) with consistently great results.

Sonic.net (www.sonic.net). They're a Santa Rosa-based ISP and phone company with a very long track record for providing reliable and customer-friendly service, although their speeds in this part of Berkeley leave something to be desired. They're owned their CEO Dane Jasper, who will never hesitate to engage constructively with you directly if need be. They provide service throughout California, but the speed depends on how far you are from the nearest telephone company building. Their phone service is fantastic - a real landline (=works even in a power outage), with 'unlimited' (there's a limit, but it's something like 8+ hours per day of constant usage) residential usage, tons of features included, and better call quality than ATT.

LMI.net is another local Berkeley ISP, and they're fine. I used them for a couple of months. They're nice people, and you can walk in to their office on MLK for a chat. But their DSL service is just resold from Sonic.net, without any advantages, and their more attractive wireless internet service is just resold from Unwired Ltd., without any advantages. Better than ATT/Comcast, but not as good as Unwired/Sonic.

...

What we have at home:

Because my wife and I each telecommute some of the time, and doing so is very important to us, we have dual internet connections at home.

We have the $90/mo 'Internet Advantage' plan from Unwired Ltd., which provides a consistent 10Mbps down and 6Mbps up, and which has only once ever given me trouble, and even then it was barely 15 minutes before Unwired fixed it. This is our primary internet connection, and it serves us well. It's provided by a wireless radio attached to a metal pole attached to the chimney. Unwired's installers do a great job - I've had them install gear at four office buildings (three of which run by a very particular property management firm with no tolerance for risk) and two residential settings, all with great results. The wireless radio points at a radio tower on the nearby ridgeline, so there aren't many things that are likely to interfere with or disrupt it.

We also have the $60/mo 'Fusion Broadband + Phone' service from Sonic.net, which provides a consistent 4Mbps down and 1Mbps up. Although I went for more than 11 years as a Sonic.net customer without any meaningful glitches, late last year I encountered endless problems with my Sonic.net DSL that, due to incompetence on ATT's part, Sonic.net were unable to fix. I ended up cancelling and getting Unwired instead. Then I got nervous about not having a landline for 911 at home with a toddler, and did the math on our international calling from our cell phones, and decided to get Fusion again if only for the phone service. So, between the fantastic phone service for our primary home phone, and the good-enough internet as a backup, it's worth it.

Good luck. Graham

Internet services in Kensington, not AT&T?

We moved to Kensington 6 months ago and signed up with AT&T for Internet services. They are terrible and I am looking to change. What are my other Internet options or is it all the same? I know about Comcast, but are there others out there? Thanks.

Fed up with Comcast - alternative internet provider?

We are fed up with Comcast and would like to find an alternative ISP, but we need a fast and reliable connection. My husband and I both work from home and are online essentially all day. We often need to download large files quickly, and we also video Skype a lot with family overseas. Our teenage son also likes to watch tv shows and movies online. Are there any other ISPs that can handle all this? Many thanks sick of Comcast

AT&T wireless is constantly cutting out

We have AT&T wireless internet service and it is constantly cutting out. It has become very frustrating, especially for my husband when he tries to work from home. Unfortunately it seems that a lot of internet providers don't cover our area. Does anyone in Rockridge have wireless internet that works well for them? Currently we have it together with our land-line phone service. We do not get cable. Tired of Waiting

1) Switch the modem to use a different WiFi channel - maybe you are getting some kind of interference.
2) Check all the telephone wiring. Ideally, the modem would be the last device on your telephone circuit in the house. Open up the jack and see if the wires run on to another jack somewhere else in the house. (This is known as a 'bridge tap' and can cause signal reflections, which take down the DSL connection intermittently.) If you push and persist hard enough with AT&T, they should be able to run a test from their office to detect a bridge tap, and/or send someone out.
3) Try replacing your DSL modem with a new one.
4) Try upgrading to a higher level of AT&T service - for one, you should get a discount on the first year of service, and it may be cheaper than what you pay monthly. For another, they will have to qualify the line for the higher speed, and this activity may help diagnose your current problem, or obviate it. Mr. Modem.

Sonic.net ISP

Just wondering if anyone has recent experience with sonic.net's phone/internet service. Also could someone give me a ballpark figure for what the fees and taxes run on the $39.95 package. Thanks. Elaine

The internet is much faster than my old AT&T DSL, the phone service lets me make unlimited calls, and the company doesn't treat me like crap.

In Berkeley, the taxes come to about 11 dollars per month. So, my bill is around $51, which is the same amount as I paid before for the slowest AT&T DSL with phone. Of course, with AT&T I also had to pay extra for calls outside of the East Bay, so my bill generally ended up somewhat higher.

Sonic.net really is far superior to AT&T -- faster internet and cheaper phone calls with better service. -happy customer

Others may want to know that this package of $39.95 includes phone service AND internet connection. I am saving a lot by not having separate service with AT&T and internet provider payments to another. Very happy with sonic!

Getting rid of cable - need internet provider

We are getting rid of cable and need to find a new internet provider because Comcast internet alone is insanely expensive. I have looked at ATT Uverse (ATT regular DSL isn't available in my area), but can't seem to find any other inexpensive options besides Comcast and ATT. If you know of any inexpensive, reliable providers, please respond. Thanks.

Better internet service? AT&T is awful.

AT&T is our internet service provider and it is awful. I work from home and multiple times a day the service just goes out. It isn't for long - maybe a minute or two - but it is very disruptive. (In the last hour it has happened 6 times!) Could this be a hardware problem? Do I need a better modem/router or is it just AT&T? If the latter, any suggestions on reasonable residential ISPs? frustrated

We do everything from watch tv shows to downloading programs (I mention it because at a friend's house we couldnt watch tv shows online due to their dsl speed, alas!).

We have recommended it to our friends, as well, and have only ever heard of one problem: when a friend moved he had a hard time getting reconnected. I'm not sure what caused that problem, but he is up and running again. I found DSL Extreme by checking reviews, and they were known for excellent customer service. K M

Looking for high speed internet provider only

hi all, I'm looking for a provider that can deliver enough internet speed to allow for streaming. I had used att u-verse previously which is good for the service (TV+high speed internet+tv+landline). It comes at a price though. I am now moving towards West Berkeley and want to limit my services to High speed internet access only (basically no more traditional TV for my children but only VOD). I couldn't find up-to-date info on this for Berkeley. Does anyone have any recommandations/suggestions/pointers for very fast reliable (and why not cheap) ISP? I appreciate your feedback. Merci.

Internet Service Provider other than comcast, AT&T, Verizon

I'm looking for an internet service provider from a different company other than comcast, AT&T, Verizon or other big, inconsiderate company. We've been using comcast and I'm fed up with the overcharging and poor customer service. I am constantly wasting time calling to correct my bill. I was wondering if anyone can recommend another service provider that serves the Berkeley area. Thanks. Renee

Looking for less expensive Internet service

I am looking to reduce monthly expenses. Presently I am paying around $70 per month for comcast cable which provides me with hi speed Internet. However, I don't use cable for anything else. We don't watch Cable TV. Instead, we stream video through Netflix and Hulu. I am looking for recommendations for a good Internet only service. What are your experiences with DSL? Does it work well with a wireless router? I have an Apple Airport and we usually connect two laptops and also the video streaming box. Also, am I paying too much? (Comcast claims that it would not cost me less to get rid of the basic cable service that is now included with my hi speed Internet. I have been very satisfied with the Internet service, but I have the feeling I am paying too much.) Any recommendations? Thanks!

2009 - 2010 Reviews

Comcast for Phone, Internet & TV?

We live in Upper Rockridge and have been told by AT&T that we cannot get a faster DSL line than we already have unless we install UVerse. AT&T tried to install it but it turns out that it's not available in our neighborhood. We are itching for faster DSL speed and are thinking of Comcast. The regular price of a Comcast bundle for phone, internet (at the high speed we want) & TV would be the same as what we are paying right now with AT&T and Dish Network. Does anyone have this bundle with Comcast? Is it ok? Not sure why I'm hesitating about switching... Need faster DSL

Hate Comcast, need new internet provider

Not much more to this... we've had it with Comcast. We only use the Internet portion of our Internet + cable package but have not been able to downgrade to an Internet-only option because their Byzantine downgrade rules make it incredibly difficult to do so. Any other providers out there? AT&T DSL is not available at our address. We will cancel Comcast and move on in a heartbeat if there are other options. We are in the Piedmont Ave area. Thanks! Sick of Comcast

Internet provider that doesn't need landline?

We currently pay $60 per month for landline/internet connection through AT&T. Is there a provider cheaper than that? Or is there an internet provider that doesn't require us to have a telephone landline? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Jules

2005 - 2008 Reviews

Combined Internet, Phone and Cable Svc.

I don't see any recent information on this in the archives. I have Comcast internet and cable (basic cable). And phone is Neighborhood by MCI. The ''free'' long distance is necessary for me. I am interested to hear if anyone has a combined, ? bundled ? service with Comcast, and if they are pleased with it. Or if not everything with Comcast, another way to lower the total monthly charges which are ridiculous. I am reluctant to use my cell phone (AT&T)for the long distance as I have some loooong long distance calls and we are all with different carriers so that may not work. I need to keep the cell with my current plan as it works with my son. Any recommendations? lynn

Wireless internet

We are looking for basic wireless internet for our house in No. Berkeley/Albany area, possibly combined with cable (which we don't currently have but don't necessarily want). Any recommendations?

Internet Service Providers

Help! I have been using AT&T for my DSL and a Linksys router to make my connection wireless. I am sick, sick, sick of AT&T. I have called their customer service line and was told that although I was paying for high speed, our area didn't really have high speed until recently. They supposedly sped me up. My partner is particularly frustrated because we can't use Ebay. Personally it saves us money, her not getting into Ebay, but somethimes I understand the frustration. Now my high speed seems slower than ever. I'm paying $49.99 per month. So, what are other people using? How is it working for you? Do you use a wireless connection? How much are you paying? If you have problems or questions, how's the service? The furthest thing from an AT&T fan you can get

How to continue low fee from SBC Global

When we signed up for internet service almost a year ago we got a good price on service. Now that the year is almost up they will increase the monthly fee to almost 50.00. Does anyone know how I could continue to get a low monthly fee from SBC? Thans! anon

Need a reliable internet service

Help! We need a good reliable internet service. We currently have Earthlink DSL and it has been a total nightmare. We haven't had reliable service for the last 6 months. Every hour the internet connection goes down for 5-15 minutes, always when I'm emailing something important. I telecommute from home. I've been on the phone with Earthlink customer service for hours and each time I get the same response, ''Can you watch your computer connection for the next day and call us back?'' Also, any difference betwen DSL & Cable? The last postings on the subject were a bit old and I'm looking for more current recommendations. cindy

When I finally called to cancel they sent a tech out the next day. It turns out that our phone box is in our basement and that there is a part of it that was made to give the phone company info about the welfare of the phone line when they called it. This device was used in the 80's and isn't compatible with DSL or particularly useful to the phone company anymore either. The tech found the problem in 7 minutes flat, ripped it out and voila excellent DSL. He explained that when you order DSL the phone company gets an order from the DSL company to remove this device. If your box is inside the house and the phone company is busy, they may just drive away. Sorry that I can't remember the name of the part.

I would call them and insist that they send someone over to solve your problem. I was very upset to discover that I had wasted so many hours on the phone with the tech department and had to pay for a year of unacceptably bad service because of a little part in the basement that was supposed to have been removed to begin with. We lost our connection every time we used the phone.

In answer to your other question, cable is better, but more expensive. It's faster and more consistent. We had it for a year and loved it, but the price went up too much. We're now happy with our DSL, but switched to another and cheaper company after our experiences with the earthlink tech department. Natalie

Local Internet Provider

I'm looking for a recommendation for an internet provider in Berkeley. (The last posting on the BPN was July of 2003.) I'm looking for a place that is local, ideally has an office I can walk into, and where people actually answer the phone. I've found Lanminds Inc. online, is anyone out there using it? Other recommendations? Thanks. Laura

1. Domain name - GoDaddy is taken. Unfortunately, most cool names are taken, but you can get creative. You can do a search to find an available name at register.com

2.Email: You can set your email as ''anything''@domainname.com. If your domain is berkeleydad.com, you could be bob@berkeleydad.com or coolguy@berkeleydad.com or boss@berkeleydad.com, etc..

You can set it so that your Outlook or whatever mail program you use, collects the email. It is a little complicated, but dreamhost has an info page on how to do it, and they have support by email.

Let me know if you need more help. Good luck! AQUALUNA2

We finally got a computer ... which ISP?

Hi, We finally got a computer and don't find really recent ISP recommendations on the website.We are thinking of going with DSL rather than cable. Two ISP's that I am particularly interested in are LMI.net (if they service Alameda) and SBC, but any positive OR negative recs would be useful. We live in Alameda, which could affect what ISP actually delivers DSL. Cost, reliability, customer service, and ease of use are the main issues. Thanks very much! -New to internet

I've had Covad DSL at my house in Berkeley for many years and highly recommend them.

In Alameda I believe you have a pretty good cable option from Alameda Power & Telecom. See http://www.alamedapt.com/internet/packages.html DSL guy

1/ BILLING - they double billed at the start. We called to fix; the phone bill was very confusing, but luckily we originally wrote down every cost involved, so we eventually figured it out and got an appropriate credit. No billing problems from then on.

2/ STABILITY - Internet was down a few crucial times for us, but by and large, the connection was stable and fast. I think internet occasionally down is common to most providers.

3/ CENSORSHIP - They ban some sexual content. This isn't a practical problem for most people, but is a philosophical concern if you think censorship is wrong.

4/ EARLY TERMINATION - We wanted to end our 1yr contract early, and SBC was going to charge a cancellation fee that exceeded what the remaining monthly fees would have cost. They would not waive it, nor would they move the contract to a new address to let us continue service with them. One of us is waiting to move because of this!

Would I go through them again? Maybe, if the deal was right. We plan to ditch them after the 1 year lowered-cost-contract is up. anon

2004 & Earlier

Reviews of DSL service?

Hi, does anyone have any recent reviews on an ISP/DSL provider, positive OR negative? The recent stuff I've seen on the parents webpage seems a little old; plus, the business is constantly changing, yes? We had some problems on our phone line, and an SBC guy came out to replace the line coming into our house (luckily, at their expense). I asked him about SBC DSL, and he, of course, gave it glowing reviews, and said we were only several hundred feet from a sourcebox [sic] (we're in the El Cerrito/Richmond view hills). When I went to dslreports.com, it indicated our CO (sourcebox?) was located more toward central Richmond-- which is more than ''several hundred feet' (more like 12,000 ft!) DSL reports was recommending Earthlink for our neighborhood, but the user feedback seemed kinda lukewarm. They also recommended Megapath, which seemed more for businesses (and was expensive). Any advice, greatly appreciated! Jim

With all that experience I can say that both DSL and cable internet service are a crapshoot. You'll find as many people saying good things about one technology or company as you find saying bad. In my experience, most of the problems aren't caused by the DSL or cable service itself. Rather, it's often been the flakyness of Windows 95, 98, and ME. I've seen real improvements since Windows XP has become the prevalent desktop operating system.

Another way to improve your chances for success is to use a broadband router, even if you just have one PC. This approach lets you avoid having to install DSL or cable service specific software on your PC. Instead, the router handles all this. Plus, you get the added benefit of the firewalling done to various degrees by the various routers these days.

My recommendation is to talk to people in your neighborhood to see what their experiences are, and then to go with whatever people like. Then, make sure you have an experienced computer person you can call if things go wrong. Although some of the customer support people are very nice and try very hard, most of them really don't know much about computers or networking. Jon

I've been very happy with my DSL service from speakeasy.net . The service has been wonderful. I chose it over pac bell because of the static IP. Pac Bell has extra software that you need to load on your computer to connect- not a big deal but just something else that could go wrong IMO.

Several months ago I ran speed tests on my service and that of 2 neighbors. The cable beat us hands down (of course). My neighbor's Pac Bell service was slightly faster than mine (speakeasy is provived by COVAD) but I'm not sure if type of computer effects speed. I did receive an email from speakeasy not too long ago that they were upgrading their circuits and we'd see an improvement in speed once that was completed.

Either way it's plenty for me. I bought a router and now have both of our home computers hooked up, so the kids can surf while I do.

One tip: At the time I signed up, pac bell had a promotion that included a reduced rate for a year. When I mentioned this to speakeasy they offered me a month's free service. Sophie

Looking for a DSL carrier

We need to get internet service at home, and I am tempted to go with SBC yahoo since they are offering this deal at 29.95/month for the first year. Has anyone had any experience with them? Alternatively, does anyone have a provider to recommend? I think we prefer DSL. I looked on the parents' website, but only found old recommendations, and I know things have changed a lot in the past 2 years. Thanks. needing a hook-up

You should also look at LMI.net (http://lmi.net/services/dsl/index.php), based in Berkeley. I buy my dialup internet access from them, and customer service is first rate.

I have not even tried SBC, because a number of my co-workers have tried them and had awful things so say. They reported long delays getting set up, and terrible customer support.

If saving money is your highest priority I doubt anyone can beat SBC (but you should contact the locals and ask whether they can meet or at least approach SBC's price) just bear in mind that some of your savings in cash may be ''spent'' in time and aggravation getting it to work and keeping it working. Jim

In my opinion, SBC promotion is the best value for DSL available at this time. I cannot comment on their technical support since I did not need it.

By the way, if you wish you can sign up on month-to month basis, but the same service costs $50 per month and you get no rebate on the router. Andrei

Good Email and Internet Server

I am having problems with my email and internet server, Earthlink. What companies are other people using and what are their pros and cons. Thanks dy

Need a new email service

My current internet provider, formerly dnai, now rcn, has proven to be a technical mess, forwarding e-mail into cyberspace. So I'm looking for a straightforward provider that can take e-mails from my domain and (ideally) can be picked up from computers other than my own. I'd welcome suggestions. I really don't want aol--I like to be able to use my browser without ads and frames. Thanks, meg

You can have more than one email address on your account (I have one email address I use only for junk mail/signing in to sites like amazon).

You can use Netscape or Internet Explorer as your browser (I think both come with Earthlink - I use Netscape because it is less often the target of viruses).

If you are away from your computer, you can check your mail with their WebMail page. (You can also use YahooMail to do this, but there are annoying flashing banner ads.) Also, if you use a PC, you can use their GoToMyPC service which allows you to access your home/business computer remotely. Other free services PopUp blocker which helps block those annoying popup ads, and a decent spam filter. Check it out at http://www.earthlink.net/ Natasha

We are switching from a dial-up to either DSL or a cable modem system for our computers and wonder if anybody out there has had a particularly good experience with specific provider. We value quality service and good customer service too. Lowest price is not the biggest issue. Thanks in advance Rob + Bobbie

I've been using Juno's "free" internet service about 5 hours a week, but they now block my access in the evening and send lots of vaguely harassing messages about paying for service. Net Zero supposedly does free internet for up to 40 hours a month, which sounds fine to me. Does anyone have experience with either Net Zero or any other free internet service they might recommend? Thanks for the advice. Melanie

For those of you with DSL lines in their home, could you recommend your phone line provider? Do any of you have strong negative or positive opinions about Earthlink, Flashcom, SBC, Qwest Communications or Verizon/Bell Atlantic ? I have heard that the installation process can take a long time in our area. How much time in advance should one begin the ordering process? I have read the comments posted on the Parents website but none of these companies were mentioned. Thank you

Juno email service

My free e-mail provider, Juno, has been trying to entangle me in the Web; their latest offer is $2.95 a month for "premium" service. (I would have to sign up for a year, of course.) Does anyone out there get internet service through Juno? Any opinion of them? Melanie

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has obtained residential DSL in the East Bay. We are moving to a new rental in Kensington and I am thinking about getting DSL. But there seem to be a zillion DSL providers out there, in addition to ol' PacBell itself. Surfing DSL users web sites turns up lots of horror stories -- two month waits, multiple missed installer appointments, miscomunication between phone company and DSL company and DSL network. So . . . anyone have praise to lavish, or warnings to give, or hints to share, about our local provider choices? Aspects I thought would be useful to hear about include (1) length of wait for service, (2) smoothness of install process, (3) total out-of-pocket cost (aka were there hidden costs?), (4) reliability and actual observed speed of service (getting what you paid for and getting it 24/7?), (5) competence in billing and customer care, (6) quality of the hardware provided. John

If you need a phone line, that will add $11 per month (plus installations costs). The waived charges would've been totalled $250. I purchased a firewall for security because I needed a router but I also feared that DSL lines would be subject to Internet hackers. That has been confirmed. Regularly, my firewall records various folks trying to hack our computer. Most people do not get a firewall. I believe this is out of ignorance. You can lock down your own Windows machines but I wasn't sanguine about that effort. Regarding speed and quality of the line and the service: About 4 months after receiving the service, PacBell upgraded it to 384+/128 service which means our download speed increased to 1200kbps. That was very nice. I've had no problems with the Alcatel. Other people have. It is now rare to get the Alcatel modem. I've had no problems with line sync. Other people have. I've had no problems with the speed of the line varying or being capped. Other people have.

Regarding line speed changing over time, it comes down to the PacBell-the-ISP warranty of 384kpbs. That is all they need to provide you. Everything above that is gravy and subject to change. PacBell the ISP now rarely gives out static IP addresses but is moving to Dynamic IP addresses implemented through PPPoE and PPPoA. PPPoE/A makes your DSL experience exactly like a dialup service. It makes it easy for the phone company to configure your system, but it removes lots of functionality. This practically means that for new customers, home networks, home webservers, Linux, OS/2, and non-Windows or Macintosh support is gone. And people with PPPoE/A are reporting that the Windows/Mac support for that is sketchy at best. Static IPs mean that you can easily run a webserver from home, run a web business from home, and get attacked by hackers from home. It's a mixed bag. I have had few problems with PacBell's uptime, or mail and news services. But all over California including the Bay Area, other people report all the time that their local DSL line is down, or mail is down, or news is down. My advice is that if you are going to use PacBell Internet for your ISP that you determine your requirements before hand, and get PacBell to agree to it and get names if not letters/faxes/etc. confirming what you believe you are getting. Make sure you read and print out your contract. Also note that at one time, people claimed that you could switch ISPs without cost if they fail to satisfy your needs. That may or may not be true anymore. Determine if you need a static IP address. You can still get PacBell the telco to provide you with a DSL line but you can use a different ISP and they can get you a static IP if you want one. Again, lots of info on ba.internet. So to summarize, we have had a great experience, but many other people have not, and what drives everyone crazy is that PacBell keeps on changing the product every several months, so no one is really sure what they are going to get in the future. Um, after checking out your requirements, you may wish to look at TCI for a cable modem. They were in my neighborhood recently claiming cable modems were down to $19/month with no installation

Rhythmns had great service: They used to call us if they noticed we were off line for any length of time (usually the result of kittens pulling the power cable out of the wall or out of the hub for our LAN). When my husband left the employer that provided DSL we attempted to continue service through them, since we were already set up. Unfortunately, at the time they were doing only commercial installations. They have apparently changed this, and I'm considering going back to them.

We then attempted to get DSL Service through First World, since they had a "power user package" which gave us the multiple static IP addresses we wanted for our network of six computers. They put through the service order to COVAD who do most of the installations for DSL in the area. COVAD e-mailed a cancellation to us about three weeks after the installation request was put through telling us that we were too far from First World's switches. We found this puzzling since we had been wired for DSL before.

We then got in touch with DSL Networks, which was able to contract with Covad to do the installation in about three weeks. They've been fine, but their package for the number of IP Addresses we wanted was outrageous (since they consider six computers to be a small business installation not a home installation). We've resolved this by using WinGate software and a SAMBA server on our Unix box. Since we do some web page developement we paid for the more expensive upstream connection, but for folks who are simply doing web surfing, it's probably not worth the expense.

Need a reliable email service

I have a private internet account, but I get cut off all the time (on average every 5 minutes) and the situation seems to be getting worse. Can anyone recommend a reliable commerical internet service provider? Thanks.

We are finally purchasing a decent computer for home, & I hope to do a bit of my work at home fairly regularly after I return from maternity leave. I've been told that trying to get through to campus via modem is well nigh impossible, & that I really should get an outside internet service provider. I know that the question of good service providers was asked recently, but one person liked the SHIPS service, & I've been told elsewhere to forget it. Who's more right? Also, are there any major internet service providers we should steer clear of? Thanks!

However we recently decided to go with a cable modem (TCI's @home) which is wonderful!!! They are a bit more expensive but way, way faster. They claim to be 100 times faster than a 56K modem with a traditional phone line. The cost is about $40 a month which also includes 3 email accounts. It doesn't work out to be too much more if you figure $15/month for an extra phone line (of course some people just use one phone line and let it be busy while they surf) and $20/month for your ISP. The installation can be expensive ($150) but I have seen coupons in the Chronicle and other places around town for up to $100 off. Right now they are having a special for AOL users. Another bonus is that they send someone out to your house to install the modem line and the software so it is up and running to go with little or no effort on your part. But beware of this also. Make sure you save a copy of your address book and bookmarks if you currently use Netscape to a floppy or as a last resort to your hard-drive before the installation. Somehow they managed to delete mine. I don't have a phone number for them but here is an email address that might be able to help: customer.care@tci.net.

Note: @home is not available in all areas (Oakland has to upgrade it's cable plant before it's available)

Now that we live in Castro Valley, we just got a cable modem installed and really like it. It's much faster and it's great not having to always dial-up; the cable modem is always "on". By the way, one person who posted said cable modems aren't too much more expensive than having a 2nd phone line and an ISP-- true. Also, TCI was (is?) having a special on cable modem installation. Our installation was free. It's a new recent promotion, at least in Castro Valley.

SDSL is better if you're moving very large files (like graphics) around--especially if you send them to people (uploading). You can get VERY fast speeds; the same both up and down (synchronous), which you may or may not need. That's what is offered by all the other companies. The difference is the price is a lot more.

The other option is cable; another technology. I personally prefer DSL.

Free Email Account

Dylyn
This question has probably been addressed before but I can't seem to find anything. I understand there are free email service providers such as Hotmail and Yahoo. Are there other providers where there is no charge? Any recommendations as to which one works best? Email usage would be infrequent.