Quote :

"Downstream/ Upstream Speed (best effort) Up to 256 Kbps/ 128 Kbps FAST $24.95 Up to 1.5 Mbps/ 256 Kbps FASTER $32.95 Up to 3 Mbps/ 384 Kbps EVEN FASTER $37.95 Up to 6 Mbps/ 512 Kbps FASTEST $46.95 "

Those numbers are from bellsouth, & Roadrunner I think is around $45 a month.

Which is the best value? And which would be the best for reliability, not being dropped, and fastest speed if money wasn’t an issue? I had dail up growing up, then states resnet, & currently wireless, and have always really just gone the only option available at the place I'm staying... but now that I have choices I don't know what to do.

5/7/2006 1:16:49 PM

The $46.96 looks like a good deal.

RR is capped at 384 and that killed our connection while the roommate was using Bittorrent, or if you wanted to talkon VoIP while he was uploading stuff.

5/7/2006 1:41:19 PM

"The $46.96 looks like a good deal."

I lose my connection with this wireless alot... would this or RR be better for keeping a constant connection?

5/7/2006 2:34:14 PM

^^^ so is that the total price and is it just an introductory price? road runner is pretty damn expensive by comparison, plus you have to pay a 25.00 "self installation fee" to cover the cost of the modem. Earthlink DSL gives you a modem free, while bellsouth gives you a rebate for your modem and choice of 2 webcams, or another 50 bucks back by rebate.

It seems like the top two levels of dsl are a much better deal then the two levels of road runner.

[Edited on May 7, 2006 at 2:37 PM. Reason : ]

5/7/2006 2:36:53 PM

"Roadrunner I think is around $45 a month"

I believe that was the total price a month. Is earthlink as reliable as bellsouth?

[Edited on May 7, 2006 at 3:35 PM. Reason : .]

5/7/2006 3:35:14 PM

i've never had to pay anything for my rr modems

5/7/2006 3:36:23 PM

^ if you read their pricing on their site there's a $25 shipping and activation fee if you install it yourself (to cover the cost of shipping the modem, but not expressly for the modem itself.)

it's 99.95 if you let them install it.

http://twcnc.com/road_runner/info/pricing.cfm

^^

Earthlink doesn't really provide anything, they just use bellsouth or timewarner's lines. This means they are basically as reliable as bellsouth or timewarner, although sometimes repairs take longer since they actually have to get bellsouth or timewarner to do the repairs. This means it can take a while to get the other company moving to repair something.



[Edited on May 7, 2006 at 3:54 PM. Reason : ]

5/7/2006 3:50:11 PM

I have installed RR like 3 times and have never paid them a dime.

5/7/2006 3:53:20 PM

Quote :

"One-Time Charges Self-Installation - Shipment of Modem and Self Install Kit: $24.95 Standard Full Install - Installation of Coax cable outlet to computer/verification of existing outlet: $99.95"

It's on their site, maybe they wave it most of the time for 12 month contracts, but it's what they say they charge.

Regardless, the price/per month of DSL per megabyte (non-introductory pricing) is far better and in either the case of earthlink or bellsouth installation and modem end up being free. In the case of bellsouth it's after rebate. In the case of earthlink it's just free. Perhaps time warner waves the fee for people who sign a 12 month contract, but it is unclear based on what I've seen from their site so far.

[Edited on May 7, 2006 at 4:05 PM. Reason : ]

5/7/2006 4:01:03 PM

I have never signed a contract either.

5/7/2006 4:04:58 PM

Alright, well read their site. They say there's a 25 dollar fee. Their words, not mine. Perhaps it's a recent change.

5/7/2006 4:06:10 PM

They waive it for big cities like Raleigh where they already have lotsa contractors in the field...imo

I have never paid.

5/7/2006 4:06:53 PM

Ok, so they may, at their discretion, wave the 25.00 self installation fee; or they may not. Yay for pricing transperency.

-For the record, they did charge my father (in cary), my roomate (off gormon st. in raleigh), and my old neightbor the 25.00 installation fee...

One thing to remember with DSL is that you have to have a phone line to get it. If you don't use your phone line or don't have one, then it's not nescessarily the better deal. And yes, I know some people who don't have a landline and so the biggest reason they went for road runner was because they didn't want to have to pay for one.



[Edited on May 7, 2006 at 4:13 PM. Reason : ]

5/7/2006 4:07:54 PM

well both I & my roommate use cell phones, & we'll be living in a family oriented place rather than student oriented place... so maybe there wont be too many people using RR.

5/7/2006 5:15:24 PM

I mean basically, if you've got a landline already and want to keep it like that, DSL ends up being less per month in the long term. If you don't have a landline and don't wan to get one OR you don't plan on being there for more than a year, road runner with a 12 month contract is the best deal.

5/7/2006 6:04:12 PM

3 mbps, is your best bet. It ill save you some cash, too.

5/7/2006 6:54:34 PM

if you're not already planning on gettin a landline phone, theres no reason to get dsl. it ends up being more expensive than just RR, even with the cheapest phone/dsl combination.

5/7/2006 8:59:17 PM

i'm not planning on using any phone except my cell, & i might not even have a tv (definitely no cable tv).

5/7/2006 11:29:27 PM