|
|
Post by wpbear on Apr 25, 2010 21:14:44 GMT -5
I am moving to either Columbus (31909) or Phenix City (Smiths Station 36877 or 36870 zips).
The three zips are due to school choices.
So limited to these areas:
I initially wanted to go with OTA for TV and get at least a 20mbps internet connection for streaming (Roku/WDTV/hulu etc).
The only choices I see for fast internet are:
Charter in parts of 31909 with a 25 mbps and Mediacom with 20 mbps
Cable of East Alabama only offers 5mbps in Phenix City
ATT DSL 1.5 mbps DSL
Does anyone know what type of cable and internet is being installed in all the New build developments in Lee County Phenix City and Smiths Station?
Will these parts of Lee County receive OTA from Columbus without too big of an external antenna?
|
|
|
|
Post by Mike Slade on Apr 26, 2010 11:41:44 GMT -5
If you have to go with CTVEA you will have the worst service I've ever dealt with. When I had them the internet was slower than dial up at times. I was even told by whoever handles their internet tech support that they just didn't have the bandwidth to accomodate the number of customers they had.
I currently have charter and have no complaints. Everyone i know that has mediacomm says that it's no good.
|
|
|
|
Post by jlharper59 on Apr 26, 2010 14:56:42 GMT -5
I don't see any other choices for internet in East Alabama other than CTVEA and ATT. However, I have ATT dsl at 6mbps, as I would guess it depends on the area - Lee County, but still in Phenix City.
As stated above, the service level from CTVEA is less than stellar and there is LITTLE hope that they would offer anything faster in the foreseeable future.
Your best move based on your above "desires" would be to move to Columbus. My 6mbps from ATT is not adequate for streaming HD.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mike Slade on Apr 26, 2010 19:18:40 GMT -5
When I switched to ATT in phenix city (stafford road area) the highest Internet Speed they offered was 1.5Mbps. I know they offer higher in other areas over there but not sure why I was stuck with the 1.5
jlharper59, What kind of HD streaming are you doing? I have charter 5Mbps and have no problem streaming HD from netflix. Not really sure what their HD quality actually is but it looks pretty good to me to instantly stream over the internet.
|
|
|
|
Post by darinvedwards on Apr 27, 2010 9:18:33 GMT -5
I would stay as far away from CTVEA as possible. They are overpriced. Their customer service is the worst and most arrogant I have ever seen. Their high speed internet works some of the time and if that is not acceptable, well they will tell you to go somewhere else. I did, to AT&T DSL, and have been happy every since. Not a single trip to work in the middle of the night in the last 2 years because I couldn't log on for remote support. Their cable tv service is more costly than the dish companies, with only a few HD channels. Basically they have benefited greatly from monopoly. Stay away! Run!
|
|
|
|
Post by jlharper59 on Apr 27, 2010 21:32:50 GMT -5
I have had a couple of visits in the last year or two from AT&T regarding the speed of the DSL...6mbps advertised, but I don't get that most of the time.
Netflix does indeed stream well, just not full HD - definitely not 1080p - as I understand. DirecTV has spoiled me in HD quality.
Plus, doesn't DSL still "share" bandwidth somewhat? That is, if you have lots of people on your segment, your speed can suffer?
Even with the speed issue, I would not go back to CTVEA...I have had AT&T for several years now (after starting with CTVEA) and have had less than a handful of short outages - mostly for maintenance.
CTVEA is missing a huge opportunity - by providing even adequate customer support and better service (HD channels and higher bandwidth) they could continue to dominate just from the "hometown" aspect. But not when you are threatening to throttle downloads for those who "overuse" their internet connections and don't even bother to care why you are not happy with them.
Apologies for turning this into a CTVEA slam...
|
|
|
|
Post by wpbear on Apr 29, 2010 22:05:17 GMT -5
Well I guess I will only look for houses in Columbus and Fortson then. I need Northside High if we live in GA and looking into the three cables co Knology, Mediacom and Charter I have found only Charter and Mediacom offer faster than i think 10mbps so I will check all my prospective addresses with Charter and Mediacom. Thanks for all the replies. Shocking at the lack of technology in Phenix City.
|
|
