So after a great deal of agonizing, I think I'm going to NOT get cable television in my house at all. It's just way too freaking expensive and I don't watch enough to justify paying 80+ dollars a month for it. So now I'm leaning toward getting a Netflix account.
However I still need broadband Internet. The only real options in my area are Time Warner Cable Broadband, AT&T DSL, or AT&T U-Verse. Here's the pricing, at least what I've found posted online. Not sure if it's 100% correct.
AT&T U-verse internet 3Mbps - $38/month 6Mbps - $43/month 12Mbps - $48/month There are higher speeds, but I don't think they're worth it. I'm not sure about the upload speeds. There is reportedly a $4/month "High Speed Internet Equipment Fee" as well. These plans have a 250GB per month cap. As far as I know, you can't purchase your own hardware. You have to rent a gateway from them.
AT&T FastAccess DSL Direct 3Mbps down, 384Kbps up - $43/month 6Mbps down, 512Kbps up - $48/month They don't offer any higher DSL speeds. These plans have a 150GB per month cap. I think you can purchase your own DSL modem, but I'm not 100% sure on this point. They sell a DSL modem for $75 or a DSL gateway for $100.
Time Warner Internet 10Mbps down, 1 Mbps up - $58/mo 20Mbps down, 2 Mbps up - $68/mo I can't determine if there is a cap or not. You can buy your own cable modem and router.
At the moment, these are the three competing options:
- AT&T DSL 6Mbps - $48/month - TWC Broadband 10Mbps - $58/month - AT&T U-Verse 12Mbps - $52/month (if you include the $4 equipment fee)
The DSL is cheap and simple, but has a low cap. TWC is also simple, faster, and I think there's no caps. U-Verse is the fastest, but still has a cap, and the funky hardware scares me.
The other thought is that DSL (and U-Verse) are not shared the way that cable broadband is, so in theory, the speeds should be more consistent.
What the hell should I do? I have no idea if I'd ever hit a 150GB or 250GB cap. I guess with Netflix, it would be possible.
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