Internet Service Provider Recommendations in the Atlanta area (Smyrna: rating, council)

[Tarzanman]

Had DSL back in the '00's, had charter for a year back in 2003 and have had comcast for the past ~8 years.

Comcast has seriously upped their game. It is both faster and noticeably more reliable than 6 years ago

[gotd77]

Originally Posted by mrpanda

In what aspects would you say that Comcast is better than AT&T DSL. I ask because I've used AT&T for the past 7 years. I am also seeing some negative reviews on the internet that Comcast provides some teaser rate and then continues to bill in some unethical ways. Has your personal expereince with Comcast been very positive?

ATT's fastest internet service is 12mbps on their AD.
this is 2012 and going towards to 2013. you are not live in 80's or 90's. you can't live with that kind of speed these days. ATT rep. told me uvers will provide you individual connection to your home so connection is stable. I said i am using 50mbps service and I need at least half of that speed to do my job. he said becase of individual optic line service will provide faster and better serice than you have now. LOL he basically lied to me. how can you compare 12mbps VS 50mbps???? and actually he said ATT is better?? i don't thing so...

[atlantamoi]

Originally Posted by gotd77

ATT's fastest internet service is 12mbps on their AD.
this is 2012 and going towards to 2013. you are not live in 80's or 90's. you can't live with that kind of speed these days. ATT rep. told me uvers will provide you individual connection to your home so connection is stable. I said i am using 50mbps service and I need at least half of that speed to do my job. he said becase of individual optic line service will provide faster and better serice than you have now. LOL he basically lied to me. how can you compare 12mbps VS 50mbps???? and actually he said ATT is better?? i don't thing so...

Huh? I have AT&T DSL at 6mbps and stream Netflix throughout the house with no problems (using powerline adapters). I can "live" with it at the price.

[akadeni47]

I guess it depends where you live in Atlanta, but we found a college deal last year for Comcast for $49.99 cable/internet bundle via an email and website. Not only did they take a week to come out, but we immediately started regretting it because the internet has been terrible all year. Once our contract is up we are changing because they suck.

[akadeni47]

Congratulations To Comcast, Your 2014 Worst Company In America!
nuff said

[Wesley_]

Originally Posted by mrpanda

I am moving from Chicago to Atlanta at the end of June and wanted to know if any of you can recommend a good, fast and reliable internet service provider in the Atlanta area? When i move into my new home, I am i hoping that i can get the Wi-Fi setup within day or two so that i work from my home office right away.

I run an web based business so i am looking for a way to minimize the distruption to my business in a smooth manner. I've looked in the new Mi-Fi from ATT where i can access the internet from anywhere, but the speed seems to be a bit slow.

Also I have an ATT iphone but the reception is horrible in Chicago. I was wondering if ATT's signal strength is strong (no drop calls) in the northern Atlanta area where i can rely on my cell phone without getting a LAN line. If Verizon's signal is stronger in Atlanta, I may convert to Verizon.

I would appreciate any advice from the Atlanta residents.

Thank you.

I'll be in the same area as OP (Johns Creek) and also want to get an update from mrpanda if active.
I have been using U-verse here in Daytona Beach and the speed was rarely stable. I've had a local ISP company back when I lived in Washington and they were great.

[skbl17]

A warning: be careful with mobile hotspot plans, especially if you (or any of your colleagues, friends, or family members) are a heavy data user. Wireless overage charges add up very quick, especially on AT&T and Verizon. Also, "unlimited data" plans do, in most cases, include throttling once you exceed a certain amount of data (usually 3-5GB). Verizon and AT&T don't offer unlimited plans; T-Mobile and Sprint do, but network coverage is spotty on those carriers (especially in rural areas).

For wired broadband, I've used both AT&T U-verse and Comcast within the past six months, and here's what I can tell you about both providers (there may be differing opinions from other users):

- Comcast: Usually, when you move to Atlanta, most people will tell you to get Comcast, especially if you value speed. From my experience, that's mostly correct. However, if you value speed AND you're a heavy data user (multiple hours of Netflix, online gaming, legal file sharing, Skype, etc.), you may want to head to Comcast Business or consider U-verse. Comcast has been enforcing a 300GB data cap here since December 1 of last year; if you exceed that limit after three months of going over the cap, you will pay $10 for every 50GB you use. Most of us, at the moment, don't approach that cap, but times change and technology marches on, caps or not. Also, Comcast customer service is terrible according to most customers, and I have to agree. Max downstream internet speed: 105 Mbps, but some areas can get higher speeds depending on the infrastructure in place.

- AT&T U-verse (since you're not talking about DSL): The other option. Due to AT&T's unwillingness to upgrade their last mile copper infrastructure in many areas and speed limitations on their (V/A)DSL network, speeds on U-verse are somewhat limited compared to Comcast. That being said, AT&T has bumped their speeds in some areas to where they can compete with Comcast's mid-tier options. However, U-verse, on the internet side, doesn't have enforced data caps. There's a 250GB "cap", but I can tell you that they really don't care if you exceed it or not. I can also tell you from experience that AT&T customer service is bad, but it's not terrible. Max downstream internet speed: 45 Mbps.

- In certain condos and apartment complexes, there are other providers that deliver wired internet services, such as DirecPath. If you can get that, get that. The speeds are amazing, prices are reasonable (for the U.S. broadband market, anyway,) and there are no caps. Max downstream internet speed: varies by community, but can exceed 100Mbps in some communities.

Personally, I'd recommend Comcast at the moment if you don't have any DirecPath-style options, but both AT&T and Comcast are terrible options for many of the same reasons, hence the push to get Google Fiber or something similar. Good luck on your move to metro Atlanta!

- skbl17

[Chengdu Nanhai]

Originally Posted by skbl17

A warning: be careful with mobile hotspot plans, especially if you (or any of your colleagues, friends, or family members) are a heavy data user. Wireless overage charges add up very quick, especially on AT&T and Verizon. Also, "unlimited data" plans do, in most cases, include throttling once you exceed a certain amount of data (usually 3-5GB). Verizon and AT&T don't offer unlimited plans; T-Mobile and Sprint do, but network coverage is spotty on those carriers (especially in rural areas).

For wired broadband, I've used both AT&T U-verse and Comcast within the past six months, and here's what I can tell you about both providers (there may be differing opinions from other users):

- Comcast: Usually, when you move to Atlanta, most people will tell you to get Comcast, especially if you value speed. From my experience, that's mostly correct. However, if you value speed AND you're a heavy data user (multiple hours of Netflix, online gaming, legal file sharing, Skype, etc.), you may want to head to Comcast Business or consider U-verse. Comcast has been enforcing a 300GB data cap here since December 1 of last year; if you exceed that limit after three months of going over the cap, you will pay $10 for every 50GB you use. Most of us, at the moment, don't approach that cap, but times change and technology marches on, caps or not. Also, Comcast customer service is terrible according to most customers, and I have to agree. Max downstream internet speed: 105 Mbps, but some areas can get higher speeds depending on the infrastructure in place.

- AT&T U-verse (since you're not talking about DSL): The other option. Due to AT&T's unwillingness to upgrade their last mile copper infrastructure in many areas and speed limitations on their (V/A)DSL network, speeds on U-verse are somewhat limited compared to Comcast. That being said, AT&T has bumped their speeds in some areas to where they can compete with Comcast's mid-tier options. However, U-verse, on the internet side, doesn't have enforced data caps. There's a 250GB "cap", but I can tell you that they really don't care if you exceed it or not. I can also tell you from experience that AT&T customer service is bad, but it's not terrible. Max downstream internet speed: 45 Mbps.

- In certain condos and apartment complexes, there are other providers that deliver wired internet services, such as DirecPath. If you can get that, get that. The speeds are amazing, prices are reasonable (for the U.S. broadband market, anyway,) and there are no caps. Max downstream internet speed: varies by community, but can exceed 100Mbps in some communities.

Personally, I'd recommend Comcast at the moment if you don't have any DirecPath-style options, but both AT&T and Comcast are terrible options for many of the same reasons, hence the push to get Google Fiber or something similar. Good luck on your move to metro Atlanta!

- skbl17

105Mbps, 45 Mbps, 100Mbps? Those numbers seem to be off by one full magnitude.

[skbl17]

Originally Posted by Chengdu Nanhai

105Mbps, 45 Mbps, 100Mbps? Those numbers seem to be off by one full magnitude.

If you're talking about the difference between MBps and Mbps, I should add that I pulled those numbers for their download speeds straight off their websites. If they're off by a full magnitude, then AT&T, Comcast, and DirecPath need to fix their websites.

- skbl17

[VJP]

Those numbers are not off. They are theoretical maximums. In many apartment and condo complexes, there's direcpath and direct ONNet connections to AGL fiber's metro-E network. Those POPs are able to handle over 100 Mbps per user. Comcast will get you a hundred meg, but you'll pay dearly for it. However, it can be done. AT&T is the diciest of all, given the infrastructure in place. I would stay away from the behemoth.