Internet Providers (Chicago, Lincoln: appointed, promotional, live in)

[imnotwhoisayiam]

We are moving to Lincoln Park, near DePaul in January and I'm trying to get our internet set up but can't figure out who to use. We have Comcast right now (we live in Seattle) but I'm not sure we want to use them anymore if there are any better options out there. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Lookout Kid]

Most people in Chicago use Comcast or AT&T. I think AT&T has both DSL and co-axial cable broadband now.

[noid_1985]

Comcast- AT&T DSL- RCN (Im not too sure if it's in your location)

[Avengerfire]

I would go with RCN.

[skipcromer]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

I would go with RCN.

I would second RCN. I've had RCN for about 7 months now and have not had one issue. This may not seem like a big deal, but after having Charter Communications for the past 4 years its brilliant!

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by skipcromer

I would second RCN. I've had RCN for about 7 months now and have not had one issue. This may not seem like a big deal, but after having Charter Communications for the past 4 years its brilliant!

I have had RCN for 2 and a third years and it blows Comcast out of the water.

For the OP: If you will have access to RCN go with it. You will not be disappointed.

[Lookout Kid]

The problem is that much of the city doesn't have access to RCN. But I agree that they are better than Comcast in about 100 different ways!

[Lovegun]

I have the lowest speed RCN cable internet and it's only 13.99 a month.

Not the fastest but it seems to work for me (I live in Edgewater)

[Mamama Mia]

I would do AT&T Comcast is the devil.

[Drover]

I've been researching this issue myself lately as I'm about to switch providers. I've been using Speakeasy for about 10 years now but I just can't justify the cost any more. It used to be competitively priced, but no longer. Other service providers' costs have come down considerably while Speakeasy's has stayed roughly the same. I kept with them anyway because I have dedicated rather than shared DSL, which was a bigger deal back when the infrastructure was not keeping up with demand and usage. Now that that the infrastructure has caught up, I can get 4 times the download speed for $25/mo less than what I'm paying now. I figure even if there's periodic latency down to 1/4th capacity, that's still the same speed as what I'm currently getting all the time, but cheaper.

I've heard nothing but complaints about Comcast from regular users. I've checked out RCN and they're not bad. Nonetheless, I've found that once you look past the "promotional" prices and into the "real" prices, AT&T DSL is cheaper per bitrate than RCN cable, even if you get AT&T's "no phone line" package. If you plan to get a conventional land line phone, it would be even cheaper. But I'm not sure how it shakes out if you intend to bundle it with TV service since I haven't priced bundled packages.

Besides, I figure it's only a matter of time before Comcast buys out RCN and craps it up.