Phone & Internet Options in Minneapolis (living in, prices, land)

[MNNative]

After we moved to Mpls we discovered that we are no longer in Qwest's DSL service area, so we felt our only option was Comcast.

I'm now trying to figure out whether there are any other options out there for phone and internet (our bundle expires soon and I can't justify paying Comcast's regular prices). For convenience sake, it'd be nice to have both from one company but I'm more interested in price & quality. To be honest, I don't really feel a difference between Qwest's DSL & Comcast's High Speed. I had no complaints with DSL so I'd definitely be open to comparable options.

I know about USI (the wireless option in Mpls), just mostly what I've read on this site, and though I saw many legitimate concerns in earlier posts it seems that the more recent posters are sharing positive experiences. Have they ironed out their kinks? I've determined that we are in their service area (not in what they dub the "Challenge Areas") but how do I know how far from their transmitter-thing we are? <~That seems to make a difference in quality of reception. Also, how does their 6Mbps service compare to Qwest's DSL?

I'm not interested in Dial-up...so what are my internet options? Aside from Qwest, Comcast & Popp Comm, are there any other land line options?

Your feedback is much appreciated!

[Slig]

Why don't you try calling up USI? I called the number on New Year's day and received an operator (that's right, no automated message) with no wait time. The rep was very informative and friendly so you should have no problem getting all your questions answered.

[MNNative]

I did do that; he was helpful and actually even looked up the locations of quite a few nodes/radios near our property.

I'd still be interested in knowing about experiences as of late (Slig, did you end up getting the wireless? How do you like it?) & about phone company options though...I know land lines are going out of style but someone on here must have one.

[Slig]

I got the modem installed but we use laptops and they connected it in the kitchen where the strongest signal is so I'm going to need to hook up a wireless router before we start really using it. I won't be able to fairly evalutate it until that takes place.

[silkmouse]

Hi. I have been searching for high speed and also found that qwest does not service the area we are living in. Their page referred me to Wildblue which was $$. Any thoughts on this? Is comcast the only option?

Thanks!