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I looked into Earthlink but they are actually more expensive, especially after the 6-month special ends.
They are more expensive than Basic and Lite, yes. But, if you go with Standard, I think you would come out better with Earthlink after the first six months.
Earthlink runs a virtual network, or VRF, over Time Warner -- meaning that Earthlink is not subject to the congestion that Time Warner is. Netflix and other services work much better for me on Earthlink than they did on TWC.
If cost is the only thing that matters and Basic/Lite are good enough, stay with them. But if you're going with Standard, go with Earthlink. Speaking from twenty years in IT here -- I am very much convinced that Earthlink is a better service than TWC.
Thanks everyone. This was all super helpful. A few additional questions...
1) When you guys mention 15/1 becoming 50/5 -- are you referring to the Mbps and the other number provided on speedtest.net? When will this occur?
No. The first number is the download speed in Mbps, and the second number is the upload speed. Given what you describe as your needs, it doesn't sound like you'd be doing much in the way of pushing out of great volumes of data.
2) Where I am now my Mbps was 41 and the other number was ~13. If I go down to "15/1" am I likely to notice a big difference?
So, you've used Speedtest, and you're seeing effectively 41/13 with your Comcast service right now? Hmm. That's pretty darn good. For what you describe as your usage needs, that's probably been overkill though. I seriously doubt you will need more than 15/1 from TWC to start. If you feel that you need more, then you can just adjust it with them on the fly.
3) Do you guys suggest buying my own modem and router to save money at Time Warner?
Definitely a wireless router. A poor or insufficient wireless router is often the bottleneck in most homes. While one might be getting 15 Mbps to the router (and via a wired ethernet connection to a desktop computer), you can really experience some painful connectivity and speed with a poor wireless router to a wireless laptop or iPad. You won't necessarily get a poor wireless router from TWC - IMO it's just not worth paying a monthly rental fee for it when you can buy something better for not a whole lot of money. I'm not entirely sure about whether you can buy your own modem though with TWC.
3) Do you guys suggest buying my own modem and router to save money at Time Warner?
Definitely a wireless router. A poor or insufficient wireless router is often the bottleneck in most homes. While one might be getting 15 Mbps to the router (and via a wired ethernet connection to a desktop computer), you can really experience some painful connectivity and speed with a poor wireless router to a wireless laptop or iPad. You won't necessarily get a poor wireless router from TWC - IMO it's just not worth paying a monthly rental fee for it when you can buy something better for not a whole lot of money. I'm not entirely sure about whether you can buy your own modem though with TWC.
Does TWC offer routers? You can purchase your own cable modem in lieu of paying a monthly fee from TWC. If you have home phone service with them, I believe there are now two modems - one (which you can buy or rent) for data and one (which they supply at no charge) for phone.
Does TWC offer routers? You can purchase your own cable modem in lieu of paying a monthly fee from TWC. If you have home phone service with them, I believe there are now two modems - one (which you can buy or rent) for data and one (which they supply at no charge) for phone.
I definitely have a wireless router that was provided by TWC (but have also since added my own Nighthawk router) but I just checked my bill and surprisingly, I'm not charged for it. However I am charged $8/month for the modem. TWC does allow you to purchase your own modem, and provides a list of acceptable ones on their website.
Does TWC offer routers? You can purchase your own cable modem in lieu of paying a monthly fee from TWC. If you have home phone service with them, I believe there are now two modems - one (which you can buy or rent) for data and one (which they supply at no charge) for phone.
Correct - if you have TW phone *and* provide your own "Internet" modem - you install a coax splitter on your line and route one side of the splitter output to your Telephony modem (provided by TWC at no charge) and the other side of your splitter output to your "Internet" modem.
As the Telephony modem can serve both voice and Internet functions, it's chargeable as an "Internet" modem unless you add your own "Internet" modem/splitter ararngement. So legacy TW Internet and phone customers keep the Telephony modem and must add a previously unneeded "Internet" modem to avoid the monthly fee. Logic not withstanding ...
They are more expensive than Basic and Lite, yes. But, if you go with Standard, I think you would come out better with Earthlink after the first six months.
Earthlink runs a virtual network, or VRF, over Time Warner -- meaning that Earthlink is not subject to the congestion that Time Warner is. Netflix and other services work much better for me on Earthlink than they did on TWC.
If cost is the only thing that matters and Basic/Lite are good enough, stay with them. But if you're going with Standard, go with Earthlink. Speaking from twenty years in IT here -- I am very much convinced that Earthlink is a better service than TWC.
I have Earthlink also and it has been good. The newsgroup servers are excellent compared to TWC filtered newsgroup access. I have friends that are on TWC that cannot access the groups that I can on Earthlink so they have the pay for an additional service. I do have a dilemma now. Earthlink customers will not get the MAX upgrade unless you drop Earthlink. What a bummer.
I definitely have a wireless router that was provided by TWC (but have also since added my own Nighthawk router) but I just checked my bill and surprisingly, I'm not charged for it. However I am charged $8/month for the modem. TWC does allow you to purchase your own modem, and provides a list of acceptable ones on their website.
It's also super easy to setup your modem if you buy one of the approved ones. All you have to do is call them, provide some information that is labeled on the modem, and you are good to go. Took me less than 15 minutes.
Does TWC offer routers? You can purchase your own cable modem in lieu of paying a monthly fee from TWC. If you have home phone service with them, I believe there are now two modems - one (which you can buy or rent) for data and one (which they supply at no charge) for phone.
Watch out for TWC routers.....if you rent one from them, they will add a monthly "wireless" fee in addition to the router rental. Yes, that's true. If you get your own modem/router combo, you will not be charged the monthly "wireless" fee, only the cost of internet service. That's what they told me last summer here in Maine.
If you choose to rent a modem from TWC, you will pay $8.00/month rental fees, but you can add your own router and pay nothing extra per month for a "wireless" fee. Best option is to buy your own modem/router. Check the type of equipment acceptable for their service (possibly on their website, or on tech sites like cnet.com), and get equipment that will handle the higher speeds when they increase to 50Mbps and higher.
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