Comparing Internet Service Providers in My Area

Finding internet service providers in my area was not as easy as it seemed at first. We were expecting to find lots of choices, but my considerations had to do with my neighborhood, and also just what was the best deal for us. We're in a well populated part of New Jersey, just outside New York City.

We found it was best to compare as many service providers as we could on websites. That became somewhat difficult, because we never did find just one website that listed "all the internet service providers". However, we were able to find some website directories that compared internet companies side by side, and we could enter our address on their websites to find out if we were covered. We found that our local cable provider had some great packages, and that we could get some deals on DSL from Verizon. We were in luck to find that we could get high speed service from Verizon. So we had a lot to choose from. We were surprised to find that aside from the cable company and Verizon, there really were not a lot of high speed providers for us to choose from.

The first comparison we did was on all the plans available from the nationwide provider, Verizon. We compared speeds, costs, and quality. FiOS sure looked good, both from a price point and from quality. They have very attractive bundles, and we liked the idea of linking phone and television with them, because the quality is so high. We were really surprised to find that our only other real choice was the cable provider. Their triple play package was also really good. We liked the prices on both.

In the end, speed won out. I'm not sure if we would have chosen Verizon DSL over the cable plan, because the cable provider was able to give a decent amount of speed along with the bundled services of phone and television. However, FiOS offered the best speed at the best price. Having a clear phone reception and really vibrant television picture helps too! I liked that FiOS seemed to be operational even when cable went out - which it seemed to do with every ice storm last winter.

We matched speed and price, because we really use the internet a lot. We keep in touch with grandparents in Florida using web cams and videos. The kids love to use Facebook, and I use it for business too. The flip camera was made for me! I am constantly uploading videos to share, for family and friends, and for business as well. And then there's my family business website - our store sells products online, and we do a lot of mail order from the web. All of those applications take serious bandwidth, so we went with a dependable network that could deliver speed. I think as ultra high speed networks spread across America, more people will be joining us. For our family, the television could go out and as long as we have internet, we'd hardly notice.

It's great to find what you need, and it's wonderful to find it at a price we can afford, and get a great deal too. We found that with FiOS we had free installation, and with the cable company we would have received a free modem. The cost was about the same. Many internet service providers will also offer you free months, rebates, and incentives for switching to them. We found that the introductory price is great, and we're hooked on the dependability. My sister is in Florida where there is no ultra high speed in her area, and so her choices are high speed dsl and cable. Many cable companies will offer you "turbo boost" to give you a higher speed for your internet. There are great choices in just about any community.

I compared internet service providers in my area to discover what what mattered most to me. Find out what internet speed matches your lifestyle, and how to compare one service with another.