[svlug] the frog in the pot (me)

[Joel]

On Wednesday, February 20, 2013 13:43:11 Eric De Mund wrote:

> o   I need it to be reliable. I can't have the connection going down for

> o   I need it to not be ridiculously priced. (Is $40 or $50 per month
>     with reliable service asking too much?)
> o   I don't need static IP.
> o   I don't even need it to be particularly fast. I don't stream

> o   I have a file server here that I ssh(1) in to from outside, but I'm
>     generally not sloshing big gigabyte-sized files back and forth.
> 
> Do I have any alternatives? I'd like to hear what other South Bay-ish
> folks are using, and learn of their cost and reliability.
> 
> This frog is starting to feel warm in the Comcast pot. Thank you,
> Eric

This feels deja vu. I asked this group for advice before I got my first DSL. 
Got a lot of helpful responses. You aren't going to get reliability statistics 
here -- just a few experiences and opinions. Here's mine:

I'd say, yes, you're asking too much. If you want ultra-reliablity, it's not 
consistent with your budget. You'd want two services, with separate physical 
transport paths. Backhoes are always digging in the wrong place.  This would 
cost more than you're paying now. If you're only feeling warm, I'd put up with 
it. (I'm not a Comcast fan and don't even have cable.) You can save some money 
with DSL, but if you are happy with the reliablility of Comcast, I'd stick 
with it and be happy. If you switch to DSL, you'll kick yourself the first time 
it goes out.

I'm using DSL Extreme for under $25, and before that Sonic. Both use AT&T 
lines. In Cupertino. Others recommended Raw Bandwidth. Their web site says 
they also use AT&T lines in Sunnyvale. Fusion sounds nice, but if you don't 
need the phone, other options are cheaper, and there's always that rogue 
backhoe.

I've been reasonably happy with my DSL running on AT&T lines over the last 6 
years or so, certainly no reliablity complaints. I use it at various hours, 
including midnight. I did lose my second phone line for a few days once, 
luckily not the one with the DSL. I don't believe the horror stories are 
typical. I have no experience with AT&T as an ISP, but friends do and seem 
reasonably happy. Sonic has a lot of fans, but I didn't notice any functional 
difference when I switched to DSL Extreme. (Sonic CS was noticeably quicker, 
but DSL Extreme was more than adequate the one or two instances I used it.)

I hope this helps. 

-- Joel

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