While SBC advertises bundled telephone, DSL, and satellite TV service for around $75.00 a month, you knew there had to be a catch didn't you? The catch being the advertised price is not the end price. You'll also be bound to a contract.
by Kara Glover
Are you shopping around for high speed internet and getting
totally confused? $12.95 for 6 months, or $14.95 for 3
months? Upload speeds of 128 kbps or download speeds of 768 kbps? What
does kbps stand for anyway? Hopefully this article will help you make some
sense of all the promotions out there.
I compared the promotions (as of May 2006) being offered by
most of the primary DSL and cable modem providers in
A few points to clear up first so you can be more educated
in your choices: kbps: kilobits per second: stands for megabits per
second. A megabit is 1,000 times faster than a kilobit. So 1.5 megabits is
equal to 1,500 kilobits.
download speed: The download speed
is for downloading web pages, software, etc. and is what you probably use most
of the time.
upload speed: The upload speed is
used, for example, when you might upload photos to the internet (for instance
to Snapfish or sending an attachment to an email), or
if you have your own website and upload your own pages. Since you are only
downloading most of the time, high speed internet companies focus primarily on
download speeds, which are invariably faster than upload speeds. You might want
to focus primarily on download speeds as well, depending on your type of usage
of course.
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Also, the general consensus is that the typical download
speed for home DSL (before all these promotions started coming out recently) is
about 1.5 kbps. So it is worth a word of caution that the cheapest promotions
may or may not be the best for you.
Several companies are offering very good prices for 768 kbps
of download speed. I have been told that this speed is adequate for people who
mainly use email and do light web surfing. So you have to think about how much
you use the internet. Do you download music? Are you a web surfing addict?
One thing I'll tell you is that if I, as a computer
consultant, had an internet speed of 768 kbps, I'd probably be rather unhappy.
But if you're a light user, you'd probably be fine. OK, now you can read about
the different offers and see for yourself:
AT& T (formerly SBC):
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Their lowest promotion prices are $12.99 per month and
$17.99 per month. You also have to pay a $12.95 shipping and handling fee. (And
you have to pay $49.99 up front for a modem, but you get a mail-in rebate of
$49.99 as well.) The $12.99 price is for download speeds of 384 kbps - 1.5
mbps. The $17.99 price is for download speeds of 1.5 - 3.0 mbps.
Those prices are good for a 1-year contract, but beware. If
you don't call AT&T before the year is up (I believe they send you a letter
to remind you), the price goes up to $50/month. Once you call, though, AT&T
will offer you whatever promotion they have at the time. There is a $99
termination fee if you break your 1-year contract.
Summary of AT&T prices: Lower speeds: $12.99 Faster
speeds: $17.99 Other fees: $12.95 shipping and
handling, $99 termination fee.
Verizon: This company
is offering a base price of $14.95 for download speeds of up to 768 kbps and
upload speeds of 128kbps. The first month is free,
however there is a $19.95 shipping and activation fee. This $14.95 offer is
good only if you order via the internet though (a little Catch 22 there). If
you call and speak to a live person instead, it'll cost you $17.99 a month. Ha!
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For heavier internet users, Verizon
has another, slightly more complicated promotion. For download speeds of up to
1.5 mbps, you get the first month free. Butttttt, for
the second and third months it will cost you $21.95,
and $29.95 for months 4-12. (Where'd they come up with that plan?) Upload
speeds are about 384 kbps. These Verizon promotions
come with one-year contracts and a $79 termination fee if you break it. You
also need to call before your term is up to get decent rates for the next 12
months. (for the second offer you can stay at $29.95.)
Summary of Verizon prices: Lower
speed: $14.95 Faster speed: $21.95-$29.95 Other fees:
$19.95 shipping and activation fee. $79 early termination
fee.
AOL: AOL doesn't have its own high speed infrastructure per
say. It provides AOL service but uses AT&T or Verizon
to deliver it in the Southland. The price is $25.90 per month for a one-year
term. After that year, Verizon customers are still
charged $25.90 per month, while the service with AT&T goes up to $29.99 per
month. The speeds are generally 768 kbps for download and 128 kbps for upload.
With Verizon there is a shipping
and handling fee of $19.95 and a $79 early termination fee, just as if you'd
went with them without AOL. AT&T (as shown above) asks for a $99 early
termination fee.
Summary of AOL fees: $25.90 for 768 kbps download speed ( for other fees see AT&T or Verizon
fees.)
Earthlink: Earthlink: This company
is offering a promotion of $12.95 for the first six months in certain regions
of the country, with a price of $29.95 after that. This promotion is for decent
speeds: 1.5mbps for download speeds and 128 kbps for upload speeds. They also
charge a $19.95 shipping fee, and $149.95 if you break
your 1-year contract. (So I'd guess you'd better be sure you want to stay with
them!)
Summary of Earthlink prices: Faster speed: $12.95-$29.95 Other fees: $19.95 shipping fee, $149.95 early termination
fee.
DSL Extreme: DSL Extreme offers a promotion of $12.95 per
month for customers with SBC phone service. That promotion offers speeds
ranging from 384 kbps - 1.5 mbps for download, and 128 - 384 kbps for upload.
Those with Verizon can expect to pay a little more,
$14.95 per month. Speeds with Verizon are 768 kbps
for download and 128 kbps for upload. These prices don't include $15.43 for the
shipping and handling of the modem. As with the others, you're in for a 1-year
contract. But if you renew before it expires, you can lock in the price DSL
Extreme is offering returning customers at the time. That price is not yet
determined: Watch out, though. The early termination fee if you decide to end
the 1-year contract is a whopping $250!
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Summary of DSL Extreme prices: Lower Speeds: $12.95-$1495 Other fees: $15.43 for shipping and handling of modem, $250.00 early termination fee. I also talked to a couple of companies that offer cable modem:
Comcast: The prices for cable modem tend to be a bit higher, but the two cable companies I called offered faster speeds than the DSL promotions I looked at.
Comcast is offering a promotion of $26.95 for the first
three months with download speeds of 4mbps and upload speeds of about 386 mbps.
But after your honeymoon the price goes up to $45.95 if you have cable TV with
them or $56.95 if you don't. One good thing - there is no contract, so that
means there's no early termination fee.
You also have to either buy a cable modem at an electronics
store (Comcast doesn't sell them) or rent one for $3 a month. So be sure to
include that fee in your calculations! Adelphia: To
begin with, Adelphia offers a basic package which
happens to be very basic. Both its upload and download speeds are 256 kbps (kinda slow if you ask me). This package's price is $24.95
per month. The company also offers a more reasonable package that costs $24.95
for the first three months, then goes up to $43.95. The speeds with this
package are pretty fast - 4 mbps for download speeds and an upload speed of 384
mbps. As with Comcast, Adelphia's packages are
month-to-month, with no contract and no termination fee. But, also like
Comcast, you have to either purchase your own modem or rent one for $3. Also,
you don't need to have Adelphia TV cable service to
get those prices. The prices are the same for both cable TV and non-cable TV
customers alike. ©2006 by Kara Glover
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About the Author
Kara Glover is a Computer Tutor and Troubleshooter. You can find her free tips, articles, and tutorials at her website: http://www.karathecomputertutor.com
The next time you are looking for a good deal on bundled packages, keep in mind you'll save a whole lot more if you just take the time to bundle your own services and spend an extra five minutes each month paying your bills separately. That's an hour a year folks.