Hey guys, just thought I'd ask a quick question here.

Basically I'm moving in with some people and they are looking for Internet access. They'd also like cable if possible, but basically they think that DirectTV satellite Internet would be the best option (seeing how it's cheaper). I've heard some not-so-positive things about satellite Internet in general, and I also like to play games and stream Netflix movies, etc. Anyone from around SLC know a good (or the best) Internet provider around these here parts?

Thanks for your time.

Locally owned, active in the community. Pete Ashdown, the owner, is a netizen advocate and a great guy, too. I pay a little more but I get the fastest broadband I've ever had (Xmission and UTOPIA). Check it out. I have no financial or personal interests in the company.

Poke around in here:

http://www.mazecreatordsl.com/UT/city=Salt%20Lake%20City

which annoys the heck out of most gamers and movie streamers.

We have Quest and have never had a problem with it. It's very fast and rarely down. My sister-in-law has Comcast and constant problems but I'm not certain if it's due to her area and/or computer.

Depending on where you live, Utopia might be available. I would strongly recommend getting that if you can.

What internet provider you get depends on the area you live in. If you live in a more rural area, most likely you'll get stuck with Beehive, they suck, by the way! Century Link, or Quest, as they used to be called, IMO is your best bet. I've had them for years and never had a problem, of course I am biased since my DH works for them! I'm not a fan of Comcast, but again, biased! Comcast is a major competitior for Quest/Century Link...I did have a friend who had Comcast and everytime it rained her tv and internet went down. We have no problems streaming Netflix, we are not big gamers in my house but DH played some internet Navy SEAL game over the internet and we had no problems. Century Link has a packaged deal where you can get Direct TV and I'm pretty sure they are cheaper than Comcast.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2011 05:18PM by dominikki.

I've always enjoyed their service, though I haven't had it in years. When I did, however, it was easily the cheapest and most reliable company around.

However, it was a slower alternative to something like Comcast.

A long time ago with a dial-up connection.
It was the only internet service offered in Park City at the time so I had no choice.
I had no problems with them.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2011 01:41AM by steve benson.

From personal experience, and from talking to friends, I've determined that the "best" internet depends on where you live.

I got Comcast when they first offered high-speed internet in my area. Two years ago, right before Comcast upgraded their system, I switched to Qwest, now CenturyLink, to get faster service. It worked okay at first but then I started having problems. It was great when it was up, but it would often drop out (the modem would retrain) often when a call would come in or you would place a call. Over the 2 years that the contract ran I had techs out to my house at least 10 times. So last weekend I switch back to Comcast. I upgraded my cable modem so now I'm getting 35Mbps downstream and 6Mbps upstream with an average ping time of 9ms. I'm very pleased.

Other friends have had just the reverse experience and Qwest, now CenturyLink, works best for them. Still another friend wasn't having any success with either so I suggested she try Digis [ http://www.digis.net ] It has worked great for her. It is a wireless internet where they have to install an antenna and transmitter on your roof in order to access their system.

There is also Clear Wireless internet [ http://www.clear.com/ ] that gives you internet over the 4G cellular phone system.

I have never personally had satellite based internet but I have used it once at Radio Shack. It's a little strange to use. When you click on a link nothing happens for several seconds and then BAM! the page loads. Personally, I would only go with that if it was my only options.

I would recommend you get a service with NO CONTRACT so you can change it if it doesn't work well. I would probably start with Comcast since they have a 30-day money back guaranty and then move onto Qwest, now CenturyLink, if Comcast doesn't work for you. If Qwest, now CenturyLink, doesn't work then I would look at one of the more "exotic" options.

As far as UTOPIA goes, I've used a friend's computer and they have UTOPIA. It was great because it's fiber optic up to the house, I think, but there is a drawback. From what I understand there is a high initial up-front cost to get set up with them. Make sure you read the fine print before you sign up with them.

Good luck in your quest for the "best" high-speed internet.


Additional:

You should see if you can rent your cable (Comcast) or ADSL (Qwest, now CenturyLink) modem when you initially sign up. If everything works okay, and I would give it 6-12 months to make that determination, then you may want to purchase the modem and avoid the monthly rental fee. Just a thought.


Additional Additional:

I have a (Comcast) Motorola SurfBoard 5120 cable modem that I'm not using and would be willing to sell. It's DOSCIS 2.0 certified (not DOCSIS 3.0) so it won't work at the fastest speeds. I'm not sure what the limit is for a DOCSIS 2.0 modem. I was using it at the above mentioned speeds but only because the tech had set it up wrong. He called me back today and apologized for the error, but I had been using it for two days without any problems.

I also have two (2) (Qwest) ActionTech Q1000 ADSL modems. One that Qwest sold to me when I signed up with their service and a replacement because they thought the one I had wasn't working. I suspect that they both work fine because replacing the modem didn't fix my problem. I would be willing to sell you one of those as well. I'm sure we could come up with a price that's reasonable to both of us.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2011 05:05AM by Mnemonic.