First apartment - can you tell me about Internet?

[Dreaded Claymore]

I am 24 and I have finally moved into a place of my own in Sacramento. It's a ghettoey, low-income studio apartment, and I love it because my parents don't live there.

Can anyone tell me about options for hooking up Internet service to my apartment? Does anyone have any advice or tips they think I should know? Obviously I'm using Google, but I thought I should ask here too.

As far as I can tell from their web site, there's no way to avoid an installation fee of about $200 if I go with AT&T. Is this normal?

I'm sorry if any of these are stupid questions but I've never done this kind of thing before.

[Dreaded Claymore]

Which is better, Comcast or AT&T? Why? (I can't edit posts in mobile, sorry.)

[troysland]

If planning on getting basic cable, you might get a package with internet. Free install. That's how charter does it in LA County. Just have to rent your cable modem unless you have your own. About $20-50 on ebay.

[cabinetguy]

shop around. there might be a bunch of options.

[bigbearbear]

It depends on what you are looking for. DSL prices tend to be lower, but their speed is also slower than Cable internet services.

On the other hand, you have more options with DSL based services. For example, if you prefer not to go with AT&T, you can select other providers such as Megapath.

I work from home and have both Cable and DSL internet connection, on the average, the DSL is a lot more stable but the Cable has higher speed. That is not the say the Cable is unstable, just in comparison to my Megapath DSL internet service, I've got more outages with Cable. The Cable internet service is my primary connection still due to its higher speed.

If you do decide to go with Cable, consider buying your own cable modem instead of renting one from them. Not only is it cheaper in the long run, you tend to get more stable connection with higher speed. When I started I went with the rent route, thinking that since I work from home, it would be easier to simply go to the Comcast office and swap out the modem if it goes down. It turns out that I was swapping modems on a fairly regular basis (about once a year) and could never get good speeds. Gave that up and bought myself a Motorola SurfBoard SB6141, it is very stable and I get higher speed out of the same service to boot.

[Ninety]

Are you on a budget? Getting TV too? Look to bundle..If not then maybe an alternative.. ? adding it to your cell service or maybe net zero? They are slow but might be a cheap option for oyu.

[paul0660]

Free install..........they will do it, you have to ask.

[dynamomark80]

I like comcast cable over att dsl
comcast is about $30-40 a month and they will rent you equipment for $7-15 a month or you can buy your own gear for about $115
install is $40 if you go on book the install date online

one thing about dsl is that the equipment seems to be cheaper the the cable equipment. you also have the option to go all-in-one modem/wireless router or modem and separate wireless router. I like all-in-one unit for simplicity but to each his own.

[Jet Setter]

It is best to bundle. So, if you are getting cable TV, see if they have internet and cable package and talk to them about pricing. Remember to get a decent speed option if you spend a lot of time on the net. Comcast, dish, att, etc all have bundles. Be careful and read the fine print. There are promos that sound great and are priced nicely. When the promo is over = sticker shock. Don't get roped into a long contract. Plan your contract as long as your lease to avoid early term fees when you move.

[Jet Setter]

BTW, congrats on your first place. Stay safe and don't show anything flashy to your neighbors.

[nothinghere2c]

when i moved into my first apt, i went with comcast because cable in apartments is generally ready to go just need to activate it.

bought my own cable modem, hooked it up and activated it over the phone.

depending how new the apartment complex is, you will either have good or terrible copper phone lines if you decide to go with DSL. Cable might be the better choice.

[Tripeaks69]

I go for cable internet, faster.. Or check the air.. Some wifi are unsecured hehehhehe its free just make sure dont do online banking and do use ur credit card.

There are 2 unsecured wifi in my place, but i prefer to use my cable internet, its faster...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Dreaded Claymore]

Originally Posted by Tripeaks69

I go for cable internet, faster.. Or check the air.. Some wifi are unsecured hehehhehe its free just make sure dont do online banking and do use ur credit card.

Nope, everyone in my building is smarter than that. Which means, incidentally, that they're smarter than the people I went to college with.

[Laythor]

Comcast just doubled their internet speeds. I was on the 50mbp plan but now this:

[ElvenSoul]

Scan for wireless

Find out which apartments are broadcasting

Tell them you will throw down some cash for a little hook up

[adonis]

Ask your neighbor for their wifi code and split the bill with them? They can even setup a second channel for you that is separate from theirs.

[glockman19]

I bundle my TV, cell, and land line DSL, and get a discount.
The $200 is likely because you have little or no credit.
AT&T has a package with Universe TV, DSL & Land line. Additional discounts for AT&T wireless. Comcast may have more speed.

[cfm117]

At&t will charge a modem purchase fee and an install fee if you go with HSI only. Add TV and everything is on the house. If you go with HSI only
Option, you can find an RG and/or modem on Ebay for waaay cheaper. This is for Uverse product line.

[siggysour]

It all depends on what YOU want and will likely be using the internet for. it sounds like you are on a budget, hence " It's a ghettoey, low-income studio apartment"..Comcast is way overpriced IMO and DSL is cheaper, but not by much...goods and bads of each..

Comcast Internet
Goods= NO CONTRACT,faster downloads..lets say for instance you download a movie file around 500mb to 1gb, it usually would take me less than 5 to 3 mins, page refreshing, and video streaming online.

Bads= PRICE, Equipment, randomly booted from online gaming..it's funny how I can tell who has Comcast when playing a ps3, they will sign out,and then sign in, and then sign out and back in, etc.

DSL
Goods= Price, Equipment, installation, I dont get booted when online gaming.

Bads= CONTRACT, downloads take longer, same movie file 500mb to 1gb 15 to 30 mins to download, watching HQ video on pc takes longer to buffer

If I were you I would get Comcast first since you can try it free for 30 days and after a week or two give att a call, att will more than likely give you a better deal with a internet package, free wifi modem, credit towards your new account, etc...since you would be leaving their competition to go with them, and cancel Comcast after your DSL is installed...I had to drive to a comcast center to return the equipment, wait in a long line of unhappy comcast customers, the equipment will get heavy if you have multiple cable boxes, and a modem...I packed all that stuff in my back pack and was glad I did.

[the86d]

Originally Posted by Tripeaks69

I go for cable internet, faster.. Or check the air.. Some wifi are unsecured hehehhehe its free just make sure dont do online banking and do use ur credit card.

There are 2 unsecured wifi in my place, but i prefer to use my cable internet, its faster...

AFAIK most banks and CC companies web sites used to use at least 128bit encryption for the login page (probably double that these days?)... I think it is required by law.

[mattsn0w]

Originally Posted by the86d

AFAIK most banks and CC companies web sites used to use at least 128bit encryption for the login page (probably double that these days?)... I think it is required by law.

Unless your neighbor does pen testing for fun and wants people to try and leach free internet so they can mess with you... There is such a thing as a "Man in the middle" attack. Scroll to "Implementations" to see a list of OSS tools to perform such deeds.

[maurice05]

Att offers whats call a csi= customer self install befall you but the modem and plug it in cost is the $99 for the modem assuming its done rite you wont have to pay anything else if got some reason the come back out it will be an additional $99-$154 I work for them so if you have any questions before and if you order from them feel to contact me

[JDay]

Originally Posted by Dreaded Claymore

Which is better, Comcast or AT&T? Why? (I can't edit posts in mobile, sorry.)

Comcast is far better than AT&T. The speeds are much faster and the latency is lower.

[NoSpam]

For ATT, you are required to buy their modem for $100, and can save the other $100 if you opt for their self install kit, instead of having a tech come out and install it. You just plug everything in yourself, and it's relatively easy.

For comcast, you can either rent the cable modem for around $10/mo, or buy your own (local stores like Bestbuy carry them for around $100-$150). Installation is usually free if you're getting cable tv too.

Cable modem is much faster compared to DSL.