The Best And Worst ISPs According To Consumer Reports (dslreports.com) 90
In the August 2017 issue of Consumer Reports magazine, the nonprofit organization ranked internet service providers based off customer satisfaction. According to the report, many consumers still don't like their broadband and television provider, and don't believe they receive a decent value for the high price they pay for service. DSLReports summarizes the findings: The report [...] names Chattanooga municipal broadband provider EPB as the most-liked ISP in the nation. EPB was followed by Google Fiber, Armstrong Cable, Consolidated Cable and RCN as the top-ranked ISPs in the nation. Google Fiber "was the clear winner for internet service," notes the report, "with the only high score for value." Google Fiber also received high marks for customer support and service. But large, incumbent ISPs continue to be aggressively disliked due to high prices and poor customer service, according to the report. Despite endless annual promises that customer service is the company's priority, Comcast ranked number 27 out of the 32 providers measured. The company's survey results were weighed down by low consumer marks for value, channel selection, technical support, customer service and free video on demand offerings. The least-liked ISPs in the nation, according to the report, are: Charter (Spectrum), Cable ONE, Atlantic broadband, Frontier Communications, and Mediacom. Not coincidentally, the two largest ISPs in that list just got done with massive mergers or acquisitions that resulted in higher prices and worse service than consumers saw previously. MyRatePlan has a breakdown of ISP providers and plans by ZIP code.
32 providers? (Score:3)
Re: 32 providers? (Score:1)
There is technically 2 where I live but one is wireless and hardly used by anyone because it's somehow even worse that the hardwired isp we have. They are now rolling out fiber which is good but they way over charge for terrible service we have now so I'm waiting to see the bill.
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Wait, you actually have a choice?
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Depends on how you look at it... given the current FCC definition of broadband being 25 down/3 up, that leaves Comcast for fixed line service, but my mobile phone can do 4G LTE (Advanced, though that is just a marketing term because the original marketed "4G" didn't meet the spec requirements), which does. I only get 5GB of that and get throttled service after 100GB, which is why I haven't considered upping that to unlimited and cutting the cord (which is probably expensive, but cheaper than paying for anot
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This. So much.
I have one broadband ISP providing service at my suburban address. The price I'm paying for their lowest-tier 50 Mbps plan with a 250GB cap has gone up nearly 50% in the last two years because they're the only place in town offering broadband speeds. The next closest is the DSL ISP, which offers 3 Mbps. That's not a typo.
Every time I finish dealing with the ISPs around here, I have to check the calendar to confirm that I am indeed living in 2017, just because it feels like I'm stepping back in
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I am kinda shocked. Isn't Comcast usually the worst? As in, aren't they kinda famous just for that?
I'm a bit disappointed. They really don't seem to have put much effort into it this year. I'm half convinced, if only by the myriad stories, that they actually work hard to achieve their status as the worst ISP (and sometimes customer service - across all industries). I hope they work harder next year. These stories are a great source of amusement.
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They didn't even mention my provider, Sonic. Sonic is without question the best ISP in the United States. Not only have I rarely had issues with the service, but their techs are real techs. I can call them up and speak to them as one tech to another and they will adjust and tweak settings exactly the way I want them to be. No other ISP does this.
Re: 32 providers? (Score:1)
Sonic has incredible tech support. Unfortunately they only provide DSL in our area ~5Mbs :(
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Consider yourself fortunate. I can get DSL through CenturyLink as competition to Comcast (other than wireless, which has its own issues - mainly low thresholds for throttled bandwidth or restricted or no unlimited plans). CenturyLink and Comcast compete for who can provide the worst service in my area. Before CenturyLink, I had Qwest and before that US West, which I called Qworst and US Worst. Honestly, CenturyLink was a HUGE step above Qworst and US Worst, but I still hear horror stories that rival my Com
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32 may exist across nation, but in practice most consumers only have access to somewhere between 1 and 3, and they usually suck because you have nowhere else to go and they know it.
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If there were only four ISPs left down there, you'd be seeing ads gloating about being "Voted top-5 in the nation!" from all of them.
Like how Bell up here is advertising being the "fastest ranked" mobile network. WTF does that even mean when most people have no useful way of comparing?
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How could Comcast not be at the bottom? (Score:1)
I work IT for a property management company, and we've lost tenants over Comcast. They are very angry at all of the problems that never get fixed, and the cables Comcast leaves strung across parking lots and sidewalks.
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My small neighborhood's HOA even hired a lawyer to try to get Comcast to bury all of their cables. We failed. The neighborhood is only 75 houses, but for as long as I can remember since I moved here almost a decade ago, there's always been at least one cable left across a driveway. Currently, there's a cable going from my front yard to my neighbor behind me. His service is flaky now since the cable isn't UV resistant, and the outside insulator is starting to fall off from being in the sun for nearly two
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That's pretty much what I was going to say. Heck, I think I'd pay a mowing service come over and mow my artificial turf on a weekly basis if they left a cable running across my yard for two years....
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I'd simply charge them for putting their crap on my property. I don't know about your jurisdiction, but in mine, if you put stuff on my ground, you either pay me rent, you forfeit property or you pay my cost to have it removed and trashed.
And I get to choose which one it is.
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Nope. They may use public ground (and even there they must use it in a way that doesn't hinder the rest of the population), they may buy my ground (if they insist in putting a mast down on it) or they have to put it high enough or low enough to not bother me.
Anything else and I'll do with MY cable what I see fit.
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Talk for your own country where corporate interest trumps private property. In mine, anyone who wants to put anything on my property without my consent has to show that the public interest (public interest. Not corporate. Good luck trying that with anything but gas, power and water) outweighs mine AND that he has no other chance to meet this public interest AND that he tried to offer me a reasonable compensation for disadvantaging me.
This usually leads to very sweet deals with anyone who wants to put cables
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So it's public property? Wouldn't lie there very long over here either, actually it's even LESS likely to not end in a (quite serious) fine or simply being removed for being a "hazard". If you put something where you shouldn't put it without paying for it, our administration is usually very quick to remind you that you should better pay them to not make your life miserable.
Easements (Score:2)
When my dad got the electric company to install service to his remote property, they had put up an extra pole and step-down transformer. They charged for this, over $10k, so more or less their cost.
Fair enough.
But the contract including giving them easement rights to any service they wanted to run across his land. He pointed out that this is unreasonable, they only need easement rights for electric service. It took a while, but he got the c
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Lemme guess: They're the only electric company that could service you?
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That reminds me of when my parents' neighbor accidentally dug up the cable line that ran to my parents' house and "fixed" it with wire nuts.
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Yes, Comcast **DOES** suck where I am. That would be Planet Earth. . . .
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Seriously, I seldom have any issues with Comcast. The service, which is all I care about, is up most of the time and at an acceptable speed.
The only trouble I've ever had with them, is when I try to change something. They have terrible customer service. Not surly, but inefficient. You can't rely on anything they say, or that they will do what they say they will do.
Example: They called one day, and told me the cable modem I had needed to be replaced. I originally got that modem from MediaOne, then AT
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I'd agree - we have a Comcast business connection which we use for moving around backups. It's pretty much always doing 10-20Mbps, 24x7, and over the last couple of years we've had maybe one interruption, where we rebooted the router. The service for us has been solid.
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The right tools as in what? I'm an electrician and have done residential and commercial. In a house it doesn't take many tools to run a wire. And if there was no way to access the wall from in the attic that means there has to be atleast 2 holes cut in drywall to get down a wall. I don't like when people indiscriminately talk bad about tradesmen when chances are they don't know what the job takes.
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The right tools as in what? I'm an electrician and have done residential and commercial. In a house it doesn't take many tools to run a wire. And if there was no way to access the wall from in the attic that means there has to be atleast 2 holes cut in drywall to get down a wall. I don't like when people indiscriminately talk bad about tradesmen when chances are they don't know what the job takes.
My experience with installers has been that they do the absolute quickest job they can. They are paid by the job, not by the hour, I guess.
A good tradesman is a joy to work with, but a contract installer? I'd rather do it myself.
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You have a good point there. The cable installers aren't tradesmen and they normally are paid piece work which is shitty pay unless you're fast. But he was talking a tradesman electrician to be exact. And that is where my comment came in. Any time I've had cable "installed" in a place I live I tell them make it live at the D-Mark and I will do the rest. They spew some shit about how any work inside the house afterwards will be a service charge and I tell them they will never be asked to service wires inside
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I once moved to a place with a longer commute and higher rent just so I could switch from Mediacom to Comcast.
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LoL
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That's strange, I'd actually recommend Mediacom as an ISP or phone company. Good reliable fast service (currently 100/10 for me).
As a TV provider however, they're mediocre.
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Of course you'll lose tenants over comcast, or any shitty ISP.
Internet service is a necessity now...
Necessity my ass.
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People really get their necessitys and luxarys mixed up here.
RCN top rated? (Score:2)
Meh, RCN were supposed to come to my town. They signed an agreement with the town. Then they reneged when the economy tanked in 2001 or 2008 (I forget which). The town didn't negotiate any penalty clause, so RCN just walked away.
We do have Comcast and Verizon FIOS, not that that has made either of them more competitive, nor do I have any proof that if RCN had come that prices would be any different than they are now.
Regardless, RCN's name is mud AFAIC, right down there with Comcast and FIOS..
All Of Them (Score:5, Insightful)
Everybody HATES their ISP, whichever it is. They all rank the worst.
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i don't hate FIOS. wish they didn't require me to use their awful Quantum gateway, but am otherwise happy with them (once i disabled their DNS, which shows ads)
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I have Fairpoint DSL. I'm way out in the boondocks. They keep my service up, bill me accurately, and have increased my speed a few times, while not actually charging me extra money. I am quite happy with my ISP.
However, they're being sold - and I remain dubious. However, it's DSL so the PUC has it setup that I can get service from any company willing to service me. GWI is pretty good, so I can just swap service, if they don't meet expectations.
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I don't hate my *ISP* (U-verse), I just hate the crippled modem they force me to use. It has no true 'bridge' mode, just a flaky "DMZ" mode that screws up streaming video & causes it to stutter, even with 50mbps service. Apparently, it's that way due to a hardware design flaw (the RG has too little RAM, and the braindead firmware always allocates most of it to their IPTV service, even if you only use them for internet, so the *slightest* bit of LAN traffic causes incoming data to overflow. Youtube's pla
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Hate is such a strong word. I don't hate Christians, Muslims, or Jews. I disagree with Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
But telecommunication companies (telco's), that's a whole new level of hell that religion couldn't possibly imagine.
I don't love my ISP (Frontier FIOS), nor do I hate them. On a day-to-day basis they get job done.
If you truly "hate" your ISP, have no choice, and have a valid reason to complain, please tell the FCC. You might not think it helps, but it does.
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Re:All Of Them (Score:4, Insightful)
Not true. I like all three ISPs I have contracts with. Granted, I live in a country where you actually have a choice of at least 3 and depending where you are up to 7 or more ISPs to choose from, so they better offer reasonable service at a reasonable price because anyone who doesn't has a short life.
Welcome to capitalism where competition drives quality up and prices down.
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Actually, I'm quite happy with mine. 100/33 Mbps, no caps, excellent customer service, and they'll let me run my own servers, including smtp/http/ssh and games.
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Sorry, but I'm quite happy with mine. 365 euros a year (a euro a day) for 1 gigabit symmetrical (FttH).
And on the few occasions I need to call their helpdesk, they have people who actually understand what they are talking about, not just script-monkeys.
And if you want to use your own modem/router, they provide all necessary information to set up SIP and IPTV.
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They all rank the worst.
That's because there are only a few, massive ISP's in the country that control all Internet access. They all know that we have no other choice (we can only switch from one shitty ISP to, at most, one equally shitty ISP), and that they are a zero-sum oligopoly. Since they no doubt collude with each other to keep prices high, they are essentially a single-minded monopoly.
It's telling that the most loved ISP in the nation is a municipal one. It's more evidence that the model with municipally owned wire and
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Crapcast must be doing something right (Score:2)
They are no longer considered the worst?? Wow.
Slashdot suggest the "related" links "Donald Trump Wins US Presidency" -- must be thinking of dissatisfaction rankings.
Maybe it was multiple choice? (Score:2)
Was it multiple choice? And was the answer "All are bad"? If not I want a redo
Disclaimer:I did not read the article nor the summary, be happy I read half of the title as this is not only an impulse post, it is Slashdot.
Meh (Score:1)
Is there a list somewhere? (Score:1)
I didn't see a ranked list of 32 service providers in the CR article. I just saw a few service providers compared to each other, like in BeauHD's summary. Is there a list of all 32 somewhere?
Anyone else on Suddenlink? (Score:2)
It's the best ISP around here for bandwidth and availability, but as a cable provider it's limited in this rural area to customers who live on the cable runs. We have movie star mansions which can only get crappy DSL or even the any-port-in-a-storm Commspeed, a WISP that operates at analog modem speeds.
My one problem with Suddenlink is that it blocks certain sites. Does anyone else have to turn on a VPN to get youdrugstore.com?
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Try changing your DNS servers. A lot of Isp's null route illegal sites or know addresses for botnet C&C servers.
Comcast ain't so bad. Here at least. (Score:3, Informative)
It seems to be quite the thing to trash Comcast but they have done a reasonably good job in my area.
When they first acquired the network in my area from AT&T (it was the domain of @Home originally which was pretty much the first cable-modem ISP) I had all sorts of reliability problems. Service would blink out for minutes at a time at random intervals. Very annoying when you are VPNed into the company network or watching a video.
That persisted for a while but now I have had no downtime for years with DOCSIS 3 service. 100Mbit/sec downloads consistently any time of day.
Apparently not everyone gets that kind of service which is a shame.
Whaddya expect? (Score:2)
Side-effect of living in a plutocracy.
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"ISP's"?
WTF?
Seriously guys, I'm not even a native speaker and I know that the plural comes without the dash. Right up there in the f...ing headline!
Okee then, it is called an apostrophe. A dash is similar to a minus sign but usually wider.
I'm quite happy with EPB (Score:1)
They've been my ISP for 6 or 7 years now and I have found very little to complain about. Also, they've doubled the speed of the basic service twice without raising the rates, from 25 to 50 to 100 Mbps. Gigabit service is available, but I don't really have a need for it.
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But once you have gigabit you create a need. Wish I had that option available. Only a very small portion of Vegas has those speeds.
Spectrum-Warner isn't too bad (Score:2)
I have triple-play. It's reasonably fast and reliable. It's worth 80-100 bucks. The problem is, it costs twice that!
ISP? (Score:2)
"channel selection, free video on demand offerings"
What do these have to do with being an ISP?
It's hardly surprising that cable providers rank lower than pure ISPs because there is a lot more potential for problems with cable other than actual internet service.
I wonder where Cox Communications ends up (Score:2)