By: Laura Backes
Living in or near a big city will improve your choices in ISP (Internet Service Provider). Unfortunately, all services are not available in all areas of the country so the top rated provider won’t necessarily be available to all people. Hopefully one of the top ISP’s will be available to you in your area.
- Verizon Fios: Fios definitely leads the pack with their fiber optic network. Those consumers who subscribe to Fios love it. They would recommend it to a friend. They are happy with its speed and reliability. Only bad thing I can find, other than price, is that it’s only available in 12 states.
- Wow! Internet: This cable Internet provider is located in the Midwest and was ranked higher than all other ISP’s in the area. They received Honorable Mention from Reader’s Choice because there overall rating has been high for two years in a row. Most consumers are very satisfied with their service and would recommend it to a friend. Wow! Scored highest in regards to pricing as well as reliability.
- Cox: With a significant drop from Wow! Internet this cable based Internet Company was next on the list. The ratings for reliability and overall satisfaction were just kind of middle of the road. They are not the worst by a long shot, but consumers did not rave about this service.
- AT&T U-verse: As the only other fiber optic Internet provider it seems to speak volumes that it was rated below two other cable ISP’s. Consumers found that they need customer service more using this ISP and that they weren’t thrilled with the customer service that they received.
- Cablevision/Optimum Online: This ISP scored the same overall score as AT&T U-verse, but it scored slightly lower for cost and speed. Consumers found it to be less reliable than AT&T U-verse.
- Insight Broadband: Again, Insight tied with AT&T U-verse and Cablevision for overall score, but scored lower in that they needed repairs more often and found the technical support they got to be unsatisfactory.
- Earthlink: The forth in a four-way tie for overall score Earthlink scored significantly lower in speed and reliability than the other 3 ISP’s. For me the most important factors for my ISP is that it’s fast and reliable. On the rare occasion that I need help with something I want to be able to reach a service provider in a reasonable amount of time and I want that person to be pleasant to deal with and to help me with my problem.
- Comcast: Another big name in cable ISP’s Comcast is in the middle of the pack when it comes to overall score, speed and reliability. Apparently more than half of the consumers needed repairs or technical support thus bringing the rating down.
- Time Warner: A leader at one time, Time Warner cable Internet has fallen behind some stiff competition. They are still a very strong competitor in Southern markets because of their package offerings for television and Internet.
- Wildblue and HughesNet: These two are at the bottom of the list with what Reader’s choice called one of the lowest scores they had ever seen. These two companies specialize in going into areas where it’s nearly impossible to get any sort of Internet coverage. They charge higher prices and from the reviews I read their customer service is lacking to say the least.
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