internet access at the weirs

Weirs guy · 07-13-2006, 11:50 AM

OK, so I finally have to break down and get a computer for the house. The kids are old enough to use one without freaking me out, and the wife and I just feel left out without one!

Anyway, I'm wondering if I can get some opinions on the best ISP in the area. We do have metrocast for our cable, but don't currently have a home phone service (we use our cell phones all the time), although I'd entertain the idea of getting a home phone. I'm not looking for top of the line access, just basic web surfing and e-mail stuff. Most of the heavy stuff I can do at work. Any sugestions would be appreciated.

Water Camper · 07-13-2006, 12:58 PM

Metrocast offers Internet access. Cable access is the fastest, although also the most expensive. But if you consider the costs of installing a phone line etc. the price may not be that bad.

Bill

redc5 · 07-13-2006, 12:59 PM

I use Metrocast and bundle it with my cable TV.

BTW, i don't have a "home" phone either

Hermit Cover · 07-13-2006, 02:15 PM

We use it and are pleased with the service...

lfm · 07-13-2006, 10:56 PM

Anyone know of any access points free or pay to connect?

Weirs guy · 07-17-2006, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lfm

Anyone know of any access points free or pay to connect?

My house in a few weeks? OK, seriously thanks guys for input. I was leaning towards metrocast but wanted to check other options first.

WINNOCTURN · 07-17-2006, 04:39 PM

Weirs guy,

If you are thinking of putting in a phone line check out VERIZON DSL capability. If the area you are in has it you may save a lot of money over time that may offset the cost of the phone installation. They have two low cost packages available, first is 3mbp at 768k for $24.00 a month + a 1 year contract, and second is 786mbp at 128k for $14.00 a month a 1 year contract.

If you lean towards Metro Cast you will probable be paying at least $50.00 for the 768k service. When you talk to the customer service rep ask if they have a slower speed service available, say 256k. It could be half the price of the 768k service.

I am in Moultonboro and where we are there is no DSL available yet. I went with Adelphia. They have a 256k service that they do not advertise for $24.00 a month. You have to know about it and ask for it. I found out about it from a VERIZON repair Tech. I work form home two days a week. I started up with a dialup service at first but it was taking some 20 minutes to download a 4meg file. I found the 256k service quite satisfactory, it would download that same file in under 2 and a half minutes.

WINNOCTURN

EllyPoinster · 07-19-2006, 08:48 AM

I'd recommend you check into DSL as well. I've been a seasonal customer of Metrocast cable for many years and for their broadband service the past two years. This year when I called them for a restart on the broadband, I was told that my seasonal information had been inexplicably deleted from their systems and a filter to block usage had been installed on my pole. Worse, it would be a week before they could send a technician my way to essentially re-install me at a $49 charge. As a work-at-homer who moves the office to Merrymeeting Lake for the summer, this was not acceptable so I looked for other options.

The local telephone company (Union Communications) was able to have a technician at my home the next day to install a DSL line. I went with their higher speed service for $39.00/month. If the download speed is slower than broadband, I can't tell. No charge for the installation or DSL modem and they even added a second jack for my office phone.

When I move back home, I just call them to turn the seasonal service off and leave the DSL modem in place. Next spring, I call them again to restore the service. They do charge $25 for that but, if you call them early enough in the morning, it will be done the same day.

I think they understand the needs of a seasonal customer better than Metrocast. Your mileage with other DSL providers may vary.

jetskier · 07-19-2006, 09:52 AM

We just signed up for internet access with Metrocast. They have an introductory rate of $34.95/mo for the first 6 months and then the rate goes up to $39/mo. This is vastly cheaper than my Comcast internet access in MA.

Metrocast has a tool that you can use to measure the performance:

speedtest.metrocast.net

Our installation was a complete horror show, but after 4 phone calls and a second visit, it all seems to work fine. I measured 2.9Mbps down/540Kbps up, which is very good. Note that the cable head end is shared amongst the served cluster, so there is statistically shared bandwidth and your milage may vary.

If you are considering DSL, you need to be cognizant of how far away from the CO you are. DSL speeds degrade very quickly with distance. Some carriers offer on line tools that will give you a view of potential performance.

Good luck,
Jetskier

WINNOCTURN · 07-19-2006, 10:26 AM

FYI

Here are two other sites that will test your connection speeds. They are usable on both DSL and CABLE. You will only have to check what type of service you have (DSL/CABLE) and what State you are in. It will tell you your speed and how it compares to other services in New Hampshire.

http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/

http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html

It should give you a comparison to what Metrocast is showing.

WINNOCTURN

Weirs guy · 07-19-2006, 11:18 AM

So its good to see I'm not the only one who finds Metrocasts customer service, uhm, less then acceptable. And I'm a year round subscriber too!

jetskier · 07-19-2006, 11:26 AM

They did the installation with loose connections (exterior) and crappy connectors. Geez....

I called them and did all the requisite tests to show it was not anything that I did. The next day they claimed there was a regional outage; sorry, my connection still did not work. So, I called tech support again. The nice lady said: "well sometimes these things fix themselves." I told her: "lady, I work for a telecommunication equipment manufacturer and nothing in telecom fixes itself!"

Anyhow, it works now. We will see when we go back up to the lake in a couple of weeks

Note, Comcast is not much better. I had a snowplow dig up my coax cable in MA during the winter and they wanted me to wait until May for it to be fixed. Hmmm....

Good luck!
Jetskier

KBoater · 07-19-2006, 09:32 PM

I have had nothing but good service from Metrocast. Where I am in Wolfeboro Metrocast is the only option. At Christmas they turn my service on for 5 days. years ago there was no charge since I have been a customer for several years. Their technical service has always answered my question and the hold time is less than any tech. service I have dealt with. Guess I'm luck or Wolfeboro has better service.

mcdude · 07-20-2006, 08:34 AM

Another DSL option available in Laconia is Worldpath. $39.95/month. Local company (Farmington) with great tech support. Not sure about their seasonal options.

GWC... · 07-24-2006, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WINNOCTURN

FYI

Here are two other sites that will test your connection speeds. They are usable on both DSL and CABLE. You will only have to check what type of service you have (DSL/CABLE) and what State you are in. It will tell you your speed and how it compares to other services in New Hampshire.

http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/

http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html

It should give you a comparison to what Metrocast is showing.

WINNOCTURN

Thanks for the links.

Here's my test result from the first link for a comcast connection:

Speed
5.3 megabits per second

Communications: 5.3 megabits per second
Storage: 652.6 kilobytes per second
1MB file download: 1.6 seconds
Subjective rating: Awesome

07-13-2006, 11:50 AM	#1
Weirs guy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Weirs Beach, NH Posts: 1,067 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	internet access at the weirs OK, so I finally have to break down and get a computer for the house. The kids are old enough to use one without freaking me out, and the wife and I just feel left out without one! Anyway, I'm wondering if I can get some opinions on the best ISP in the area. We do have metrocast for our cable, but don't currently have a home phone service (we use our cell phones all the time), although I'd entertain the idea of getting a home phone. I'm not looking for top of the line access, just basic web surfing and e-mail stuff. Most of the heavy stuff I can do at work. Any sugestions would be appreciated. __________________ Is it bikeweek yet? Now?

07-13-2006, 02:15 PM	#4
Hermit Cover Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Hermit Cove Posts: 354 Thanks: 20 Thanked 68 Times in 40 Posts	Metrocast..Cable TV and Internet We use it and are pleased with the service...

07-13-2006, 10:56 PM	#5
lfm Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 96 Thanks: 29 Thanked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Any WI-FI access points in the Weirs area? Anyone know of any access points free or pay to connect?

07-17-2006, 04:39 PM	#7
WINNOCTURN Deceased Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Moultonboro Posts: 849 Thanks: 350 Thanked 351 Times in 193 Posts	Isp? Weirs guy, If you are thinking of putting in a phone line check out VERIZON DSL capability. If the area you are in has it you may save a lot of money over time that may offset the cost of the phone installation. They have two low cost packages available, first is 3mbp at 768k for $24.00 a month + a 1 year contract, and second is 786mbp at 128k for $14.00 a month a 1 year contract. If you lean towards Metro Cast you will probable be paying at least $50.00 for the 768k service. When you talk to the customer service rep ask if they have a slower speed service available, say 256k. It could be half the price of the 768k service. I am in Moultonboro and where we are there is no DSL available yet. I went with Adelphia. They have a 256k service that they do not advertise for $24.00 a month. You have to know about it and ask for it. I found out about it from a VERIZON repair Tech. I work form home two days a week. I started up with a dialup service at first but it was taking some 20 minutes to download a 4meg file. I found the 256k service quite satisfactory, it would download that same file in under 2 and a half minutes. WINNOCTURN

07-19-2006, 08:48 AM	#8
EllyPoinster Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 160 Thanks: 13 Thanked 25 Times in 20 Posts	Yes - Do Look at DSL I'd recommend you check into DSL as well. I've been a seasonal customer of Metrocast cable for many years and for their broadband service the past two years. This year when I called them for a restart on the broadband, I was told that my seasonal information had been inexplicably deleted from their systems and a filter to block usage had been installed on my pole. Worse, it would be a week before they could send a technician my way to essentially re-install me at a $49 charge. As a work-at-homer who moves the office to Merrymeeting Lake for the summer, this was not acceptable so I looked for other options. The local telephone company (Union Communications) was able to have a technician at my home the next day to install a DSL line. I went with their higher speed service for $39.00/month. If the download speed is slower than broadband, I can't tell. No charge for the installation or DSL modem and they even added a second jack for my office phone. When I move back home, I just call them to turn the seasonal service off and leave the DSL modem in place. Next spring, I call them again to restore the service. They do charge $25 for that but, if you call them early enough in the morning, it will be done the same day. I think they understand the needs of a seasonal customer better than Metrocast. Your mileage with other DSL providers may vary.

07-13-2006, 12:58 PM	#2
Water Camper Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Pembroke, NH / Laconia, NH Posts: 451 Thanks: 10 Thanked 207 Times in 89 Posts	Metrocast offers Internet access. Cable access is the fastest, although also the most expensive. But if you consider the costs of installing a phone line etc. the price may not be that bad. Bill

07-13-2006, 12:59 PM	#3
redc5 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Gilford NH Posts: 64 Thanks: 4 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I use Metrocast and bundle it with my cable TV. BTW, i don't have a "home" phone either

07-19-2006, 09:52 AM	#9
jetskier Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Reading, MA and South Down Shores Posts: 851 Thanks: 57 Thanked 183 Times in 114 Posts	Metrocast We just signed up for internet access with Metrocast. They have an introductory rate of $34.95/mo for the first 6 months and then the rate goes up to $39/mo. This is vastly cheaper than my Comcast internet access in MA. Metrocast has a tool that you can use to measure the performance: speedtest.metrocast.net Our installation was a complete horror show, but after 4 phone calls and a second visit, it all seems to work fine. I measured 2.9Mbps down/540Kbps up, which is very good. Note that the cable head end is shared amongst the served cluster, so there is statistically shared bandwidth and your milage may vary. If you are considering DSL, you need to be cognizant of how far away from the CO you are. DSL speeds degrade very quickly with distance. Some carriers offer on line tools that will give you a view of potential performance. Good luck, Jetskier

07-19-2006, 10:26 AM	#10
WINNOCTURN Deceased Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Moultonboro Posts: 849 Thanks: 350 Thanked 351 Times in 193 Posts	Bandwidth Tests FYI Here are two other sites that will test your connection speeds. They are usable on both DSL and CABLE. You will only have to check what type of service you have (DSL/CABLE) and what State you are in. It will tell you your speed and how it compares to other services in New Hampshire. http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/ http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html It should give you a comparison to what Metrocast is showing. WINNOCTURN Last edited by WINNOCTURN; 07-20-2006 at 09:01 AM.

07-19-2006, 11:18 AM	#11
Weirs guy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Weirs Beach, NH Posts: 1,067 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	So its good to see I'm not the only one who finds Metrocasts customer service, uhm, less then acceptable. And I'm a year round subscriber too! __________________ Is it bikeweek yet? Now?

07-19-2006, 11:26 AM	#12
jetskier Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Reading, MA and South Down Shores Posts: 851 Thanks: 57 Thanked 183 Times in 114 Posts	Yup! They did the installation with loose connections (exterior) and crappy connectors. Geez.... I called them and did all the requisite tests to show it was not anything that I did. The next day they claimed there was a regional outage; sorry, my connection still did not work. So, I called tech support again. The nice lady said: "well sometimes these things fix themselves." I told her: "lady, I work for a telecommunication equipment manufacturer and nothing in telecom fixes itself!" Anyhow, it works now. We will see when we go back up to the lake in a couple of weeks Note, Comcast is not much better. I had a snowplow dig up my coax cable in MA during the winter and they wanted me to wait until May for it to be fixed. Hmmm.... Good luck! Jetskier

07-19-2006, 09:32 PM	#13
KBoater Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Wolfeboro Posts: 521 Thanks: 10 Thanked 29 Times in 15 Posts	I have had nothing but good service from Metrocast. Where I am in Wolfeboro Metrocast is the only option. At Christmas they turn my service on for 5 days. years ago there was no charge since I have been a customer for several years. Their technical service has always answered my question and the hold time is less than any tech. service I have dealt with. Guess I'm luck or Wolfeboro has better service. __________________ Home Permanently in NH

07-20-2006, 08:34 AM	#14
mcdude Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rock Haven Lake - West Newfield, ME Posts: 5,367 Thanks: 374 Thanked 1,057 Times in 495 Posts	Another DSL option available in Laconia is Worldpath. $39.95/month. Local company (Farmington) with great tech support. Not sure about their seasonal options.