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Ok, so I'm relocating from the rural area where I have lived for the past 7 years to Meridian, Idaho, which has pretty much combined into Boise in the last decade. With my current ISP, I have 10Mbps ADSL, which is fast enough for 1080p HD streaming on youtube. I'm now looking at cableone and centurylink as my two options. I am seeing some ridiculous speeds advertised, all cheaper than the $100 per month I pay for my 10 Mbps internet right now, although it is a phone/internet bundle, I will just be getting internet in Meridian, since my cell phone is enough to serve as my main phone. Cableone's basic package is 50 Mbps for $35 a month, although that is promotional and I'm sure they will stick me with the regular $50/month bill eventually. Although I would prefer to stay away from cable internet, as in the Cisco Networking Academy I learned that cable has issues with network collisions and because it is a shared wire, security issues. CenturyLink offers an internet only package via DSL for $30/Month for 20/Mbps, which should be plenty fast for one computer. Then again, they are running a promotion for any speed for $30 bucks per month for the next 12 months, but I'm sure my bill will skyrocket after those 12 months are over. They also offer 12/Mbps, 7 Mbps, a measly 1.5 Mbps, and a freaking crazy 40 Mbps, which any crackhead would love after snorting a line and they have to open links in new tabs at 10 links per second. But then they offer 5 Mbps upload speeds as an option, which would be nice should I ever endeavor to become an annoying youtube star. I'm pretty much set on CenturyLink, but CablOne may be a viable alternative if CenturyLink has some Nazi business practice that I don't know about. Is anyone else in the Boise area? Recommendations? Alternatives? Oh, and I have already pretty much relocated. I've been moving things already, and my house is in a sub-division that has both DSL and Cable internet customers already.

Looks like this penguin is (removes sunglasses) confused. YEAH!

I pictured an 80s Corey Feldman. lol.

Yawn, wake me up when it becomes $1/Gb

Ok, I guess I'm just asking if anyone has had any bad experiences with their ISP in Boise. Also, has anyone run into a data cap with their ISP. My current DSL service doesn't have a data cap, so I have been able to download as much as I want. Anyone run into reliability issues? Maybe much lower speeds than what their ISP advertised? Real world issues.

I have had good luck with cable internet with one exception COMCAST!
If you do go with cable make sure it has no cap.
For a good 5 years i had RCN with 25 down and 2 up, it never slowed down for any reason and I might have lost service 5 times for a few hours at most.

In the lat year I got Verizon FIOS with the standard 35 down 15up along with 4 HD boxes "one is a DVR" and 2 bobo boxes witht he highest HD package that did not include any premium pay channels like HBO, showtime etc. for 134$ a month. I do a lot of downloading so I logged onto the verizon website to see what I could do to increase my internet speed. They had 75 down and 35 up for 7$ more a month so I did it all online and the next day my speeds went to 84 down and 38 up. Verizon always seems to give you on average a extra 9mbps over what you are supposed to get. When i download a file if the servdr id=s good enough it pins my speed cap at 10500kB/s or 10.5MB/s which is my tested top speed of 84mbps. As for the the upload speeds I could care less since i do not torrent unless it is absolutely necessary for whatever reason. But it does make mailing Hi res photos to family fast
It never wavers Verizon has so much bandwidth available to them I do not think it will ever get slow.

As for DSL I never messed with it but the closer you are to the carrier the better i know that. I am sure if you goto DSL reports you might be able to find out more information on the providers where your at.

fiberoptic > cable > dsl. i would go with cable over dsl any day of the week. having troubleshot many internet connectivity issues with people over the years, dsl is consistently the worst for reliability and speed. you need an adsl modem which is either supplied by your ISP and will be very crappy or you can maybe find another name-brand one but it will still be crappy. at least with cable you can go out and get a decent motorola docsis 3.0 cable modem if the junk your ISP gives you isn't up to snuff. yes, you share bandwidth for the neighborhood with cable, but at the speeds mosts ISPs are pushing for cable connections you should be fine. here in ny the cable company offers 100/35 pkg for $105/mo or a 50/25 for $55/mo....not too bad imo but i currently have FIOS 35/15 and would never go back to cable.

I would say that most times cable>dsl, but not always. In high density population areas, dsl is usually a more reliable and faster option. Also, if you are on VDSL2 at high speeds, there will be no discernible difference and dsl can often have a lower sustained latency, resulting in a better (more consistent) ping for gaming. Cable tends to.... game the numbers with "turbo" features that are engineered for speed tests and little else.

I used to work for CLink, back when they were Qwest. For Meridian, here is how it works:

Depending on the technician they send out, if you go with a basic upload package of ~768kbits, you could be on old ATM or slightly less old aDSL. However, when you get the 5mbit upload, you get VDSL2. VDSL2 is a much more efficient protocol and tends to have higher consistent throughput. Every package that CLink sells will be based off of their technological availability. Get at least 7mbit, and you will guarantee you are on aDSL. If you want to use the VDSL2 tech (it is better), go for a 7/5 or 12/5 plan. There are no caps in place with CLink. I believe their contract states that there can be, but there are none in place as well as no tools with which to monitor them for front line service folk.

If you want to really think about the fun stuff, there is a 40/5 plan as you mentioned, but also a 40/20.

But, for each of the technologies that CLink uses, you need a different modem. Go VDSL2, buy the modem, call it a day. Also, you can downgrade your service to 7/5 if it gets too expensive. You only violate the ToS by cancelling. A downgrade is not a cancellation, so you will be fine. There is also a VERY important option to get called Linebacker. It insures the wiring in your home (your responsibility). If you get a phone line, get this in the package! Easiest insurance ever. I've seen wiring jobs that require a new fishing of copper.... the repairs were close to $400. With Linebacker, the max out of pocket (was) $75. It covers the lines and jacks in your house. Otherwise, CLink will only guarantee to the drop (the box outside your house).

K, that was nice and detailed. Thanks. I'll get my own modem and the 5Mbps upload for sure. Probably only the 12 Mbps download speed though. I cannot see myself using any more than that at one time anytime soon.

Ugh, the fine print and restrictions on centurylink was ridiculous, so I went with cableone instead. Television, and Purdy fast innernet ya'll.

Just switched from comcast to surewest. Love seeing those numbers. Comast was more expensive and slower

Have the winners been finally announced? I am from https://worldpostalcode.com/united-states/new-york/ and I think I can participate in such contests, right? I just would like to read more about the conditions of similar promotion. Who will be so kind as to tell me where to read more? It would be also kind if you share some links to the events alike. I would gladly participate.