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dustyjamessutton
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small local ISP advertisement

Sun May 23, 2010 5:05 pm

Ok, my Internet Service Provider here in Idaho is a small, local business. Because I live in the mountains, I am only able to get high-speed internet from them, as there is a DSL remote near my house. I have no complaints about them, they have been a great ISP. However, their advertising is a little, ummmm, deceptive, or maybe even, not completely true. I got a flyer in the mail from them advertising new pricing and package bundles for telephone and dsl service together. They also have each speed advertised at what that speed is GREAT for. Here's what they claim:

4 Meg DSL

Great for downloading music and sending photos, live chats, or video calling.

ok, sounds like they don't bend the truth there.....

6 Meg DSL

Try this bundle if you like watching movies on line, standard definition IPTV.

ummmm, wouldn't 4 meg be good enough for online movies and standard definition IPTV?

10 Meg DSL
This bundle is excellent for online gaming, home offices, Hi-Def IPTV or multiple computers.

Why would I pay $100.00 a month for 10 meg dsl if 6 meg is adequate for Hi-Def IPTV, home office, and/or multiple computers, and my current 1.5 Meg line doesn't stutter a bit with online gaming?
I will probably get the 4 Meg DSL line for $60.00 a month, or maybe even the 6 meg for $80.00. However, 10 megs if you need high-def or online gaming? I don't think so.
Tomorrow will take us away, far from home, no one will ever know our names, but the bard's song will remain....
 
JJCDAD
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Re: small local ISP advertisement

Sun May 23, 2010 5:35 pm

Every ISP does this. They know the download speed of their cheapest package is probably adequate for 99.9% of their customers, so they flat out lie.

And I think that your online gaming experience is going to depend more on latency and upload speeds than download speed. Is there any difference in the upload speed offered with the different tiers? If not, then go with the cheapest package you can get.
 
FireGryphon
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Re: small local ISP advertisement

Sun May 23, 2010 6:22 pm

Yeah, latency and signal reliability is paramount. As I learned firsthand, my 40kbps DSL line was great for gaming because it used an SDSL backend that had high reliability and low latency, but when I upgraded to 1.5 meg DSL, it was a stretch for my distance from the CO and used an ADSL backend, which pretty much destroyed any online gaming experience I tried.
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brute
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Re: small local ISP advertisement

Sun May 23, 2010 8:11 pm

Which ISP is it?

I worked for a company out of Idaho who did TV and ISP stuff on the side.


Ya, agree w/ others. They always exaggerate everything and bank on the ignorance of the consumer to pay more for bandwidth they'll never use! :D
 
dustyjamessutton
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Location: Midvale, Idaho

Re: small local ISP advertisement

Sun May 23, 2010 9:00 pm

To answer logan, the ISP is MTECOM, which used to be ruralnetwork. Ruralnetwork was I suppose a subsidiary of MTECOM(aka Midvale Telephone Exchange), but then Ruralnetwork split off a little and Midvale Telephone Exchange began offering DSL to it's Midvale customers as MTECOM. I worked as techsupport for ruralnetwork for a month or so, but grew tired of trying to explain something over the phone to a 90-year-old who decided they wanted to keep up with the times by getting internet. I suppose you either worked for ruralnetwork, Midvale Telephone, or Cableone. I had Cableone for my ISP when I lived in the Fruitland/Ontario area, and have no complaints about cableone or mtecom. Ruralnetwork on the other hand had jacked-up prices for quite a while. I know that MTECOM will get away with the advertising misleadings in this pamphlet they sent out. However, I will inform anyone who asks that they probably wont need anything higher than 4 or 6 megs, especially those in the 50 to 80 year old age bracket. I myself would love to have 10 megs, but am not willing to pay $100.00/month for it, even if it does include the normal phone service as well.
Tomorrow will take us away, far from home, no one will ever know our names, but the bard's song will remain....
 
mattsteg
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Re: small local ISP advertisement

Sun May 23, 2010 10:00 pm

Be happy those speeds are available at all.
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