ISPs: Reviews

While not available in all areas, Verizon's FiOS fiber-optic network gets the highest customer satisfaction, reliability and speed scores in major surveys. For $55 per month, you get downstream speeds rated at up to 15… Mbps -- compared with typical DSL speeds of 3 Mbps to 7 Mbps -- and faster still downstream speeds of up to 50 Mbps (*Est. $140 per month) are available. Nine email accounts, Wi-Fi access and 24/7 customer support are included. The upshot is that if FiOS is available in your area, it's easily the best Internet service provider. Prices are less if bundled with FiOS voice and video service.

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EarthLink cable is available in most areas served by Road Runner (Time Warner and Bright House) or Comcast. EarthLink subscribers get eight email accounts with 100 MB storage each, and each email address gets 10 MB of… server space for a personal web page. The service also includes a highly regarded spam filter, along with other security features. Costs vary by region. For those in a Time Warner/Bright House area, service costs are around $45 for a 7 Mbps connection (maximum available speed varies by location). Both higher-speed plans and a low-cost, low-speed plan (768 Kbps, *Est. $30 per month) are available in some areas. You also get 20 hours per month of free dial-up access for when you're traveling or your cable connection is interrupted. Customer service is available 24/7.

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If you live in the Midwest, you may be in a Wow! cable Internet service area. For $40 per month, you get a downstream speed of 2 Mbps; if you want a speedier connection you can pay $60 per month for 8 Mbps. Users get 10… MB of web space and five email accounts. Wow! is notable for its high customer satisfaction ratings in surveys, especially in the areas of reliability, customer service and technical support.

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If you don't need the fastest available speeds, AT&T's DSL plans deliver respectable performance at prices that beat most broadband ISPs. The company's least expensive DSL plan has a maximum downstream speed of just 768… Kbps, but that's still 15 times faster than a dial-up connection. Included with the plan are Wi-Fi access, a dial-up account and 11 email accounts. If you need more speed, DSL plans up to 6 Mbps downstream (*Est. $40 per month) are available. Introductory programs for new subscribers can cut costs considerably, especially on AT&T's more expensive plans. Other perks, such as a free modem or gateway and free Internet security protection, are also available on some plans. AT&T service in the Southeast scores slightly higher than the service elsewhere in the country in some surveys, but once introductory rates expire, they cost a few dollars more as well. If you don't have AT&T phone service, costs go up $5 across the board.

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For those without access to broadband service, who use the Internet only on occasion or who have budgetary concerns, dial-up access remains a reasonable choice. EarthLink's cheapest plans cost only $15 per month (with a… one-year commitment, or $12.50 per month if you can pay for the full year in advance. For that you get spam filtering and antivirus features, eight email accounts, and 24/7 customer service. There is also an accelerator feature that loads some text and graphics on web pages faster.

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If your needs amount to occasionally checking your email or a little web surfing, both NetZero and Juno (which are owned by the same parent company, United Online) offer a free dial-up Internet connection for up to 10… hours each month. In exchange for a free ISP, you'll have to contend with advertising on your computer screen while browsing. If you need a little more than 10 hours, $11 per month will get you unlimited Internet access, spam and email virus protection, a personal website and 24/7 phone support -- but no accelerator feature. NetZero and Juno both score well in customer satisfaction surveys.

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