High Speed Internet Service Providers Reviewed

Charter Internet Specials are an affordable, convenient and reliable way to say goodbye to dialup and hello to the high speed broadband experience you’ve been waiting for.  There are two speed plans available – Charter Internet Lite gives you a respectable 1.5 mbps connection speed.  But if you have a serious need for speed, such as if you are planning on streaming movies or playing online games, you will want their ultra fast speed up to 25 Mbps.  Charter.  Bundling will save you more on your monthly subscription rate.  There is no equipment to buy, and no contract required, plus you get multiple email accounts and the Charter Security Suite.

More and more people are seeing the need for wireless internet service to keep them connected while navigating today’s fast-paced lifestyle.  Within the next few years it is predicted to become entirely mainstream with the majority of adults in the United States.  There are so many practical uses to mobile broadband, and so many wireless applications currently available.  You can jump on a hotspot, have internet on-the-go, enjoy wireless home networking, and you can even utilize your cell phone as a wireless router when you are in a pinch and there isn’t a hotspot available.  Many internet providers throw in wireless cards for free with their internet plans so that your mobile device can become a useful tool anywhere and everywhere.

The Herald Sun of Australia last week reported that child predators are spending more time during the holiday season visiting Internet game sites looking for prey. A child task force detective said the Internet was like a “supermarket for pedophiles,” yet online predatory behavior is heavily under-reported. He explained why this is so: “If a child goes to their parent and says ‘some weirdo just hit on me online,’ the parent’s first reaction is to take the Internet away — so kids are reluctant to bring it up.”  He warned: “I can just about guarantee you that four out of every five kids have had something inappropriate happen to them while they were on the Internet.”  He recommended that concerned parents “contact the Internet service providers in your city to find the parental tools that will help you play a proactive role in protecting your children from online predators.”

The Greenville News in South Carolina reported today that Internet speeds are rising as companies in the cable industry make a bid to replace DSL as the major delivery instrument for  high speed broadband. Charter Communications, the dominant cable company in upstate South Carolina, reports it has increased the speeds for the top three of its broadband tiers with no increase in price. Insiders say that cable providers are focused on expanding broadband because it is more profitable than traditional TV programming. The cable companies are readying themselves for the day when video will be delivered more commonly over the Internet than through cable lines. Some feel this has already started, noting well-known web-based services like Hulu and Netflix.  You can find the available download speeds in your area by checking both the local cable outlets and the DSL providers by zip code.  Doing so will enable you to compare services to find the best fit.

Here is a great option for a super fast Internet connection: Clear Wireless Internet! If you are looking for a fast connection for your home, Clear comes equipped with 4G technology & equipment that is not only fast, but super simple to use. For home use you might choose the Clear Home Modem — when it arrives, just plug it in and start surfing the web!  Or you may instead choose the Clear USB Modem — simply plug it into your laptop and get online anywhere within the Clear coverage area (which is well beyond your front yard)! With a Clear Mobile Plan, you can download files & videos, check your email or surf the web right in your car, at the mall, on your way to dinner — or any other place in the city!  This is certainly one of the simplest programs anywhere!

The Ukiah, California, Daily Journal had an interesting article yesterday that emphasizes how much government entities wish to provide high speed broadband to their citizenry. Many people move to Mendocino County because of the rural charm it offers.  However, the county also suffers from a lack of speedy, reliable Internet access — and that has made country living a troublesome trade off. According to the article, the United States even lags behind some African countries when it comes to offering broadband to rural areas. The Broadband Alliance of Mendocino County, however, hopes to change that. The organization was formed by a local group with one purpose in mind —  bringing broadband to the county.  The all volunteer group, formed six months ago, is made up of interested citizens and tech professionals.  All have been impacted by the lack of high-speed broadband.  You can check your area’s Internet providers by zip code to determine the Internet speeds that are available in your area.

Internet providers in Europe can’t be forced to install monitoring systems to prevent the downloading of copyrighted material, said the highest court in Europe on Thursday. A Belgian company that manages copyrights for authors and composers took a large ISP to court claiming the company was permitting the illegal downloading of music. The court ordered the ISP to install a filter to catch illegal downloads, but the ISP appealed and the case went to the Court of Appeals in Brussels — who then referred it to the European Court of Justice. The final decision of the ECJ declared that making a company monitor everything downloaded would prove to be prohibitively expensive and would violate the ISP’s freedom to do business. What are the pirating policies of U.S. companies?  If you would like to know more, we recommend you do a search for Internet providers by zip code to find the ISPs serving your area.

The Denver Post reported today that analysis done by Verizon, CenturyLink, Qwest Internet and AT&T, reveals that online retail sales for November and December in the USA should reach $37 billion — up 15% over 2010. The estimates also include information from ComScore, a Colorado-based market research firm. Online shoppers have already spent about $9 billion during the first three weeks of November — 14% higher than the same three week period last year. ComScore, in a survey of more than one thousand consumers, found that more than one-third are locating more sales and better discounts than they did in 2010. Half of those surveyed said they specifically look for free shipping while shopping online. A few retailers have already launched their special online sales, including The Gap and Newegg. Most of the big retailers, including Best Buy and Walmart, will begin offering Black Friday deals to their online customers on November 25.

Like thousands of other vacation renters, Joe Mangiaracina found it harder and harder to locate an Internet connection at his summer rental while on vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey.  “It used to be we could get a number of different connections by piggy backing off of our neighbors” Joe was quoted as saying in this week’s edition of the Ocean City Patch. “These days, though, finding a wireless connection is more and more difficult because of all the people who choose to encrypt their wireless routers.”  As a result of his frustration, Joe dreamed up SurfNet, a company that rents wireless routers to vacationers in Ocean City. Guests can pick up their router when they stop by the rental office to pick up their keys. Joe says the modems come with all of the necessary software, plug into the USB port of any computer or laptop, and offer high-speed broadband similar to what you receive from any of the best Internet providers.  Odds are pretty good you will be seeing similar businesses popping up in other resort locations.

Online TV programming is going to be one of the most profitable additions to the Internet in many years. Insiders believe it will change the entertainment industry forever. Online TV viewing has grown steadily, particularly since Hulu, NetFlix, & Blockbuster have added television shows to their online content. Well, you can now add video giant YouTube to their number.  Owned by Google, YouTube just announced it is launching 100 new online TV channels over the next twelve months. With an investment of $100 million, YouTube is working with principal Hollywood studios, major Hollywood stars and prime media outlets, to put together a line-up of programming that will appeal to a large and diverse audience. If you are not sure if your Internet connection is fast enough to allow you to watch streaming TV shows online, try doing a search for “Internet service providers in my area” and you should be able to find out quickly.

When my wife and I first met it was in the 1970s. I was living in Brooklyn, New York and Carol was in Peoria, Illinois.  Even though we fell in love and decided to get married, we both had a year to finish at our respective schools.  For the next 14 months, or so, we carried on what is commonly referred to as a “long-term relationship.”  Back then that meant writing letters and making very expensive long distance phone calls.  I would call Carol every Sunday night from a pay phone in my dorm and we would talk for about an hour. The cost was about $25.00 a week — back then!  How different things would have been if we would have had the worldwide web and Internet service providers. We could have been in constant contact via email, instant messaging and Skype — and it wouldn’t have cost a penny.  I think couples in long distance relationships have it much easier today. The only thing I feel bad about is that they will probably never know the joy of receiving a letter from the person they are in love with.

Last year at this time the TV industry was filled with concern about cable cutting — folks dropping their cable subscriptions because they were watching television on the Internet. Perhaps you heard this concern from the Internet service providers in your city. Today’s NY Times reports, however, that cables remain connected and recent earnings reports show that satellite and cable subscriptions are doing better than industry insiders forecast. While video viewing via the Internet is increasing, most American households still pay for TV subscriptions and seem to prefer watching programs in that way. The cancellations that have come in seem to be due to poverty, not technology.  The affects of the difficult economy on American families has become evident because many families are eliminating premium channels such as Showtime and HBO or are dropping their land line telephones or the digital video recorders they first signed up for before the economy went south.

According to an article in PC Magazine last Thursday, Verizon has been letting customers know via email of a change to their privacy setting.  Verizon plans to start collecting your browsing history, app usage and cell phone location for third-party marketing purposes.  You are able to opt out of the program, but Verizon has promised not to share any personal information that might identify you. Those who remain in the program will begin seeing ads that more personalized while using their mobile devices for web surfing or when they are using Verizon DSL or FiOS, said  Jeffrey Nelson, a spokesman for Verizon. If you would like to know if Verizon is available in your area, try searching for Internet providers by zip code.  These changes have to do with ads that are targeted, a new service Verizon is offering advertisers. The program will create marketing reports and Verizon plans to sell more ad space that is specifically targeted.  Nelson went on reassure customers, stating “safeguarding data and protecting our customers’ privacy are high priorities for Verizon.”

More and more people are using the Internet to learn how to speak a foreign language. And, if you think about it, it really makes sense. Online language programs can flash pictures while simultaneously voicing the word that describes the image.  That is something no high school Spanish book or French book is able to do.  In addition, learning online lets you hear correct pronunciation, move along at your own pace, and repeat things as many times as necessary.  Also, most online language courses are much less expensive than the language schools that mail out huge volumes of audio files and/or DVDs.  Of course, to benefit from an online language program, you must have a high speed Internet connection.  Don’t worry, however, if your connection is a bit slow.  Just do a simple online search for the best Internet providers in your area — and include your zip code. You will quickly find a company that can upgrade your connection and have you learning a new language online in no time!

I recently took a look at the Internet service providers in my area to see what was available to our household.  Our family lives in the far northwestern suburbs of St Louis. We are fortunate to have Charter cable, which we use and works great. But unless we went to a satellite service, cable is really all we have available to us as a high-speed broadband connection.  AT&T is heavily advertising Uverse in the St Louis marketplace, but when we checked on its availability we were told that CenturyLink has most of the infrastructure under contract in the St Charles County area — which is where we live.  Even at that, CenturyLink does not offer DSL anywhere near our wooded subdivision. So for the time being we feel we are very fortunate to a have high-speed cable connection, because there are still some outlying areas very near to us that are not wired for cable and are too remote for DSL — even though they are still considered a part of the greater St Louis metropolitan area.