Best high speed internet in DC area

[Burgold]

Thinking of getting a ISP service for my Dad. He lives in the DC Metro Area too. He wants to use it for general purposes and watching tv off the internet.

Who do you like? Who do you use and do you have any problems?

[I_Bleed_B&G]

I have Comcrap. I hate them so much although they have bumped up their internet speeds for free because Fios is about to be installed in my neighborhood. I'd go with Verizon Fios if he has that option. If not, then I believe the only other 2 in the DC area are Comcast and COX.

[Mark The Homer]

FiOS works nicely for me.

[BurntToast]

FIOS but they only service .00005% of the area. Been on the waiting list for a small town called Arlington for 5 years now.

[Sticksboi05]

Fios. Not even close. Best HD, lightning internet which doesn't lose bandwidth depending on how many are using it like cable.

No worries about satellite dishes in bad weather. Fios takes the cake by a long shot.

Really, Fios is pretty much in all of Arlington, we got it a couple years ago.

[Corcaigh]

I have FIOS, recently switched from Comcast which I had for about five years.

The high speed internet from Comcast was fine, but their HD service was unacceptable.

Either FIOS or Comcast should be OK for broadband internet.

[BigDaddyShoo]

:paranoid: His neighbor's unsecured Wi-Fi.

[Mufumonk]

FIOS. That is all.

[Corcaigh]

If you want to enter a specific zip code, dslreports.com used to be a great resource to get reviews on ISPs.

[hockeysc23]

I have FIOS and while it is nice ... nothing erks me more than paying for 20mb dl and then it never getting that fast. I know it depends on the # of users etc. but man is it fustrating at times.

FIOS is overall better than Cox but it isn't cheap.

[Mufumonk]

I have FIOS and while it is nice ... nothing erks me more than paying for 20mb dl and then it never getting that fast. I know it depends on the # of users etc. but man is it fustrating at times.

FIOS is overall better than Cox but it isn't cheap.


# of users isn't the only determining factor in dl speed.

[Corcaigh]

I have FIOS and while it is nice ... nothing erks me more than paying for 20mb dl and then it never getting that fast.


This is my only knock on FIOS, I don't get close to the listed speeds. I don't need 'em, but their listed performance is higher than my prior Comcast service but I get no better speeds.

[hockeysc23]

# of users isn't the only determining factor in dl speed.

I understand there is a multitude of factors. I just had to upgrade from 10mbs to 20mbs to get the NHL network. Apparently you can only get that package when you get the extreme package that has the fast internet. God bless them .....


But there is no difference at all btw my 10mb and 20mb dl speeds on avg. I think overall the speed rating is a crock.

[Sticksboi05]

I understand there is a multitude of factors. I just had to upgrade from 10mbs to 20mbs to get the NHL network. Apparently you can only get that package when you get the extreme package that has the fast internet. God bless them .....


But there is no difference at all btw my 10mb and 20mb dl speeds on avg. I think overall the speed rating is a crock.

Duh. 99.9% of sites aren't going to let you use your full capacity when downloading so as not to overload their servers. Unless you use those pay service download sites that will let you use the full capacity, it won't make a difference.

[Corcaigh]

Duh. 99.9% of sites aren't going to let you use your full capacity when downloading so as not to overload their servers.

True but his point is still valid. Speed tests on FIOS show the same result even with dedicated serves set up to test download and upload. For me too, FIOS is not delivering anything close to the full advertised speeds up and down.

[Heisenberg]

Honestly except for one random weekend I haven't had any trouble with Cox High Speed since I moved in July.

Their HD service was horrible so I switched to DirecTV but the internet has been just fine and I get pretty much the same speeds as my friend who has Fios.

[hockeysc23]

Duh. 99.9% of sites aren't going to let you use your full capacity when downloading so as not to overload their servers. Unless you use those pay service download sites that will let you use the full capacity, it won't make a difference.

Understandable. My problem is that Verizon charges me a lot more because they upgrade me from "10mb" to "20mb" but there is no difference.

Don't advertise 20mb dl that is amazing if there is no way even under ideal circumstances I can reach those speeds. That is my concern. They could effectively say I am dl at 20gigbytes per second bc there is no way I'll ever get there.