How to Compare High-Speed Internet Services

When you have had enough of dial-up Internet access or you have had enough of going to the library to get your access, you might decide to get some sort of high-speed Internet access. But there are a number of companies that are competing for your high-speed Internet access dollar. If you know what you want, you can compare the prices of the services to decide which is best for you.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Determine your Internet use. You need to decide if you are going to use the high-speed Internet primarily to download or to upload. If you just read email and view Web pages, you only will be worried about downloading. If you send a lot of pictures and send videos, you also might be concerned with upload speeds.

2. Locate two or three services that provide high-speed Internet access to your area. Be sure to check each closely with your physical address as your location will determine which services are available. If you live too far from certain types of central switching locations and offices, you will not be able to get some services from some companies.

3. For each service, find a comparable download and upload option. For example, you might start with a simple 256K upload and 96K download. See if you can locate similar options from another company. Be sure to only compare the options that have the same numbers for upload and download speeds as the prices can vary drastically for each type of service and speed.

4. Check each service for additional prices for setup and services. Some companies will charge you an installation fee, while others will not.

5. Check each service for required equipment. Some will require a modem, while others might require a certain satellite service or physical phone lines. Pay close attention to the additional requirements as the prices for the additional devices or services might be very expensive.

6. Add up the total required costs for each device, device rental, additional service and the basic costs to determine your total cost for each company.

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