----- Original Message ----- From: "Warren Togami" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, May 26, 2003 3:40 PM Subject: [luau] Broadband in Hawaii Notes
> Disclaimer: I have no financial interests in Time Warner or any of the > companies that I mention. These are purely my observations from what I > have seen, and public information available on websites. I may be > slightly biased because I had RoadRunner cable modem for many years. > Please correct me if I'm wrong on any of the following facts: > > http://oceanic.com/ > (Click Internet) > > RoadRunner > ========== > ~$45/month normally > ~$50/month if you don't subscribe to cable television > $22.95/month for 3 months current promotion > $50 setup > 2,000kbit/sec download > 384kbit/sec upload > Works great with Linux with simple DHCP. > > Earthlink Broadband > =================== > $41.95/month normally > $29.95/month for 6 months current promotion > $100 setup > 2,000kbit/sec download > 384kbit/sec upload > Includes unlimited Earthlink dialup service > I am told that that it works great with Linux. We have opened access to > Earthlink Broadband Hawaii to Videl too. > > Verizon DSL > =========== > $34.95/month normally > $29.95/month for 3 months current promotion > $29.95/month if you have Verizon local and long distance phone service > Their website seems to hide the data rates, I'm guessing because they > can't be competitive if they tell the customer the truth about their > relative speeds compared to the advertised data rates of cable. This is > just my opinion though. > I have no idea if this ISP is Linux friendly. They seem to be proud > about the included access to MSN8. I have no idea if they have the > hassle of PPPoE, client-id or other hoops you have to jump through to > get Linux working. > > Flex DSL > ======== > http://www.flex.com/adsl/ > $63.49/month for 768k/128k > $69.99/month for 768k/384k > $93.99/month for 768k/768k > I would list several other DSL providers here, but it appears that > Verizon successfully leveraged their monopoly control over the lines, > causing the line charge alone to be above their own DSL service price. > Perhaps the only real benefit of this Flex DSL is the static IP and > cheaper than RR prices for greater than 384k upload. > > RoadRunner Enterprise > ===================== > http://oceanic.com/ (Click on Internet, RoadRunner, Business) > $79.95/month "Small Business" rate, same thing as residential > $129.95/month "Business" 3Mbps/384Kbps with static IP > $179.95/month "Corporate" 3Mbps/768kbps with 5 static IPs > $199.95/month "Enterprise" 3Mbps/1Mbps with 5 static IPs > $249.95/month "Enterprise Plus" 3Mbps/1.5Mbps with 13 static IPs > > Pretty good deal compared to T1 prices, although I suspect CIR is well > below 100%. Probably good if you need higher upload rate and/or static > IPs. > > Summary: > Mainly due to the technology, it is my opinion that DSL has a difficult > time being competitive in price/speed ratio with cable modem. I suspect > that Verizon is using a low price on their DSL plan along with hiding > their true data rates in an attempt to appear competitive with cable, > while at the same time make it difficult for competing DSL providers to > survive. > > I personally have been happy with my RoadRunner cable service for many > years... maybe 5 years now. Based upon some e-mails from other people > it seems that Earthlink is roughly equivalent and friendly to Linux > users too, only simple DHCP to connect. > > Any Verizon DSL users can comment if simple DHCP from Linux works, or > must you use PPPoE or client-id to make it work? > > Other Options > ============= > As for other competition in town, there appears to be a wireless > Internet provider http://wow.hi.net. I haven't seen their service so I > can't comment on quality, speed or security. Has anyone used this or > other wireless ISPs? > > I also heard something about Hawaiian Electric currently in residential > testing of powerline Internet. I am unable to find any information > about this on their website, so I don't know anything about the > technology, prices or speed. Does anyone have any information about > this? > > Warren Togami > [EMAIL PROTECTED] What DSL offers over cable is a consistant throughput. I know there is no CIR with DSL but all of our tests and outside sources have indicated that cable burts higher but DSL is more staeady. I always recommend people to get cable and home and DSL at work. -Matt
