Internet Service Providers/Television in Madison

[jjkoestler]

We just moved to Madison and need to select an ISP and cable/satellite service. Charter's customer service seems pretty horrible. Are they the only game in town? Who do you like? Who do you got? Is Charter awful?

 

Thanks in advance. My neighbors broadcasting an unsecure wireless signal thank you too http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[LouisEly]

Is Verizon FiOS available? I really like their product. It's a little bit more expensive than some others, but IMO you get what you pay for.

 

For TV, make sure that whatever service you get has the Big 10 Network. Not all do, and not all have it on their base/standard package - for some you have to get the premium package.

[sbrylski]

Charter is awful. It took me over an hour and two people with customer support to find out what the random TNF0583759037495 - $114.98 charge on my bill was.

[Diskono]

Also in Madison is TDS and AT&T DSL. Pretty much any residential internet service will have frequent outages and ridiculously long hold times, so you might as well just go for whichever one offers the most bandwidth for the least money. You get ESPN3 access via Charter, so that may be a consideration for you too.

 

If you don't mind spending a little more, Charter Business cable service is good. When you call the support number, an actual tech who knows how to fix stuff will answer the phone. I don't think it costs that much more than residential service, but you probably can't get the same package deals.

[burniebrewer]

I recently moved away from Madison and had no issues at all with Charter's customer service. Not only did I get right through on the phone, I received competent and quick service. To top it all off, I just received a check in the mail for overpayment of my bill. That was a nice surprise.

 

The real issue with Charter is if you don't bundle, you're getting ripped off because cable internet on it's own will run you $50-60/month. If you bundle everything, it's less that $100. I was a DirecTV guy, so I got ripped on Charter's internet cost, but I had no issues with the service and internet speed.

 

Diskono, I loved having ESPN3 and miss it now.

[jjkoestler]

Thanks for the info.

 

Does anyone own their own modem as opposed to leasing fro

their ISP? If you lease, how often is it upgraded?

[MJLiverock]

I've had TDS DSL and DirecTV for service in Madison. I've never paid anything for my DSL modem or had anything tacked on my bill for the modem provided by TDS. When I moved two years ago they gave me a new modem when the guy did the install, (I had two phone lines in the house so he had to do some wiring to get the right ones where I needed them). They told me to just keep the old modem, they didn't want it back. I probably had that modem for 5 or 6 years without any problems. I don't know how often they updgrade but I also don't know how often you really need to change it out.

 

TDS offers bundles with DishNetwork but I have always been a DirecTV guy since my first house when I was able to dump Charter.

 

When comparing any of the TV service providers make sure you figure out how many TV's you will have and how many DVR's you want as this is where the big cost differentials can come in. One provider may look cheaper until you start adding in a 2nd, 3rd or 4th HD DVR option. I know in the past this made DirecTV much cheaper for me than Charter since I only had to pay the $5/month DVR fee once no matter how many DVR's were hooked up.

[burniebrewer]

My modem was never upgraded by Charter over the 8+ years I had their service. Then again, I never had any issues with it. I should have just bought one and saved the 5 bucks/month. Funny, I went to Time Warner when I moved and got the exact same modem, only a brand new one.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I don't have TDS, but will recommend it over AT & T