Internet Providers & Internet Service
The Importance of Internet Service
If you are like most people nowadays you may very well spend more time on the Internet than you do watching TV. If you have children or young adults in your home that is a pretty safe bet. There are several great options available to everyone looking for internet services including high speed internet, dial up internet, and satellite internet. We recommend that you consider each of the options and find out what your neighbors use and our happy with whenever possible.
Internet Service Providers by State
We wanted you to quickly be able to search through a listing of available providers to find out which companies may provide Internet services in your State. Here is the list we have so far:
| Internet Provider | States they Service |
|---|---|
| AT&T | Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin |
| Bright House Networks | Florida and California |
| Buckeye Cable System | Michigan and Ohio |
| Cavelier | Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C. |
| CenturyTel | Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming |
| Charter Communications | Alabama, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Tennessee |
| Cincinnati Bell | Ohio |
| Comcast Cable | Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington |
| Consolidated Communications | Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas |
| Cox Cable | Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Virginia |
| Embarq | Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington |
| Everest | Kansas and Kentucky |
| Frontier Communications | Georgia, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia |
| Grande Communications | Texas |
| Hawaiian Telecom | Hawaii |
| Insight Communications | Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio |
| Knology | Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee |
| Mediacom | Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennesse, Virginia, Wisconsin |
| Optimum | Connecticut, New Jersey and New York |
| Qwest Communications | Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming |
| RCN | Massachusetts, Illinois, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York |
| SuddenLink | Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington |
| TDS | Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin |
| Time Warner Cable | California, Kansas, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas |
| TVMAX | Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois and Texas |
| Verizon | Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin |
| Windstream | Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas |
Types of High Speed Internet Service
DSL
DSL technology uses regular phone lines to provide internet access, but is a digital service as opposed to the analog dial-up. Theoretically, DSL can provide up to 6 megabytes per second, but usually is limited to about 1.5mbps.
Asymmetric vs. Symmetric DSL
Residential DSL usually is provided as an asymmetrical service, with the 1.5mbps speed for downloading and 128 kilobits per second for uploading. Since nearly all Internet users spend most of their time downloading, Internet service providers use the extra bandwidth saved with the slower uploading speed to offer service to more customers. Many businesses prefer a symmetric service for functions such as video conferencing
Cable
Cable Internet access is provided by local cable TV companies, over the cable line and through a cable modem. This is the fastest type of the four most common services. Cable technology can support up to 50 mbps, but it is not common for people to see speeds that high.
Satellite
Satellite Internet access offers users speeds up to 400 kbps, and is provided by a satellite television company through a dish mounted on the home or nearby. This type of high speed Internet service may be the only option for people living in rural parts of the country.
Wireless
Wireless internet service can provide as much as 1.5 mbps and is accessed by local cellular phone towers. Just like with mobile phones reception can be spotty at times.
Fiber-optics
Two other services in beginning stages and available only in limited parts of the U.S. are fiber-optic cable, which is an extremely fast option, and broadband over power lines. Verizon and AT&T are working to rapidly expand the availability of their fiber-optic services (FIOS and U-VERSE).
