[conspire] Internet access? - ISPs? ...

[Michael Paoli]

> From: "paulz at ieee.org" <paulz at ieee.org>
> Subject: [conspire] Genuine IT question
> Date: Mon, 11 May 2020 06:10:48 +0000 (UTC)

> Someone I know will soon be moving to a new house.  What to do about  
> Internet access?  It appears that Waves, AT&T and Comcast might all  
> be available.  Any comments on the first two?

A much more proper and well stated "needs" analysis / selection criteria
would be highly useful.  So far most of that's lacking, and all that's
been provided is approximately:
o moving to house
o three specific named ISPs

So, there's absolutely nothing about, e.g.:
o bandwidth requirements/preferences
o cost preferences/limits/considerations (cheapest?  Don't care - fastest?
   lowest cost per unit data?  Predictable fixed costs, or ???)
o service requirements, e.g. native IPv6?  Static IPv4 IPs?  "Static" IPv6
   IPs?  Ports not blocked in and/or out?  ISP that does[n't] screw around
   with one's traffic in and/or out and/or sell, give away, or trade one's
   detailed traffic information and queries of their provided DNS services?
   Net neutrality support or anything but?
o location owned and fine with most any kind of install, or rented and/or
   otherwise have restrictions on what to be / not be installed (e.g.
   local conditions prevent installation of roof antenna, or limits
   size to ...), do/don't have line-of-sight to ...
o "demanding" technical user who wants to BS from their ISP, or some
   relatively uninformed "home" end user who doesn't know and doesn't
   care and just wants "their Internet".
o what about (typical) reliability/availability and terms of service and
   what is/isn't acceptable?
o uhm ... where?  Are there only 3 ISPs that are possible, or have all
   others been ruled out - and if so, based upon what?

So, unless you want "answers"/opinions more like:
o yes, I think you should get package X from ISP Y, because hey, it's native
   10 G fiber, and still under $5,000.00 USD per month - at least if you
   don't go too crazy with the data transfers.  And installation is
   typically less than $10,000.00 USD, if you're within half a mile of the
   CO.
o Oh, you should get the standard D package from ISP F, because it's only
   $14.95 USD per month, and it supports Microsoft Windows and MacOS ...
   the latter is sort'a kind'a like Linux right?  It's got some BSD based
   Unix in there somewhere, right?  Close enough?  And it's plenty fast
   to watch badly compressed versions of all your favorite NTSC made-for-TV
   movies ... at least if the old phone lines aren't wet from recent rains.