I recently moved to a new apartment, and so it is time to choose a new ISP.

I’m not looking for much—just the cheapest functional Internet service that I can get. I don’t care about speed if it’s going to cost me extra.

Research

I began looking online (during my breaks at work) for ISPs in my area and then making calls to see what the terms and conditions are, especially the equipment/installation/cancellation terms that tend to trick people.

Some of the web sites and sales people were quick and knowledgeable. Some were not. My best experience was with XMission. Its site has the most complete explanation, its staff was the most helpful, and its prices were among the very best.

My worst experience was with Comcast. Comcast’s site doesn’t have much in the way of information. Installation? Equipment fees? Length of trial periods? Cancellation? Good luck finding it on their site. I talked to a sales rep, and I kept bringing up things that he “failed to mention” to me that I found out from other sources.

Don’t try to trick me. Don’t try to talk past me. Don’t push for the sale so hard. I’m not going to recommend Comcast to anyone now. I don’t care if their actual Internet service is fast and works well. I don’t even care if their price is good. They refused to be transparent with me. I can’t trust them to be honest with me.

Results

Every service I looked into is going to cost me the same. I don’t have a landline telephone, so I can’t get dial-up or DSL without also signing up for a phone plan or a standalone DSL plan (which costs the same as a phone line). The cable that my apartment is wired for is with Comcast (fat chance). Orem’s fiber optic network (UTOPIA) isn’t wired into my complex, and they won’t wire it unless half the complex agrees to sign up.

I think that I’m going to try a WISP. I found several which had really low monthly rates, which compensated for the higher installation charges. Better yet, I can have it installed without being forced to get approval or sign a petition. If that doesn’t work out, I will sign up with a phone line and DSL, but I won’t be happy about it.

The Future

ISPs assume that you have a land line or cable or your own house or something. They also assume that you want the very best available service. Neither of these things is necessarily true. People have different needs, so different offerings are in order. Maybe with the exception of some startup WISP, no current ISP meets my needs as an apartment-dwelling, cell phone-carrying customer.

Some ISP company could make a killing simply by offering several tiers of complete, independent solutions and being honest about the terms and conditions.

Internet service is eventually going to be free to end consumers. So will the necessary equipment. Competition will be for our attention—for permission to be the firm that connects us to the Internet in the way we want to be connected. And that is a battle that will be won based on trust.