Rate Your Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

By Derek Forrest
published

Whether your ISP is a match made in heaven or a vicious ball-and-chain you can't seem to get away from, Tom's Hardware wants to know what you think.

ISP Access Types

Many ISPs offer several different levels of internet connectivity using a variety of technologies, including cable, fiber optics, DSL and satellite. Each of these delivery methods has a very distinct impact on the end-user experience, offering a wide range of speed and reliability.

For example, DSL service is a dedicated line and will therefore not be subject to bandwidth loss caused by "peak times" like its shared-connection cable counterpart. However, cable is inherently faster, and DSL speeds can also degrade as the distance between you and the target central office increases. Fiber optics provide the same dedicated line as DSL, sending the data signal over fiber optic glass cables instead of copper, making it significantly faster, but also more expensive.

However, oftentimes the choice of an access type might be limited to your geographic location as fiber, cable and even DSL might not be available in some remote or rural areas. This is when a satellite service might be the only viable option.

Derek Forrest
Derek Forrest
Derek Forrest is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He writes hardware news and reviews gaming desktops and laptops.
100 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Kewlx25
    I hope my ISP upgrades speeds again soon. I keep hearing about all of these 1Gb and 10Gb networks around the USA. 100Mb is getting old.
    Reply
  • freeskier93
    NextLight/City of Longmont gigabit fiber here, $50 a month for charter members, what isn't there to like?
    Reply
  • Gam3r01
    500KBps here from Ponderosa, whats to like?
    XD
    Reply
  • Doug_1
    I just want Google Fiber. Everything else can bite it at this point.
    Reply
  • hatib
    we paying 2200 Pakistani Rupees including tax and other things which is $22 in usd for 4 megabit per second and up speed 2 megabit per second a month and now in pakistani ptcl have started 100 megabit per secoend which is for 28000 pkr without taxs which is $280
    Reply
  • whiteruski
    I like how Pakistan has better ISPs that the USA... :)
    Reply
  • GoZFast
    If you want cheap 1-10Gbps internet...go to Japan lol They had 1Gbps for ~20$US years ago, way before we even hear about it here.
    Reply
  • GoZFast
    That's 1Gbps both ways, up and down. In Canada, we can't have over 30Mbps upload without business optic fiber priced unreasonably.
    Reply
  • hatib
    Do you think Pakistan has better isp because you can get google fibre for $60 and there is only one isp in whole pakistan yeah there are isps available but there are very limited like 1mbps down speed and they only cover like about max 20 streets
    Reply
  • beetlejuicegr
    yeah here in Greece due to the economic crisis we are really slow on the vdsl front, struggling here with 7mbps synced out of a 24mbps payed ...
    Reply