the Cost of Fiber Optic Internet Access

I pay $43 per month for fiber optic internet service. I have the lowest speed (and cheapest) fiber optic service that the company offers: 5 mbps download and 2 mbps upload. Higher speeds are available at a higher price. I got free installation for the service, which saved me a few hundred dollars, but I had to sign a contract agreeing to pay for the service for two years. I also got a free wireless router with the service, which is very nice. That's the company's policy: they only run a wire to one computer, but they provide you with a router for your other computers.

The service is good, but I haven't really noticed much difference from the cable internet service I had. I can notice a slight faster connection, but it's very slight. I was hoping it would be much faster. One thing that is very frustrating is that the service tends to cut out at certain times, especially late at night. You just have to wait for a few minutes and hopefully it will come back on. A couple times, I've had to call customer service to have them reset the connection.

Make sure you really want the service before you sign a long-term contract. Unless you are willing to pay more for higher speeds, I don't see any reason to switch from cable internet to fiber optic. It's definitely worth switching if you have dial up. Also, they try to entice you with low rates for the first month or two, so make sure you ask what the normal rate is.