Internet and TV for new US resident?

Hi Bombers,

I have just moved from Australia to San Jose, USA and will be living here for the next few years. I was wanting to get opinions from you knowledgeable people on what is the best TV and Internet packages to sign up for. I will be renting (an apartment most likely) and need fast internet for work and gaming. In terms of TV I would like HBO, English Premier League (Soccer) and E! (My wife's request.) Any ideas on what services you have found to be reliable and well priced in this area?

If you need any more info. just ask

Cheers in advance.

Ooh, no matter who you end up going with, you're sure to be in for a treat! There isn't an industry in the world that's more renowned for its quality of customer service than America's television and internet providers!

But seriously, godspeed to you and your wife in your upcoming ordeal.

God damn Immigrants! what I mean of course is, Verizon is a half decent choice for the package deal which will offer things like Fox for football and internet, I'd avoid Comcast, they seem to increase rates and charges on whims.

It depends on your region. I live in the Midwest, and Comcast is immensely better than Verizon. I think Cox connections is pretty popular on the East coast, or at least it used to be.

I found this for your area: http://www.speedtest.net/local/san-jose-ca

You may want to ask around your neighborhood and see if your neighbors have any opinions on their current provider.

As far as channels go, HBO is usually an add-on in any plan you get. You'll have that option with pretty much any provider. E! is usually included in any basic packages. Not sure about soccer, as that may be an extra add-on as well.

Hope this helps.

Is that like Verizon FiOS or just regular Verizon DSL?

It is completely dependent on your local area, as the quality will depend on many factors relating to your area. For instance I live in Austin Texas and while it still baffles me that central Austin doesn't have fiber yet, we do get very good cable service here and I never have had problems that can't be fixed. I would argue this is because this is a very tech savvy city and TWC cant get away with bullshitting their customers. I have never had a problem with them, though, and the only reason I am currently considering someone else is because I want to get internet only and for cheaper.

Austin also has very good cable runs through out the city. Not so much on all the outskirts, but that is typical anywhere in America it seems. Boonies always seem to have older runs for whatever reason. Here, though, they also have fiber. I can only guess to why that is, but it is kind of baffling.

Anyway, sorry for my ranting. It depends on your area who is best. I like TWC where I live, but other people (online, generally speaking) can't stand them. I used to work for several cable companies in an outsourcing company so I know from that as well- it's entirely area dependent. Ask some neighbors and friends around where you live to see if you can get a feel for what they think. You can often also check local Yelp listings or other things like that online just to see what people in your area think of different companies.

One thing that resonates, though, is everyone seems to hate Comcast. I've never used them, though, so I can't speak to that.

If you want EPL games make sure your cable/sat package has NBC Sports Network. They have the TV rights. Fox Sports 1 will start airing the Bundesliga next year if you're interested. They also have the rights to Champions League games. Be prepared to hate all Fox Sports soccer coverage, they are the worst, NBC and ESPN are much better, NBC being the best.

DSL. I don't think FiOS is available in my area.

I found the whole experience better with Comcast though. I found the customer service to be much better, and the price was comparable to Verizon, except immensely faster.

Thanks for the tips guys. Sounds like it could be a painful experience.

unless san jose is alot different then the north bay (and for your sake I hope it is!), your pretty much stuck with Comcast if you want the fastest speeds.

if even they are throttling pieces of shit who charge to much for internet access...

@azrailx: Yeah I had Comcast in the north bay. In the end it was fast and worked well enough, but was overpriced and had shit service when things did go bad. But then again, that describes everything in the north bay. It was honestly fineish though.

Anyone providing is probably going to have caps you'll need to contend with, especially if you like to stream stuff a lot.

Time Warner Cable will cheat you. Trust me, I'm stuck with them.

Comcast is a giant, terrifying monolith but according to the Bombcast their speed stays constant.

Looks like it might be the comcast Internet and Cable TV package then. Thanks again for the help.

Comcast is the only way to go :) Get the extreme HSI 150 Mbps No CAPS, NO THROTTLING! Buy your own D3 Modem though, save the $8 a month.

Well, I'm from the Midwest, so I don't know which particular cable company fiefdom you will be forced to do obeisance to, but if you want soccer you are going to want the tier that has NBCSports on it. They have the cable rights for the Premiership in the US, and they do a pretty damn good job of it too.

As others have mentioned, Fox will be getting the Bundesliga, but Fox's soccer coverage blows. They have the next two World Cups too. My buddies and I are making a drinking game based on how many times Gus Johnson horribly mangles a player's name. (On second thought, don't do this. You will die. In the first half.)

@07ron: I live in the Bay Area also, and I was able to threaten out a deal with Comcast recently. The basic 140 channel package has NBC Sports, which, as everybody else pointed out, has the Premier League this season. Be forewarned about Comcast in the Bay Area: they are horrid! But, their internet is really fast and has no monthly data cap at the moment. If you can get FIOS, though, do it. But, it seems to be limited, so you're probably stuck with the devil for the time being.

I have Comcast and I haven't had too many problems with them. What you'll "love" with Comcast is their constant increases to your bill every month. It'll be a $2, maybe $3 increase, but those increases will steadily add up. Luckily for me though I've been a long time customer, so whenever I call to go back to basic cable they're always quick to offer me a one year discount that offers more stuff.