<p>Looking for an Internet service provider.
How early should be call to get things set up for internet/water/electricity etc</p>
<p>I use AT&T DSL. I know DirecTV has satellite internet available, but I hear it’s highly unreliable as well. Most people I know go with AT&T.</p>
<p>PG&E doesn’t need to be set up far in advance. If you’re setting up a new account, call as soon as you are sure where you’re living to make sure you can get all the information you need. If you’re transferring an existing account (moving from one apartment to another), you can do it all online as little as 24 hours in advance.</p>
<p>Water, garbage, sewage and hot water are usually through whomever your building contracts, so you’ll want to get that info from your landlord directly. Most likely this is already going to be set up and running in your name, however.</p>
<p>Phone/internet service (as well as cable and satellite) is a b****, and you definitely want to schedule this ASAP. They can take up to a month to schedule an appointment, though they generally will try to do it within 1-2 weeks of your call. MAKE SURE you get the name of the person you talk with when you call and your order number. AT&T is AWFUL at keeping things straight, and you want to have concrete reference points when you call to complain. 
Luckily, once it’s set up it works just fine!</p>
<p>ok. cool. I’m not sure to either go ATT or Comcast… not sure if verizon is available.</p>
<p>hm nvm verizon isn’t available.</p>
<p>DSL is so outdated my friend.</p>
<p>call comcast, call until you can find a rep who can give you $25/mo. internet only. Sometimes I will also take $30/mo.</p>
<p>Most rep will try to BS you, because comcast is a BS company. Chances are they have whatever code is available to them on their hand; it’s just that only the nice one gives that sweet deal to you. Usually promotion runs for 6 months, more than enough to last a semester.</p>
<p>To make it sweeter:
after you have your **** set up call directly to the cancellation department and have them refund your “installation fee”. Again, you may have to call several times.</p>
<p>If you are cheap like me, or just don’t have a roommate to split the bill, you can:
cancel comcast before you go home for winter break, and repeat this all over again before you come back. This way you can have year-round 25 bux 6Mb internet haha.</p>
<p>Call early.</p>
<p>ps - I don’t give a **** if you want to argue from the moral high ground; this is how i save $$.</p>
<p>DSL and satellite are all I’ve had available. None of my apartments have had cable. I takes what I can gets.</p>
<p>Right now I am forced to set up Internet through Comcast. I hate them more with each passing day.</p>
<p>Comcast indeed is a terrible company to deal with. It’s a pity there aren’t any other cable competitors in the area.</p>
<p>Right now I am sitting in my new house without internet because of how terrible Comcast has been (I am using someone else’s wifi for those who are curious how I am posting). Besides taking forever to make the most mundane account changes, they have actually made the situation worse in many cases. For example, my dad gave us one of his older cable modems to use. In Comcast’s system, the modem is registered in my dad’s area, so they needed to change it to the Berkeley area. During this seemingly simple process, they somehow disconnected internet at my father’s house. :(</p>
<p>dsl is just as fast as comcast cable in Berkeley… I have dsl up there and comcast at home</p>
<p>DSL is not sluggish at all, I use AT&T dsl and it speed is just fine…</p>
<p>plus i heard comcast throttles your internet if you exceed a certain bandwidth…</p>
<p>what’s the bandwidth for at&T?</p>
<p>They’ve separated it into 3 levels. I pretty reliably get 54Mbps for $40/mo (basic phone line included).</p>
<p>54Mbps? I think you’re off with the number. Are you thinking of your wireless network speed?</p>
<p>Uh, yes. Sorry. Interviews back-to-back today. >_></p>
<p>Speed test says my throughput is 1.267 Mbps. Pricing ($25/mo for internet, not including the phone) says I’m rated up to 1.5Mbps. Their “elite” package ($35/mo) says it’s rated for up to 6.0Mbps.</p>
<p>i just got the elite package. should come later this week.</p>
<p>DSL Extreme. I’m in exactly Christopher’s situation.</p>
<p>undecided, is that AT&T or Comcast? DSL or cable?</p>
<p>^
that’s AT&T</p>
<p>Yup, AT&T DSL.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Hey HypnosX, </p>
<p>So there aren’t any free installation promotions and the only way to get the installation fee back is by cancelling?</p>
<p>I’ve been using AT&T DSL but I’d like to switch over to Comcast for the 19.99 a month for 6 months deal.</p>