[Pdx-pm] OT: Escaping Comcast?

[Randall Hansen]

On Nov 2, 2006, at 1:58 PM, Nick Welch wrote:

> Are there any other decent options in inner (NE) Portland?

my favorite broadband option is and has been Qwest DSL through  
Hevanet (http://hevanet.com).  that is, qwest provides the line and  
hevanet acts as ISP.  it is a little more expensive ($5/month IIRC),  
but it means that i deal with a local company, and never with qwest.   
hevanet have been very good to me over the years -- the best ISP i've  
had, including teleport, back in the day.

it's true that this provides less bandwidth than cable, unless you  
get into the more expensive DSL options.  in my experience it's more  
stable.  cable companies are used to pushing content at consumers;  
telcos are used to facilitating two-way communication.  i think this  
mindset difference carries over into the types and configuration of  
service offered.  e.g. qwest gives you a better upload/download  
ratio, and doesn't attempt to filter or restrict communications (e.g.  
SMTP blocking, restrictions on running servers, etc.).

hth,

r