To my ISP: prepare to be trounced

You may have read earlier in this blog that Kate and I are somewhat dissatisfied with the broadband offerings in the Lehigh Valley. There is apparently no near-term solution to the problem since PenTeleData has a monopoly on our township. PenTeleData is using old technology (in computer terms) and, in my opinion, is hanging on by a technological thread. While our connection doesn't completely drop, we do frequently have data packet loss that renders VoIP usage painful.

I recently read that Verizon's FiOS technology is getting another speed boost. That means that FiOS will offer approximately 20 times faster bandwidth than PenTeleData -- at approximately twice the price. But we're still stuck at 3.5 Mbps downstream and 350 kbps upstream with no ability to easily purchase more without spending an arm and a leg ($125+ per month). And even if we switched to an expensive commercial account, our upload bandwidth would still top out at a measly 1 Mbps.

Despite the fact that I dislike Comcast on principle, I did love their zippy and reliable broadband Internet offerings at our previous house in Whitemarsh. And at least we had a choice of Comcast or Verizon for broadband. I'm wondering (hoping?) if Comcast or Cablevision is eyeing our cable provider, Service Electric, for a takeover. Moreover, I'm wondering if Verizon isn't ready to come into this area with FiOS and basically put the cable company out of business by offering a superior product. (Verizon -- are you listening???)

I'm watching Sprint Nextel's WiMax implementation called XOHM. While it's nowhere close to being deployed in the Lehigh Valley, it's an interesting concept. They aren't marketing it as a fixed point Internet solution, but I don't see why it couldn't be used as such.