Comparison Shopping for Bandwidth in SWLA

By R.F. Horvath
Co-owner of Infinity Prime Media, LLC
www.infinityprimemedia.com


Whether you are initiating your service for the first time, moving to a new location, or thinking of moving your Internet service to a different provider, you're probably interested in getting the best deal that you can for your dollar.  In most cases, this will probably mean determining how much bandwidth you can afford. 

For the past few years, communications companies have been seeking to meet all of your needs by offering all, or most, of these services, rolled together in convenient packages. Sorting all of this out can be time consuming, and unless you are well versed in "bandwidth-ese,” it can also be confusing. 

We'll be examining the offers of the five main service providers in SWLA.  Of these five, AT&T has the largest area of coverage. The other four, Cameron Communications, Century Tel, Communicomm and SuddenLink, provide service to various parts of our area. Most residents will have at least two choices of providers. 

We're going to primarily focus on the basic - read least expensive - Internet packages, with and without other bundled services.  Keep in mind that every provider allows for cheaper costs for each individual package with the addition of the other services they offer.

Before we begin, let's cover some basic Internet terminology necessary in understanding what you are actually purchasing. 

"kbps" is short for kilobit per second, or 1,000 bits of information per second.  Bits of what?  To get an idea of what is meant by the term kb, understand that a basic text document, as is created by Microsoft's Notepad program, is about 4k.  So, with an old 56k dialup modem, you could transfer a theoretical maximum of 14 "txt" documents per second. 

The term "Mbps," or Megabit per second is 1,000 kb or 1,000,000 bps.  This means you can receive 14,000 of our example txt documents per second on a 1Mbps line.  So, when you see that a provider is offering a 1Mbps connection that is the capped limit of the download speed only.  The upload speed is typically one-half to one-eighth of that speed. You'll never get the same speed going out as you do coming into your computer.

AT&T
"Ma Bell" offers a basic DSL Internet package of 768kbps for only $14.95 per month.  When you couple that with basic no-frills telephone service your bill is just $27.95 per month.  AT&T's website touts television and wireless Internet access but does not seem to be available to this area just yet.  Of course, they also provide cell phone communications that can be coupled to your existing service as well.  You can reach AT&T at (800) 626-9149 or at www.att.com for on their services.


Cameron Communications
The Carlyss-based telecom provides fiber optic Internet, television and telephone to the home and business in some parts of Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes. The base Internet package features a 6Mbps for only $39.95 a month.  Adding a telephone line is only $10 dollars extra; long distance calls are 8¢ a minute. Their-top-of-the-line package offers 89 channels of television, the previously mentioned telephone package as well as a 10Mbps connection, and other perks for $119.95 a month.  All of Cameron's services have a two-year agreement.  You can contact Cameron Communications at (800) 737-3900 or visit their website at www.camtel.com for more information.


Century Tel
Century Tel provides telecom services to Allen, Jeff Davis, Beauregard parishes as well as Iowa and DeQuincy in Calcasieu.  Their most basic Internet package includes a 512kbps connection for $29.95 per month with a basic phone line and $49.95 per month for a 1.5Mbps connection with no phone service at all.  However, for just $10 a month more, Century Tel provides a connection that can reach 10Mbps, if that is all you are asking for.  Century Tel also provides television access through DISH-TV as well as telephone services.  Their most expensive package, that provides the most features, offers a 3 to 10 Mbps DSL connection, television access and many unlimited phone features for only $109.89 per month. Their contact information is 1-800-831-1733 or www.centurytel.com.

Communicomm
Communicomm provides Westlake, Moss Bluff and DeQuincy with television and Internet service via cable access.  If you just want Internet without television, they charge $31.95 for a 256k connection and offer up to 5Mbps for only $49.95 a month.  Basic 256k connectivity with cable rounds up to only $52.99 per month.  This allows you 63 channels of television, but if you'd prefer 200 channels of digital television for only an extra $9.95 per month, that is available as well.  Communicomm does not provide telephone services.  Their contact information is (800) 392-2662 and www.netcommander.com

SuddenLink
SuddenLink provides cable access to the Lake Charles and Sulphur areas.  They charge only $33 for an Internet connection of 1Mbps.  Unlimited phone services costs only an extra $10 per month.  Bump that up to an 8Mbps connection and add basic no frills cable, and unlimited phone service and that becomes $117 a month.  SuddenLink's top of the line digital service bundle also a includes a 10Mbps connection, a rented cable modem, a digital video recorder and one premium channel for a flat $150 a month with no contract to sign.  You can contact SuddenLink at (877) 694-9474 or at www.suddenlink.com


Final Considerations
It isn't overly possible to recommend one service over another. It all boils down to how much you want and how much you want to spend and who you are able to get service with. No one area in SWLA is covered by all five of the providers listed in this article. It isn't always just as easy as picking and choosing from the rates and packages listed here. Many now choose to "blackline" traditional phone connections in favor of cell phones.  Doing so can lower your communications costs somewhat, but usually not by more than $10-20 per month.  The most important thing to keep in mind is that for each feature you tack on, the other features go down in cost.  In other words, the more you spend, the more you get.

Richard F. Horvath has 22 years experience in the Information Technology field and is co-owner of Infinity Prime Media, LLC (www.infinityprimemedia.com). You can contact him at richard@infinityprimemedia.com . In no way does the preceding article represent an actual consultation session. Richard F. Horvath, Infinity Prime Media, LLC or the Times SWLA are in no way responsible and do not accept any responsibility for any damages, legal fees, data failure or malfunction that may occur as the result of a person using advice given in the preceding article.