After acquiring local phone services from Verizon, Frontier Communications now offers phone, TV, Internet packages to more than 4 million residential and business customers in 27 states.

Through a partnership with Dish Network, Frontier offers bundles services to compliment their existing unlimited calling and DSL high speed Internet.  Known as “Frontier Fast”, Frontier high speed Internet offers speeds up to 6mpbs that Frontier claims will not “bog down” during peak hours.   The high speed service also comes with anti-spyware software from CA, Inc and an online portal powered by Yahoo!.

To see if Frontier high speed Internet or digital phone is available in your area, just enter your address in the “Savings Widget” at the top of the page.

Next on our list of service provider reviews is the recently created CenturyLink.

Although the name is relatively new, CenturyLink was created after the July 1, 2009 acquisition of Embarq by CenturyTel, CenturyLink is the largest independent telecommunications provider in the country.  Now available in 33 states across the country, CenturyLink is also the fourth largest telecommunications provider overall.

Building upon the history and achievements of both CenturyTel and Embarq, CenturyLink is a national competitor in the entertainment and communications industry.  After last year’s acquisition and rebranding, CenturyLink offers DSL high speed Internet, home phone service with unlimited local and long distance, and digital TV with local, premium and HD channels across the country.  CenturyLink customers can even get the NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ through a partnership with DIRECTV.

Check and see if you can get phone, TV and Internet with a CenturyLink “Triple Savings Bundle” by entering your address in our “Savings Widget” .

So you’ve made the decision to get high speed Internet.  Congratulations!  You’ll love the enhanced online abilities you’ll gain from faster browsing speeds. But how do you know which high speed Internet service to get?

For most, the choice boils down to three things:

1. Availability – Which high speed Internet providers are in your area?
2. Speed – How fast is fast?  And how fast is too fast?
3. Cost – Is high speed really that much more than dial-up Internet?

If you can nail down an acceptable service that meets the usual criteria, you’ve pretty much settled on your high speed Internet provider. If you want to get started looking, you can compare providers and plans right now with the “Find Savings” widget at the top of the page. Just enter your address and we’ll show you what’s available.

In the mean time, let’s breakdown the usual criteria.

Availability – In some areas, there may only be one provider.  Maybe you can only get high speed cable Internet (also known as “broadband”) from your local cable provider. Maybe your only option is DSL high speed Internet from the local telephone company. Of course, you may have multiple choices from several differnet providers. In that case, compare speed and cost to see what ets you the most bang for your buck.

Of course, even if you live in a more rural area you can still get high speed Internet. Just because there isn’t a cable line or DSL wire that runs to yor house doesn’t mean you can’t have high speed Internet. Look into satellite Internet. You’d need a dish, but no wires. The cost and speeds are both comparable to cable and DSL, so satellite Internet is totally acceptable option for getting high speed Internet in rural areas.

Speed – So let’s talk about speed. If you’re used to dial-up, high speed Internet will definitely be a welcomed change of pace.  Pages that used to take several minutes to fully display will pop up almost instantly.  That new picture of your neice that your sister sent over will download right away.  If you choose fiber optic Internet, like Verizon FiOS, the speed will simply amaze you.  You’ll truly wonder why you didn’t switch before now.

But how fast is fast? This chart should help you understand the different speeds and how they apply to you.

So how do those speeds apply to you? Well, the faster your Internet the faster you can download that picture of your neice. At 50 mbps, you could also watch HD movies online and feel like you’re at the theater!

Cost – You’ll also consider cost. The good news is that high speed Internet is priced for a variety of needs. If you have no interest in playing the latest online games or watching feature films over the Internet, than you probably don’t need to pay for the best of the best. Most of us will do just fine with a basic high speed service. The best idea for you is to find out what providers actually offer high speed Internet at your house. From there, you can determine how much you’re willing to spend. Having a price in mind will help you decide if you want high speed Internet or ultra fast high speed Internet.

Our demands on the limits of technology seem to grow by the day.  Even in larger metro areas, high speed Internet doesn’t always seem so “high speed”.  So what do you do when looking for high speed Internet in rural areas?

If you’ve found your online needs have outgrown dial-up Internet, here area a few items to consider:

• Does your local cable provider offer service in your area? Sometimes we forget that cable services, like high speed Internet, actually do run through cables.  If the cables don’t make it to your house, cable Internet isn’t an option.  However, it may pay to ask if there is a timeline setup to deliver access to your house.  If cable Internet is a year or less away, it may pay to wait it out.
• Have you talked to your phone company? Many times, the local phone company is the first place people turn to find high speed Internet.  However, they’re in a similar to position to your cable providers.  If the lines physically don’t make it to your house you can’t get DSL high speed Internet.  In rural areas, this often appears to be the case.
• Is satellite Internet an option? In many places where cable or DSL high speed Internet isn’t available, satellite Internet is a perfectly reasonable alternative.  When it comes to satellite, there are no cable to run to the house, so you can literally get satellite Internet almost anywhere.  You still have to have the correct angle on the signal, but that is typically an easy problem to solve.
• Have you talked to your local mobile phone company? With the influx of “air cards”, mobile high speed Internet is catching on.  Companies like Clear provide home high speed Internet based solely on wireless network coverage.  It’s just like having a wired connection in your house, but it receives its signal from the wireless network.

If you’re looking for high speed Internet in rural areas, you may think your options are limited.  They’re really not.  You may not have the same options as your metropolitan neighbors, but you can certainly enjoy similar Internet speeds.  If you broaden your ideas of how you can connect to the Internet, you can download movies and photos, play online games and more.

From the old-fashioned Internet connection to your conventional telephone line, from Broadband cable to G4 WiFi connections through a cell phone and even lightning-fast T1 lines (prevalent in businesses), there are many different levels of Internet available.

But how much speed do you need for quality Internet Phone Service? Surprisingly, not as much as you might think. In fact, most people have more than enough bandwidth to take advantage of the money savings offered with an Internet phone service.

First, let’s look at the different levels of Internet service available and what they mean.

Conventional modem: The slowest of all Internet services, a conventional telephone modem is not recommended for Internet phone service. Then again, if you already have a conventional phone line that’s connected to your computer, you don’t need Internet phone service, since you’re paying for a land line. Forget this option if you’re looking at Internet Phone Service.

Broadband cable Internet access: Internet phone service through your cable provider is hailed as the highest-quality, most reliable service available. Your broadband cable Internet may slow down a bit during peak times, such as in the evening when there is a lot of data being transmitted over the lines, but overall, the Internet through your cable company is one of the fastest options available for home use.

Your broadband cable Internet access also enables you to use Internet phone service through another provider, such as Skype or Vonage.

DSL Internet : DSL Internet, from a company like Verizon FIOS, is often not quite as fast, on paper, as Internet through your cable provider, but it offers all the bandwidth and speed you need for Internet Phone Service. There are a variety of factors that can slow down your Cable internet connection, which won’t affect your DSL Internet connection, the actual speed of both services is fairly comparable..

Satellite Internet: If you live in a rural area that doesn’t offer DSL or broadband cable internet access, satellite Internet access is equally effective for Internet phone service through providers like Vonage, 8X8, Inc., and Skype. You’ll pay more for Satellite Internet access, but speeds rival DSL and broadband cable.

WiFi Internet access: If you use a laptop or netbook with WiFi access exclusively for your Internet service, you can’t use a conventional Internet phone service (like Vonage) or (obviously) cable Internet phone service through your cable provider. But you can still use Skype Internet phone service, which goes through your computer’s Internet connection, whether you’re using WiFi or a broadband internet connection.

Whatever your plans for Internet access and Internet Phone Service, you can find the best prices on high speed internet access when you shop online through Allconnect.

There seems to be a lot of discussion around DSL Xtreme.  Or is it DSL Extreme?  And is there even a difference between the two?

Well, with such similar names, there is discussion around both (online anyway) and there is most certainly a difference between the two.

DSL Xtreme is AT&T’s name for super-fast high speed DSL Internet service.   DSL Extreme is a Los Angeles based DSL provider.  However, if you search for one, you will no doubt find the other.  Now that we know there is a difference between the two, our focus will  be on the AT&T product.

AT&T’s FastAccess® DSL Xtreme and FastAccess® DSL Xtreme 6.0 are the high end of AT&T’s available DSL products with FastAccess® DSL Ultra and FastAccess® DSL Lite bringing up the rear.  Aimed squarely at online gamers and streaming video aficionados (and honestly, who doesn’t watch some form of video online these days?) , FastAccess® DSL Xtreme offers 3-6 Mbps download speeds based on which product you choose.  Traditional FastAccess® DSL tops out around 1.5 Mbps which fast, but pales in comparison.

To see if DSL high speed Internet is available at your house, just enter your address in the “Savings Widget”.  We’ll show you what’s available.

Are you one of the many folks wondering, “Can I get AT&T U-Verse in my area?”  It looks like there may be good news for you and your neighbors.

According to an article by Todd Spangler from Multichannel News, AT&T is using “line bonding” to increase the availability of its U-Verse DSL high speed Internet and entertainment packages.  By pairing two copper wires together U-verse’s reach can extend anywhere between 1,000 and 2,000 feet into your neighborhood.   Those extra feet define your service area, because, according to Spangler, the DSL only “has a useful range of around 3,000 feet from the video-ready access devices (VRADs) that are the fiber-fed nodes in the U-verse network.”

The combination of line bonding and new U-verse buildouts should help AT&T pass the 30 million mark for homes using the U-Verse DSL high speed Internet service by the end of 2011.  If you were out of reach in years past, by the end of 2011 you may very well able to turn that question into a statement – “I can get AT&T U-Verse in my area!”

If you use your cell phone for all calls, you may be wondering what the options are for Internet service without a phone line. Here are some solutions to consider if you’re thinking about dropping your phone line.

1. Use cable Internet, available through most cable TV providers. The Internet signal will run through a cable hook up to your home, and will require a modem, usually supplied by the cable company, to connect the cable to your computer or the wireless router. Allconnect.com can not only summarize the cable Internet providers available at your address, but can also compare promotions and bundle options that are available.
2. Order satellite Internet. While the technology is similar to satellite TV, the two services can not share a dish. The dish has to be installed with an unobstructed view facing south. Allconnect.com can provide a summary of plans that are available for your address as well as any bundle options.
3. Air cards aka as mobile broadband, allow you to have Internet without a phone by using the wireless network. These USB modems and PC cards, which plug into your computer, connect to the standard cellular network. However, they have the same limitations as other cell devices regarding inconsistent coverage in enclosed, underground or remote locations. Wireless carriers offer numerous plans and pricing ranging from monthly fees to daily pre-paid access. Also take into consideration the carrier’s coverage as it relates to where you’ll be accessing the Internet with the card. If you have spotty cell phone coverage at your house, you’ll also have spotty Internet access with an air card.

If you decide to go this route and you have several wireless devices, look into an Intelligent Mobile Hotspot that taps into the cellular network and allows several wi-fi enabled devices to connect at one time.

4. DSL Internet providers have created a service known as “dry loop,” “naked DSL” or “stand-alone” to allow consumers to use DSL Internet service without a phone line. This technology runs through existing phones wires, and you do not need to subscribe to phone line service to use it. However, not all DSL providers offer it and pricing varies depending on speed and current promotions. This option for Internet without a phone is evolving, so check plans and pricing under DSL Internet at Allconnect for the latest.
5. Wi-fi hotspots. Grab your laptop and log-in at the thousands of wireless hotspots. Many are free, though some have policies as to how long you can remain online. Websites that allow you to enter your zip code for a list of nearby wi-fi locations include wi-fihotspotlist.com, hotspothaven.com, wi-fifreespot.com, and openwifispots.com.