Chances are that if you’re here, you want to know more internet service in New York state. Maybe you’re looking to switch providers, or you’re moving to New York for school or work, and you want to find the best internet options. We understand, so we came up with the information below that should help you out.
Find the Best Internet Service Provider in Your Area of New York
Local Residential Internet Service Providers
Here are a few ISPs that provide service to residential areas:
- RCN – (Speed/price) 25 Mbps $35, 50 Mbps $50, 75 Mbps $90. Fiber optics & no contracts.
- Cablevision – Also known as Optimum. (Speed/price) 15 Mbps $15, 30 Mbps $30.
- HughesNet – (Speed/price) 1 Mbps $40, 1.5 Mbps $80, 2 Mbps $110
There are other ISPs, but the ones listed above are the most popular. You can view an entire list of them on the Yahoo Directory.
Local Business Internet Service Providers
Here are a couple ISPs that provide service to small businesses:
- Towerstream – Towerstream provides small businesses with high speed internet with speeds between 1.5 Mbps to 1.5 Gbps. They have cloud computing, VoIP and VPN services as well. Installs are completed within 3 to 5 days. 24/7 support.
- Voxline – Voxline offers ADSL and fiber connections with speeds up to 100Mbps. 24/7 support.
Internet Connections and Coverage for New Yorkers
You won’t have any problems finding a specific kind of internet connection in New York. They’re all available — dial up, dsl, cable, fiber optics (Fios), satellite and wireless (wifi & 3g).
The biggest issue that you’ll run into in New York (namely New York City) is that many apartments already have contracts setup with internet service providers. So you’re forced to use that ISPs service, as well as pay their prices (if you live in New York you might remember everyone complaining about the “monopoly” that Time Warner Cable (TWC) had become). So the takeaway is to keep in mind that you might encounter this, and if you’re not happy with the internet service (or price), you will have to have your own cable installed, which could be expensive. And that’s assuming the building owner/manager allows you to do that in the first place.
If at all possible I would highly recommend Verizon’s FiOS. They’ve received a lot of praise from New Yorkers for their speed and reliability. If that’s not a viable option for you, I would suggest cable internet. And I’d go for a little higher speed than you’d think you’d need or want, just because you’ll likely share that connection with others, which will ultimately slow your connection down.
However, if you’re constantly on the move then wireless 3G internet would be the best option for you.
3G Internet Coverage in New York
You can expect coverage in all the big cities in New York (Syracuse, Rochester, Ithaca, NY City, Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Waterloo, etc), as well as surrounding areas.
A couple things I noticed about wireless/3G internet that you might want to know:
- Clear Wireless’ service is lackluster whenever the weather turns sour. So you can (or should) expect the signal to be poor, or in some cases non-existent, during stormy months/seasons.
- The north(eastern) corner of New York has the worst 3G/data coverage. It’s hard to say exactly where it starts, but roughly Queensbury. And it’s in one big patch in the corner. All the major internet service providers have intermittent coverage north of Queensbury.
Aside from those two things you should experience solid coverage anywhere in the state.
Free Internet in New York City
The city of New York has been active over the last couple of years in creating free wi-fi hotspots. You can visit these areas and get all the free internet access you want:
- Astoria Park (Queens)
- Herbert Von King Park (Brooklyn)
- McCarren Park Field House (Brooklyn)
- Tompkins Square Park (Manhattan)
- Clove Lakes Park (Staten Island)
There are (or have been) more plans to extend this network further, too, thanks to AT&T. To take advantage of this free internet access, just go to the location, set up your computer or phone and browse the list of networks and find: attwifi
Internet Prices in New York
Internet prices in New York are going to be pretty average:
- Dial-Up: $5 to $10
- DSL: $15 to $30
- Cable: $20 to $100+
Nearly every ISP that I’ve ran across offers bundle deals, too. So you can have your internet, phone, TV or a combination of the 3 with one service provider. Rates will be right around $60 to $100+, all depending on the services and exact package(s) you want.