What are my internet service provider options in Irvine?

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pjs4x4

New member
I plan to move to Portola Springs in the next month or so and was wondering what my options are. I only need internet and don't plan to bundle internet/tv/phone. I care about speed and reliability since I work from home sometimes.

On a somewhat related note, the new home will have CAT 5E plugs in the living room,kitchen, and bedrooms. However, I did not see a box/panel in the master closet to plug in modem/router (unless I missed it). In the living room, I did notice that there is CAT 5E plug that has a 2 ports(one blue and one white). Do I plug modem/router into blue plug and the white one is for tv/xbox/etc.?

Thank in advance for your help.
 
Check the laundry room. And some older homes, I've seen them in other secondary bedroom closets.

Blue should be the internet to whatever device, the white one sounds like it's for digital phone line?
 
I believe we only have two options in Irvine, AT&T DSL or Cox Cable.  I wouldn't bet on Google Fiber coming into residential unless its TIC property at this point.  At the time I signed up, I got Cox which I heard was more reliable.  So far its been ok but not perfect. 

 
calbear said:
I believe we only have two options in Irvine, AT&T DSL or Cox Cable.
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Depending on where you live:
Cox Cable
AT&T U-verse (Fake Uverse - rebadged DSL)
AT&T U-verse (Real Uverse)
AT&T Fiber
 
Cox Gigablast is $69/mo standalone for 2 years right now. Pretty good price if you're looking for only internet and no bundles. Only caveat is Gigablast isn't available everywhere in Irvine - but new communities should have it.

AT&T offers the best bundle deals in my opinion w/ their Fiber + DirecTV/U-Verse. Their price is locked in for 2 years (as opposed to 1 year with Cox), includes modem and tv equipment for up to 4 rooms, and comes w/ Sunday Ticket (DirecTV).
 
Where is this offer?  I'm paying just a little less for way slower speeds.  I haven't been able to find your offer.  TIA

best_potsticker_in_town said:
Cox Gigablast is $69/mo standalone for 2 years right now. Pretty good price if you're looking for only internet and no bundles. Only caveat is Gigablast isn't available everywhere in Irvine - but new communities should have it.

AT&T offers the best bundle deals in my opinion w/ their Fiber + DirecTV/U-Verse. Their price is locked in for 2 years (as opposed to 1 year with Cox), includes modem and tv equipment for up to 4 rooms, and comes w/ Sunday Ticket (DirecTV).
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You may be able to get Cox Internet Essential for as low as $40/month + tax/fees.  Its 15 mbps download / 2 mbps upload, which is sufficient for netflix HD streaming, but not 4K UHD streaming (25 mbps).

If you only require internet to do a little web browsing, e-mail and music streaming, you might be able to get away with cell phone hot spot/phone tethering if you have tmobile or similar service.  I still have a MiFi that I use on the train with my laptop.

 
Anyone have AT&T Fiber?  How was the installation process?  Did they dig up your yard and drill holes into the side of your house?

I've read some people have issues with AT&T throttling video services like Netflix, Hulu or YouTube.  Any truth to this?
 
undecided said:
Anyone have AT&T Fiber?  How was the installation process?  Did they dig up your yard and drill holes into the side of your house?

I've read some people have issues with AT&T throttling video services like Netflix, Hulu or YouTube.  Any truth to this?
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We have the fiber service.  Installation wasn't bad they have two teams - one for the fiber from the street to the outside of your house, another that takes care of the inside wiring/provisioning.  No additional digging or drilling but our house is prewired for CAT 5e.

The speed is mid 900s running speedtests but one thing to keep in mind its hard to say if they are really throttling.  Example: My company's datacenter connection is 100 megs direct cross connected to AT&T's backbone so no throttling.  But just because we have 100 megs to download doesnt mean the websites have that much outward facing bandwidth devoted to your download - I've never seen higher than probably 30mbps on large downloads from certain websites. 
 
Irvinemonk said:
best_potsticker_in_town said:
https://www.cox.com/residential/internet/gigablast.html

It says $99.99/mo on the splash page, but when I enter my address in EW it drops to $69.99/mo for 24 months. $84.99/mo for year 3, and $99.99/mo for year 4.
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So wierd - I launched the page and I see that the price is 119/ month for 1 year contract. I don't see the 2 year deal. This is for EW as well.
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I do get the $69.99/month option for EW. Is the cost of modem included here? I didn't see mention of that.
 
Don't just go with Cox website.  When I moved into my new home, the best Cox deal on the web was about $80 per month for 100 Mb (?) but when I called both Cox and AT&T, the actual human on the phone was able to get me better deals.  I ended up getting $55 per month for 2 years for 150 Mb panoramic wifi...  after that I'm sure they'll jack up the price and I'll just change to At&T or something if I have to...
 
irvineorbust said:
Don't just go with Cox website.  When I moved into my new home, the best Cox deal on the web was about $80 per month for 100 Mb (?) but when I called both Cox and AT&T, the actual human on the phone was able to get me better deals.  I ended up getting $55 per month for 2 years for 150 Mb panoramic wifi...  after that I'm sure they'll jack up the price and I'll just change to At&T or something if I have to...
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what is the advantage of "panoramic" wifi and how much more $$ is that vs regular wifi?  Thanks.
 
I had COX but switched most things to AT&T.

When I had COX, my internet was slower at certain points in the day. Because folks share the same line, when there is congestion, you don't have the max speed.

AT&T have dedicated lines so you don't run into that problem. If I connect directly to the outlet, I'm at 1000 Mbps. If I run through a really good router, I get 150 - 300 Mbps throughout the house.

The key is the bundle. I have DirectTV, my cellphones and Internet through AT&T so I get a lot of discounts. Internet ends up being $80 per month (for 1000 Mbps!). Two cellphone lines is ~$140 (3 GB limit per month in data, with insurance, unlimited talk/text). I won't quote TV b/c everyone has preferences in terms of package. I would have switched my alarm system as well but got locked into a COX contract. The other positive as well is that you don't need a landline with AT&T for the alarm, whereas, you do with COX; hence, another cost.

Regarding cellphone, in OH, the Wifi coverage is horrible (no cell phone coverage) but I do Wifi calling when I'm home.

One thing to keep in mind as well is that there are all different kinds of technology coming out that will help with the wifi distribution in the home. At the moment, I run NetGear wifi extenders that allow me to reach upstairs and remote areas downstairs in the house with no problem. However, you sacrifice some strength in signal. These new pods/meshes (Google, NetGear, etc) supposedly allow you to access full speeds anywhere in your home. It's expensive though.
 
Irvine Inhabitant said:
I had COX but switched most things to AT&T.

When I had COX, my internet was slower at certain points in the day. Because folks share the same line, when there is congestion, you don't have the max speed.

AT&T have dedicated lines so you don't run into that problem. If I connect directly to the outlet, I'm at 1000 Mbps. If I run through a really good router, I get 150 - 300 Mbps throughout the house.

The key is the bundle. I have DirectTV, my cellphones and Internet through AT&T so I get a lot of discounts. Internet ends up being $80 per month (for 1000 Mbps!). Two cellphone lines is ~$140 (3 GB limit per month in data, with insurance, unlimited talk/text). I won't quote TV b/c everyone has preferences in terms of package. I would have switched my alarm system as well but got locked into a COX contract. The other positive as well is that you don't need a landline with AT&T for the alarm, whereas, you do with COX; hence, another cost.

Regarding cellphone, in OH, the Wifi coverage is horrible (no cell phone coverage) but I do Wifi calling when I'm home.

One thing to keep in mind as well is that there are all different kinds of technology coming out that will help with the wifi distribution in the home. At the moment, I run NetGear wifi extenders that allow me to reach upstairs and remote areas downstairs in the house with no problem. However, you sacrifice some strength in signal. These new pods/meshes (Google, NetGear, etc) supposedly allow you to access full speeds anywhere in your home. It's expensive though.
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$80 is the same price as cox 1GB.. I have three phones on 4GB of data with verizon for around $150.  TV is where I get bitten though.. $120 for really nothing on Direct TV.. which I'm probably going to cut the cord on in 2018.  I was thinking about ATT bundle but doesn't seem like you are saving much. 
 
Irvine Inhabitant said:
Regarding cellphone, in OH, the Wifi coverage is horrible (no cell phone coverage) but I do Wifi calling when I'm home.

One thing to keep in mind as well is that there are all different kinds of technology coming out that will help with the wifi distribution in the home. At the moment, I run NetGear wifi extenders that allow me to reach upstairs and remote areas downstairs in the house with no problem. However, you sacrifice some strength in signal. These new pods/meshes (Google, NetGear, etc) supposedly allow you to access full speeds anywhere in your home. It's expensive though.
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verizon is pretty decent in OH.  calls are fine with no drops and texts are just a little slower than usual.  even get 4G data in certain parts of the house.  guests who come over with AT&T and t-mobile generally have no service.

regarding wifi, i use router access points instead of wifi extenders.  no loss of signal with a dedicated duplicated wifi signal so the whole house is blanketed and you get the benefit of multiple hard wired jacks everywhere.
 
AA said:
what is the advantage of "panoramic" wifi and how much more $$ is that vs regular wifi?  Thanks.
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Supposedly they have multiple access points/routers/extenders so that you have a strong signal in all parts of your home.

I believe the monthly is the same but you have to pay for the technician to go to your home to analyze and install,
 
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