Most reliable internet provider
 

Moving to the villages soon, work remotely, and NEED a reliable internet provider. I notice we have some choices, including fiber. Do you have any you would recommend, avoid? Thanks in advance.

I recently switched to fiber in my current location. Upload speeds are great, but my main need is adequate download speed and reliability.

Fenny area

Your choices are limited to where you locate. For example, I am located near Lake Sumter Landing. I have Xfinity and the reliability for me has been great, but the cost is on the high side.

Xfinity, just don’t confuse reliable internet service with good customer service.

I would second this, I had some issues with them getting set up but that was 4 years ago. The service has been great since.

On Fiber, not sure you will have that as an option... 3 years ago they said I would be able to get it in a year, still nothing. I'm in Fenney...

Do you do anything special that requires higher than normal download speeds? I'm not sure you can find a plan slower than 100Mbps anymore. 100Mbps is adequate for streaming on at least two televisions simultaneously.

The Xfinity service I had in my neighborhood was very reliable. I never needed to call support and I don't believe I may have needed to reboot the modem/router twice in five years.

The T-Mobile service I have now had a week when it was acting poorly but has been very reliable otherwise. Since this service runs over the cellular system the issues I saw that week could have been due to oversubscription (too many people) or a cell tower under repair. All I know is it has been fine since.

Many people on here have good things to say about Quantum but I have no experience with it myself.

One way to find out which providers are in your area is to look on their sites. Xfinity, T-Mobile, Quantum, and others provide a way to check availability at your address.

I have had both Xfinity and Quantum fiber. Both have worked well and are very reliable. I switched to Quantum about 3 years ago - it's fiber, so by design it should be more reliable and have more consistent speeds (and it does!). I'm getting 1GB service for $35/month. More than 3x the speed I had with Xfinity at less than half the cost.

Fiber is Always going to be the most reliable since it's all fiber optic light wave.

The difference between fiber and cable is the technology. Cable's old copper network is not maintained for capacity anymore here in the Villages so depending on where you live you may get buffering at peak times because you are sharing the cable with all your neighbors. With cable you get the advertised download speed, most of the time but you only get 20-30mbs upload. No option. Limitation of the cable technology. With Fiber you get your own dedicated conection, no sharing to the ISP, and you get the same full download and upload speeds. Fiber is not suseptible to lightning or power surges like cable and is all light wave so when we have power outages, you don't have to worry about a hub not getting power in your area like you do with cable which needs power at several points.

Since you live in Fenney, you can get Quantum fiber. as low as $40, no contract, no tax, no fees, no promotion, and the equipment is included. If you are interested, I can help just reach out to me.

If you live south of Fenney, then Centric fiber is installed when the homes are built and they are also very reliable.

If you can't get fiber, I tend to like Spectrum cable.

Why Spectrum over Xfinity? Also when I go to the Quantum Fiber site it says it is available in 32163, but others have told me it is not available in all of 32163 (you can't enter a specific address on their site). Does that mean Quantum would have to dig up the yard to install it or is it even more than that (newbie question, I know)?

Cindy

We have been happy with Spectrum. Hated Xfinity and will never have them again.

Here is the Quantum Fiber site that allows you to enter your address.

It tells me I can get 200Mbps for $45.

No.
Copper cable can be just as reliable as fiber. There are physical limitations and mitigations with both.

Availability, service reliability, price, and support all matter more than the particular technology being used.

- Fiber is no good at all if it isn't available.
- 5G is not a good option at the limit of the cell where service is spotty
- Cable is not a good choice if the price is high

I would take a 100Mbps service in the $45 price range from a company that doesn't have a lot of complaints regardless of how it was provided.

You don't have a choice, you're stuck with whatever provider is in your area.

I have three properties in the villages. One is near LSL and uses Xfinity. Two are in the new areas and use Centric Fiber. I have found both Xfinity and Centric Fiber to be 100% reliable.

I have chosen the highest available speed from both providers and both are blazingly fast and exceed my needs. I have measured the speeds using typical speed check apps and Centric Fiber is faster, particularly in upload speeds, but I cannot notice that difference in ordinary use.

Centric Fiber is cheaper than Xfinity.

Thanks. Shows not available :( Maybe because I am on an island, kind of (Linden Isle)

Some folks have a choice...some folks don't. Just depends where you live.