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National service providers offer internet services across the country, with benefits such as bundled services and better web space plans. However, customer service can be hindered by bureaucracy and outsourcing. Smaller local ISPs may excel in customer service and offer 24/7 support. Popular national providers include Time Warner Cable, Verizon, and Comcast, while smaller providers include DSLExtreme. To find providers in your area, use websites like DSLreports or search for +broadband with your city name.
A national service provider is an Internet service provider (ISP) with a national presence. This model differs from smaller ISPs that function as local providers, covering limited geographic areas. A national service provider can serve customers across the country, although rural areas may have only partial or patchy coverage.
A service provider that sells broadband connections such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable, or Fiber Optic Service (FiOS), sometimes offers benefits that smaller local providers cannot. For example, these services could bundle telephone, television, Internet and cellular services for one simple bill. Robust web space plans with better scripting tools and, in some cases, optional built-in commercial features are other features a national service provider might offer. Connectivity can also be more stable with less downtime or outages, although small or local providers can also have excellent uptime records.
A national provider’s Achilles heel often (but not always) comes down to customer service. Larger companies tend to have a bureaucratic structure, which can hinder the efficiency and speed of service. Another disadvantage is that technical support is often outsourced.
While it might only take a moment to connect to a real person running a tech support line for a smaller or local ISP, it can sometimes be a frustrating experience getting help from a large multi-product national service provider. It usually involves a cascade of menu options offered by an automated attendant, followed by a long wait culminating in multiple transfers or, in some cases, a dropped call. Among the hurdles, the customer may have to go through sales pitches about new products or packages. In the end, success often means connecting to a telephone staff halfway around the world who is simply following a generic script without any technical skills.
Multi-state and local ISPs often (but not always) excel at customer service, commonly offering 24/7 support through a toll-free operator number. A smaller company’s lower overhead can mean more money for a better customer service model run “in house” by skilled technicians who know the product. Combined with a decent set of features and a good uptime record, a local or smaller ISP provider may be the way to go.
Some popular national broadband providers are Time Warner Cable (which sells RoadRunner), Verizon, EarthLink, AT&T/SBC Yahoo! and Comcast. Smaller providers offering nationwide access include solid artists like Los Angeles-based DSLExtreme. To investigate local and national service providers in your area, refer to websites such as DSLreports or enter your city name into a search engine along with +broadband.
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