Post in Minneapolis Wi-Fi: Time to Pull the Contract?

Mar 22 20:03 UTC

I recently switched from my satellite provider to USI for my internet, and I
must say that USI is remarkably fast and way less expensive.

With my satellite provider, I was paying $39.99/month + the modem rental
($4.95/month, I think). With USI's annual payment plan, I'm now paying
$228/year (works out to be a little less than $19/month) + $55ish/year for the
Ruckus rental ... so essentially I'm saving $250/year with USI AND getting much
faster service. Plus I live on the 6th floor of a downtown condo. On average,
I'm getting about 1400 kbps (almost full T1 speed), though lots of times the
speed is much faster.

Sure, you REALLY REALLY need to use the Ruckus amplifier to get the best signal
quality, but if the cable/satellite providers also make you rent a modem from
them, it's pretty much a wash on equipment costs. Plus since I have a wireless
card in my laptop, I can get a signal in lots of spots throughout the city.
Something I couldn't do with my satellite provider.

They may not be at 100% coverage, but things are a lot further along than I
thought they would be. Plus, the customer service and billing folks are very
friendly, and (I THINK) are based in the Twin Cities, so they aren't routing
your call to some foreign country to be serviced.

I'd say 3 out of 4 stars for USI. They've got some work to do, but they know
that and aren't afraid to admit that things aren't at 100% yet.

Try it out for a month before you cancel your service with your current
provider. If you don't find that USI is better, you'll just be out $40 -- they
give you $10 off your first month -- but if you're like me, you'll see the huge
savings that can be had!!