eiloo

Hello,

My fiancee and I will be in Columbia Maryland soon. I was wondering if anyone who lives in the area or knows of the area would be able to provide information about the various cable and telephone providers in the area. I've searched the Verizon and Comcast site... are there others as well?

Thanks,

Ian

John McHugh

I don't live in Columbia, MD, but as someone who has lived immediately on both sides of Maryland and several other places and as someone who has done business with both Verizon and Comcast, I have some opinions.

Telephone providers are mostly inheritors of the old Bell conglomerate, so basically you can choose your default for local service (I think Verizon is that in MD as the purchaser of Bell Atlantic) or you can shop for budget alternatives (Comcast may actually offer this; they did in Alabama). Personally, I would stick with Verizon or whomever else owns the hardware, realizing that your phone bill will be a lot higher than you may anticipate from the base price of whatever plan you choose. Absolutely turn down any service plans or calling features you won't use. Long distance plans are a completely separate deal; you can look at AT&T, Worldcom-MCI, Sprint, and a seemingly infinite number of alternatives. Choose the plan that makes the most sense based on your anticipated calling patterns and expect to be recruited aggresssively by whomever you don't choose.

I've never lived anywhere that I've had a choice with cable TV service...so, I THINK, that if Comcast is the deal where you are anticipating living, your choice may be Comcast or a satellite dish. The latter is probably an alternative you'll want to consider.

suebo

Ian, I live in Pasadena MD, it is about 20 minutes from Columbia. There are many phone companies to chose from. Local calls are free. Verizon seems to be the best. THere are a couple of cable companies - Comcast and Millenium. I am with Comcast - Digital cable for BBCA channel. We also have permanent internet connection with them and it costs $101 (inc tax)pm.
I don't know a lot about Columbia, I only ever go there to the Asian Noodle House. When are you moving here, maybe I can give you some pointers when you arrive. PM me if you like.

Always21

I live in Baltimore but I am typing this at work, less than a mile outside of Columbia town center! It looks like the telephone question has been answered. We use Verizon and don't have any problems with them, except for some telemarketing, but I think everyone gets that whether they are a customer or not!

I really like Columbia. It has a few big office buildings but everything is spaced out well and there are some nice parks. Columbia Mall is my favorite mall in the area. The traffic can be bad sometimes, especially on US 29, but most of the time it is fine. If you want to know anything else just ask!