Internet fees

[akatsuka]

Can anyone recommend to me a bulk standard (yet reliable) internet provider in Japan? I'm looking to get broadband, unlimited downloads if possible. Is Yahoo! BB the best option?

(I dont have a phone line & won't need one to call anyone on. I also dont care about TV channels either. Just the internet will do me lovely...)

Thanks

[Mock Cockpit]

Yahoo BB are crap. It goes without saying you should get optical fibre unless you live right next to the exchange. I personally use Biglobe and haven't had a seconds problem in 2 years but that might be a bit difficult for you as the whole process will be in Japanese. I think Asahi Net has info in English.

[dimwit]

Years ago I was on Biglobe and as I recall they were not overly expensive but they did have a teensy problem of selling their subscriber lists to spammers.

[Midwinter]

Contrary and with all due respect to Mock, I've been a YahooBB customer for years and am very pleased with the service. Speeds of up to 900kbs down and zero to very little lag online with the rest of the world. I'd recommend them with a single caveat, depends where you are from the exchange and how new the local lines are.

[Mock Cockpit]

Contrary and with all due respect to Mock, I've been a YahooBB customer for years and am very pleased with the service. Speeds of up to 900kbs down and zero to very little lag online with the rest of the world. I'd recommend them with a single caveat, depends where you are from the exchange and how new the local lines are.

Yeah maybe crap was a strong word but my present isp is far better and I'm not aware of the problem Dimwit had. I think too in the land of fat internet pipes you'd expect a bit better than 900kbps down. Mid is fibre available where you live?

[Midwinter]

Yeah maybe crap was a strong word but my present isp is far better and I'm not aware of the problem Dimwit had. I think too in the land of fat internet pipes you'd expect a bit better than 900kbps down. Mid is fibre available where you live?

Not entirely sure, bud. Then again, I'm pretty content with my lot in life here. I'm sure with the amount of traffic my network sees, other ISPs would have capped me by now so the fact that I can still download a handful of *t-word* and game/chat at the same time with no lag is enough.

[IkemenTommy]

Not entirely sure, bud. Then again, I'm pretty content with my lot in life here. I'm sure with the amount of traffic my network sees, other ISPs would have capped me by now so the fact that I can still download a handful of *t-word* and game/chat at the same time with no lag is enough.

I recently moved and I am also in the process of searching for an ISP that does not cap the "t-word." I used to use Usen Gyao Hikari "mansion" VDSL and they seemed to suffice my needs.

According to kakaku.com, Sonet, Biglobe, or Gyao (again) but those cheap providers usually come with some kind of catch, for example, unreliable downtime.

[wuchan]

NTT hikariNEXT with bbexcite 6,200 a month. speed test is almost always between 120-180 down and up.

[FG Lurker]

House:
100Mb fibre from "eo hikari" which is offered by the power company. They provide the line and the ISP service.

Office:
Asahi Net via FLETS "mansion hikari"
There is a fat fibre pipe that comes into this building and then VDSL is run out to the offices.

The office setup is far cheaper but the performance is nearly as good. I have never experienced any sort of cap or downtime from either company though I make heavy use of both connections.

If your apartment has the option to get "mansion hikari" then I suggest you do that and get Asahi Net. Mansion Hikari is super cheap (less than 2000per month, maybe even 1000yen? Can't remember.), and Asahi Net is less than 1000yen per month too.

[FG Lurker]

NTT hikariNEXT with bbexcite 6,200 a month. speed test is almost always between 120-180 down and up.

Is that 120Kbps? 120KBps? 120Mbps?

I just ran this test and got 35.2Mbps down and 29Mbps up. This is on the office connection, a VDSL connection via FLETS Hikari Mansion and Asahi Net. (This was while streaming Internet radio and running two test servers that are accessing the 'net regularly.)

[akatsuka]

According to kakaku.com, Sonet, Biglobe, or Gyao (again) but those cheap providers usually come with some kind of catch, for example, unreliable downtime.

Thanks for everyones feedback. Can I ask - I looked at kakaku.com but couldnt find any relation to internet. Is there a proce comparison website in Japan similar to the British moneysupermarket.com ?

[wuchan]

Is that 120Kbps? 120KBps? 120Mbps?

I just ran this test and got 35.2Mbps down and 29Mbps up. This is on the office connection, a VDSL connection via FLETS Hikari Mansion and Asahi Net. (This was while streaming Internet radio and running two test servers that are accessing the 'net regularly.)

It's Mbps. They claim 200 up and down or "best effort" High usage times it drops to 70Mbps which is still plenty.

[IkemenTommy]

Thanks for everyones feedback. Can I ask - I looked at kakaku.com but couldnt find any relation to internet. Is there a proce comparison website in Japan similar to the British moneysupermarket.com ?

http://kakaku.com/bb/

[FG Lurker]

It's Mbps. They claim 200 up and down or "best effort" High usage times it drops to 70Mbps which is still plenty.

So you have gigabit fibre with a router that can manage 120 to 180Mbps, and a PC that is also doing that? Impressive.

[IkemenTommy]

For a single user like myself, do I really need a gigabit fiber?
(My main net usage is: FG.com, b-t#rrent, pr#n surf)