Neither Comcast Cable nor AT&T ADSL are available in the community. The only other internet options are the expensive and relatively slow 3G or 4G "wireless" providers such as "Clear", Verizon Mobile Broadband or AT&T Mobile Broadband.

I wasn't happy about not being able to use Comcast Cable as my ISP, especially since DirecPath seems to have many negative reviews scattered around the internet.

But after a few weeks of using DirecPath internet, I must say that I have been happily surprised by the great customer service and the reliable connection for a decent price of about $50 per month.

I still would have rather had the option of paying the discounted rate of $24.95 per month for a year of FastAccess DSL 6Mbps, or $29.99 for Comcast Performance 15 Mbps for 6 months ($44.99 after the first six months).

I was given an "installation" time on my requested date for anywhere from 8 AM to 5 PM. I was surprised that a tech needed to actually visit our apartment to set up the internet since I already owned the same Motorola Surfboard SB5101 modem that DirectPath uses and assumed that they would just ask for the MAC ID # over the phone.

The DirecPath technician called in the early afternoon on the day of my 8 AM to 5 PM appointment to say that he was on the property and would be by shortly. The tech was friendly, made one quick phone call to relay my modem's MAC ID to the main office, and was out the door a few minutes later. He even asked if I needed help setting up my Linksys wireless router before he left, but I gratefully declined since it was already configured from our last home.

The results of the various internet speed tests that I ran are as follows: SpeakEasy - Download 5.50 Mbps / 0.91 Mbps Upload, SpeedTest.net 5.69 Mbps / 0.88 Mbps, and InternetFrog 4.53 Mbps / 3.06 Mbps.

I had no problems streaming Hulu.com at 480P and watching YouTube.com 1080P high definition video clips. Downloading video clips from my webhost happened at a decent 425 KB/sec rate and uploading videos to my website via FTP went at a relatively speedy pace of 800 kbs.

Hardcore gamers and heavy internet users would probably be better off living somewhere else that isn't monopolized by one ISP. Especially since the fastest speed offered by DirecPath at various properties seems to be about 3, 6 or 10 Mbps. My fastest option here was only 6 Mbps for $49.99. A few communities are equipped with DirecPath's FTTH (Fiber To The Home) fiber optic cable internet service that offers much faster download and upload rates.

If instead you're extremely price conscious, you can get better deals by taking advantage of the discounted rates for 6 to 12 months that most other internet providers frequently offer to new users.