Look into different ISP's. Most areas have both cable and DSL providers. You might be able to pay for "business class" service with higher, and symmetric, spe

Look into different ISP's. Most areas have both cable and DSL providers. You might be able to pay for "business class" service with higher, and symmetric, speeds. If there isn't any such ISP in your area, you could always move...Moving has large costs (depending on how far away you go, it can be highly disruptive to jobs, friendships or relationships). Minimal cost and optimum privacy protection may be orthogonal... Also, keep in mind that, if you're like most people, many of your communication partners will not be as secure as you are. E.g. if you're worried about NSA snooping on email, and the folks you communicate with all use Gmail, it doesn't matter what email provider you use -- it can all be grabbed from your friends' mailboxes on Gmail's servers and forwarded to the spooks.