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DSL or Cable - I have to make a decision

G

gplracer

Golden Member
Things do not look good for my ISP provider @home. I need to either get Bellsouth DSL or Knology cable. Which one should I get? How does DSL compare to cable? I think knology only has an upload speed of 75k. thanks!!!
 
I've had Earthlink for a year and its pretty good. Sometimes it goes down and I use dial-up! I think they may be using Bellsouth lines anyway; maybe somebody else can confirm? Check out the ADSL newsgroup for other comments. Tech support takes an hour sometimes to get through! I was able to test cable and DSL at the same time and DSL was faster (DSL report.com tests). I am able to run three computers off the one DSL modem; the cable company wanted a $50.00 account for each! Sheesh! Still trying to gouge people. That;s why I goit a satellite! More up front cost but who wants to rent somebody else's equipment?

So if you run more tha none computer see what the total cost is. I bought a Linksys hub (Didn;t need a router) on Provantage.com for about $50. Let me know if you need the model number. It plugged into the modem which plugged into the wall outlet.

Ken
 
cable has way faster upload speeds as it would be somehting like 786/786 or whatever

in brasil dsl is 256/15 and cable is 256/256 anyways...

also if ya have a shi*ty phone line your dsl will suffer so id go for cable. more reliable.
 


<< I am able to run three computers off the one DSL modem; the cable company wanted a $50.00 account for each! Sheesh! Still trying to gouge people. >>

At least still trying to gouge uneducated people! Just about any idiot can figure out how to connect the cable modem to a router to be able to share 1 connection with hundreds of computers. The cable company has no way of knowing if 1 or 100 computers are using that connection.

I think the question of cable vs. DSL depends on where you live and what providers offer each service there. I just got connected to cable (Roadrunner through Time-Warner) and it was much better than the DSL service I could have gotten in my area. I called a few DSL providers (Earthlink and ATT) and they couldn't even send me a self-install kit in less than 6 weeks! I called Time-Warner cable and they came out the next day!! and had me up and running in less 1-1/2 hours - and I don't have cable TV, so the guy had to run cable and install wall plates. He also let me connect the cable modem to my router to be sure it worked and didn't install any crappy software on any of my machines. They also had a deal for free installation, 2 free months of service, and no contract. Both DSL services wanted $150 for installation and a 3 month contract. Monthly charges are identical (except the first 2 are free with cable).

So far service has been glitch-free and speeds have been pretty good. From fast FTP servers I've been getting over 100kbps download speeds, compared to 5.2kbps on my 56k dial-up that's like heaven. I haven't clocked upload speeds. They won't let you use your own modem, the one they provided is the last model made by 3Com before they got out of that business.

I was a little wary of getting cable, since my experiences with Time-Warner cable TV service were bad enough to make me get a satellite dish. However, so far I would give Roadrunner service an A+ rating.
 
you maybe mistaken with SDSL business package which is 79.99 a month.
s stand for symetrical so both side get equal speed. instead of 1.5kbit download it is halved to speed up upload.



<< cable has way faster upload speeds as it would be somehting like 786/786 or whatever

in brasil dsl is 256/15 and cable is 256/256 anyways...

also if ya have a shi*ty phone line your dsl will suffer so id go for cable. more reliable. >>

 
Cable is the way to go. I had DSL before, and it was great, until companies started going out of business. First, I was with PSN.net (under Northpoint), and Northpoint went under. Then I switched to Telocity, and then to find out a few months later that my phone line does not qualify for DSL service...while it did under Northpoint.

Cable will give you much more speed for less price.

Hope this helps.
 
Putting aside cost, and availability.

In entry level services, Cable is superior to DSL.

250KB/sec Cable Download, as oppose to 70KB/sec DSL.

In other words Cable is usually 3 to 4 time faster then DSL.
 
go DSL, i am really happy with my pacbell dsl right now, and it never goes under 140kb/sec

ive tried cable at my cousins house, somedays its goes 200-300kb/s, but many times it goes less than 100 kb/s

go to broadband forums and check with other people around your area to see what is better
 
If you have any access to RoadRunner Cable, go with that. It seems from what I've gathered on several forums that cable systems are alot more gerous with bandwidth.

Sight unseen, I'd go with cable. Be glad you have the choice.
 
just dont get satellite return system...........i made the mistake and am paying for it..........



Jen
 
Cable is faster by nature than dsl.
But it COMPLETELY DEPENDS on your ISP and neighbourhood as to which will be faster for you. There are simply too many variables that go beyond your ISP that will determine your broadwidth. If you have a lot of cable users on your box, that will slow you down. DSL is not susceptable to that. You have to try both to know. It is a very individual decision. Don't listen when someone says one is faster than the other. Unless it is your next door neighbour.
 


<< Cable is superior to DSL. >>



Depends on where you live really, and how many people around you have the cable,..or more to the point, how overloaded the company has the area connected. I've seen much faster cable over DSL, and then much much faster DSL than cable. Only way to know is pick one and if it sucks try the other one. Best way of course is to get a deal on install and price, get both and dump the slower one.
 


<<

<< Cable is superior to DSL. >>



Depends on where you live really, and how many people around you have the cable,..or more to the point, how overloaded the company has the area connected. I've seen much faster cable over DSL, and then much much faster DSL than cable. Only way to know is pick one and if it sucks try the other one. Best way of course is to get a deal on install and price, get both and dump the slower one. >>



I think that's what GreenLantern said.
 
The posters that are telling you it depends are telling it like it is, unfortunately. Theoretically, DSL should be faster than cable if the cable has more users on it since cable will share the bandwidth of the fiberoptic lines, while each DSL connection uses a dedicated phone line. But in my case my DSL is not very fast or reliable. Verizon frequently gives us painfully slow downloads, yes, even slower than 50K at times. :| And our pings are frequently in the 300 to 400 range. 😱 At better times we get the downloads up to 400 or so and pings in the 70 to 90 range. Unfortunately those are the infrequent times. It is due to our being located a long ways from the switching station, and the phone company's use of lighter lines than what they would use today. (I think they said it is 16 gauge instead of the preferred 22 gauge, which would have helped cut down on the interference on our line, which makes for dropped packets and slower speeds) Verizon basically told me that we probably never should have been accepted for DSL service, as our location and line quality was borderline. (kind of like their service, if you ask me! 😉 ) I am planning to try Charter Communication's cable modem service as soon as it is available in my area. Unfortunately, that is projected to be 2003 🙁 . Until then, my boys and I will continue to be "frag bait" in Counterstrike and other online games, with our 300 to 400 pings...... You just have to check with the providers and hope they are straight with you as to what you will get once you sign up. If the DSL provider hints that you may be a marginally qualified user, go for cable!
A frequently disappointed Verizon DSL user.
 
I have Telocity (now Directv DSL) 1mb SDSL, it has served me for more than a year...rarely downtime and decent speed...
for 50.00 a month....was going to switch to Sprintion, but they discontinued their service....too bad...
 
In the real world cable is faster than dsl. Some people have told me that dsl is more secure because everyone is sharing the cable line around you when you use cable.

It depends on your area as well. My cousin lives in some small ass town in North Carolina and he is one of the few people who have cable and it is very fast for him. I live in New York so generally i get slightly higher pings, and slightly slower download/upload times. I think Road Runner has been improving their technology because even though lots of people use cable around me... its still generally fast and responsive.
 
wish I had a choice between cable and DSL. only cable modem here. i guess it could be worse and neither would be available. dslreports.com is good source
 
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