DSL or Cable. Which should I get.

[thraashman]

Simple question. I'm looking into getting a high speed connection and I wanna know which is better. Both are available in my area, so that's not a factor. I'm wondering mostly about speed vs. price and such.

My dad wouldn't go for the idea of getting me a OC3, T3, or T1. So I had to go for other options.

 

[monto]

depends on bandwidth and dependability...my @home is great, then again, you may be 10ft away from a dsl station and get 1.5mbps sdsl for cheaper than cable

check around your area and your providers, read user comments/reviews

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Try going out and getting your own price quotes from the local dealers. Find out how close to the DSL station. Find out how much both will cost. You'll not get anything here accept for opinion.

You can get some facts from the companies themselves.

 

[IcemanJer]

Do your own research like Cobalt said. See how close is the DSL station from your house, how long is the waiting list for installation for both DSL and cable in your area, check prices, etc. etc.

I'm guess since CNN's in Atlanta, you might have better luck with cable internet service? I dunno, just a wild guess.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

I talked to a guy who was in Redwood City California (home of the biggest @Home node in the world) on a node with all of 6 other people. A few more were added or something because he called in complaining that he was only getting 700KBps download and was pissed as hell. :Q


...jerk.

 

[gooseman]

Simple. What goes out more, your cable service or your phone service?

 

[Jokeram]

<<
My dad wouldn't go for the idea of getting me a OC3, T3, or T1. So I had to go for other options. >>



LOL...

 

[Gusfo0]

You forgot to mention paper cups and string. There have been many improvements to that technology over the years. Not to mention the price is very reasonable.

 

[mackstann]

dude, i got an OC768, cable and dsl both blow...

seriously, i have @home in davenport iowa and get anywhere between 3.5-5Mbps, depending on time of day, etc... screw a T1, thats only 1.5, but i guess it is guaranteed and unshared bandwidth, and you get 1.5 UP, i only get 128 up (thats the cap...caps suck!!!)

and nobody mentioned that dsl is very commonly via PPPOE, which means a dynamic ip, and you have to log on and all that crap. cable is usually not PPPOE and you got a static ip. i like.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

You can pay to get a static IP with DSL. @Home likes it's customers set up dynamic so they can make node-splits and other expansions so you don't have to keep calling back in saying &quot;what's my new IP&quot; and let us get to the &quot;real&quot; customers.

 

[AmazonRasta]

i have @home in davenport iowa and get anywhere between 3.5-5Mbps

Crap man, on my @Home here in Brampton, Ontario I'd be happy to get 1Mbps. Bah!

 

[mackstann]

it's all in the Rwin, man

 

[mackstann]

just tested at dslreports and got 3650K.

 

[TommyWDetroit]

i just got clocked at 1.5Mb/s.
Oh, and what is RWIN?

 

[cherrytwist]

I'm on DSL @ 1.5mbps/128k and overall it's satisfactory, but not great. If I had the opportunity to get cable, I'd probably do that instead. I pay $40/month and they gave me the modem for free...I couldn't imagine paying more (and probably wouldn't).

 

[Doggiedog]

Distance to the CO doesn't mean jack if your line is capped by your provider like Verizon does.

 

[LadyNiniane]

<< Simple. What goes out more, your cable service or your phone service? >>



Around these parts, it's the DSL portion of the phone service that dies most frequently. SWB has gotten in trouble with the Public Service Commission and the FCC for lack of service and responsiveness to service issues.

But, as others have said, you need to get localized information, especially on distance to the CO (for DSL) or number of local users on your node (for cable). And check very carefully about install dates and delays, especially if you are considering DSL with a third-party supplier. It won't do much good to order it if you can't get hooked up in a reasonable length of time.

Lady Niniane

 

[AndrewR]

Listen to the Lady. Ask your neighbors about their broadband connections. It is IMPOSSIBLE to judge which is better based on general notions. I have had a cable connection that maxed at 4 Mbps (1 MB/sec download speed), and I've also had a cable connection that would get 10 Kbps during peak times (yes, that's right -- slower than a 14.4 K modem). My current cable connection sits around 200-300 Kbps during peak times, but the ping times are absolutely abysmal (300 ms to very good and close-proximity servers).

Also, what do you need it for? Generally speaking (see above for limitations to this statement!), DSL is better for online gaming while cable is better for downloading (MP3's, etc.). From my experience, once it is set-up properly, cable does not go out very much. I have heard people having significant problems with DSL going out though I have no experience with it.

I wish I could get DSL right now -- my server gateway is over 150 miles away, and we have a saturated node...

 

[mackstann]

<< I have had a cable connection that maxed at 4 Mbps (1 MB/sec download speed), >>


1 megabyte a second equals 8 megabits per second.

 

[Goldfish]

I got a free Static IP with my DSL because I was among the first people in my area to get the service. My DSL has only been out once in the ~9 months I've had it, and that was when we got about 8 inches of snow in less than a day.

I like my DSL, and am very happy with it. I've never even tried cable, so I can't really compare the two.

 

[Fausto]

I noticed you are in Atlanta...I have DSL through Earthlink and am reasonably happy with it. I consistently get around 1250/350 and rarely have connection problems. Of course this is all tied into how close you are to your CO. Do some testing at DSLreports and see what your line length looks like before you think about DSL. I will also warn you that Earthlink's customer support absolutely blows...but if you're pretty handy at installation/troubleshooting then you shouldn't need them much.

Fausto

 

[thraashman]

I'll look into cable more. I'd rather have a static IP so I can serve an FTP. I mostly plan on using it for downloading stuff from IRC. I'm not much of a gamer.

 

[AndrewR]

Oh, in Atlanta, that fast cable connection was through MediaOne, now AT&amp;T Broadband. They have optical lines running around the city so it's fast as heck. It could be worse now though if they haven't kept capacity up with demand.

mack: I'm going with what a website told me -- I believe it was MSN's broadband speedtest. It gives two figures, one a general speed and another an actual download speed. Those were the highest I achieved, though it was generally pretty close to that late at night.

 

[Infidelity]

DSL

 

[acexg1]

I have SWBell DSL, and I'm satisfied with it. I average about 1 Mbps(cap is 1.5), but the upload cap is 384 kbps, I think (adsl). Pings on game servers average about 130 ms. I'd be afraid to get cable because you would lose connection speeds if neighbors started getting it.