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DSL or Cable

R

rb56

Senior member
I've had cable (1.5 down / 256 up ) with Bresnan for about three years but I now can get DSL (1.5 down / 896 up) with Qwest/MSN for $10 less a month. Is it worth the switch?

thanks,
rb56
 
dittto, same DL speed but faster upload speed for less= best.

in things like multiplayer games and other instances of bi-directional communication it will only run as fast as the slowest part of the connection, which in most cases is the upload. 896k will give you much better performance than 256k

when you download you can only do so as fast as thye computer you are talking to can upload the information to you, likewise the computer on the other end can only download as fast as you can upload to it.
 
Hey there rb56! If I were you I would ask ppl that already has that adsl service what they think of it stability wise and if their phonesupport is ok before I made my decision.

Also make sure that it has a decent ping and no caps or trafficshaping.

Also make sure it is full duplex.

Then compare it to what you have now and make your decision.
 
Thanks for the replies, I'm not a gamer but my son has Xbox Live and with 256 up he tells me there is lag at times.

My company pays for my cable line so the price isn't really an issue, the most important thing is reliability and speed.

One other thing that I was wondering, I have a Linksys WRT54G wireless router, anyone have problems using one with DSL?

thanks,
rb56
 
Originally posted by: Dug
For xbox the upload speed shouldn't be a problem. It's the lag that will kill you.
Click to expand...

??? Please explain, if the slower upload doesn't cause the lag what does?

thanks,
rb56
 
Despite the controversy this`ll cause;
I`d stick with the cable is money aint a problem.
Seeing as DSL has connection ratios, and while rare, you speed can drop because of it.
 
Unless you are really close (physically) to the ASDL conection center (i forget what they are called) you are never going to see those speeds. They will probably run 3/4 to half of what they are rated (depending on how far away you are).... the farther away you are, the slower the speed.
Cable also has disadvantages. If you live close to several people on the same cable connection as you your speed could drop. If you live in an older neighborhood this shouldn't be a problem, but If your near several apartments (lots of young people) your speed can drop (lag).

It just depends on your physical location.... I would stick to cable, just because I find it to be more reliable than the phone lines...

just my 2 cents
 
Here's your potential issue with DSL:

Where you live: not only does the physical distance of your home from the C.O. (Central Office) affect your connection, your community may as well.

Densely populated areas, such as NYC, have a serious problem with binding posts - e.g., there are not enough of them to go around. This causes POTS technicians to improvise, and they'll do things like put you on a dAML (basically, split someone else's dial tone into 2 and give you one) or split two pairs into one. Both of these tactics will give you fully functional dial tone, but they will not allow DSL signals.
Furthermore, a badly balanced pair can slow or kill a DSL signal with ease.

When I was last working for Verizon as a tech, fiberoptic lines were also incapable of carrying a DSL signal. That may well have changed, I must admit I have not been following the technology for a while.
 
You find phone lines less reliable than cable? How many times have to heard oh the cables out before? I have heard it plenty... I have never have a phone line go dead.

I have Verizon DSL right now and I have NEVER had a problem with my connection I had Charter cable before and it was always out. My parents just got Adephia cable and it was out the other day. IF you ask the masses I think you will generally hear that DSL is alot more stable than Cable is.

Also about these speed issues saying its going to be 3/4 slower than that I find hard to belive... My speeds have always been consistant and I think most peole with DSL are alot closer to their suggeseted speeds than people with cable that I have seen thus far.
 
Get 3.0 down and 384 up with SBC Expert Plan. Personally, I'm getting 5.0 down and 500 up. For $45/month.

Also, if cable goes out, does your Internet connection also drop? I'm just thinking about all the times during storms when cable goes out, but the phone still works. With a small backup unit, you could run a PC with Internet for a while if the power goes out and keep hosting a site or get weather updates or email friends or watch movies.
 
Originally posted by: rb56
Originally posted by: Dug
For xbox the upload speed shouldn't be a problem. It's the lag that will kill you.
Click to expand...

??? Please explain, if the slower upload doesn't cause the lag what does?

thanks,
rb56
Click to expand...

packet loss
network latency
overhead introduced by your isp
static in your phone line
old circuits or connectors
wire too thin
etc.
 
Personally, I like cable becasue it is fast and I don't have many others users around me 🙂.
(Also, it has only gone out for about 20 mins one time in 2+ years)
DSL is a viable option though.
 
Originally posted by: JBT
You find phone lines less reliable than cable? How many times have to heard oh the cables out before? I have heard it plenty... I have never have a phone line go dead.

I have DSL right now and I have NEVER had a problem with my connection I had Charter cable before and it was always out. My parents just got Adephia cable and it was out the other day. IF you ask the masses I think you will generally hear that DSL is alot more stable than Cable is.

Also about these speed issues saying its going to be 3/4 slower than that I find hard to belive... My speeds have always been consistant and I think most peole with DSL are alot closer to their suggeseted speeds than people with cable that I have seen thus far.
Click to expand...


You obviously have an optimal location and pair for DSL.

In my case, Verizon DSL would not even work, and Earthlink would only stay up 50% of the time. Cable modem from Optimum online, however, has been down twice in 3 years.

So I've had the exact opposite experience.
 
I am sure you are right. Many people have had good and bad experiences with cable and DSL. No argument. I think on average though that DSL is more reliable. It all depends on the provider and your geographic area. I personally will NEVER go back to Charter for how bad their service was. But if I moved to another area with another cable provider I would sign up. I'm not against cable or anything I just thought some peopel were being unfair and I thought the DSL deal was alot better choice. BTW I am on Verizon DSL forgot to mention that before.

Also why don't you see how the DSL service is before you go and cancel your cable. Thats what I did just to make sure DSL in my area was going to be better.
 
Comcast doubled my cable speed for free. It's now 3000 down and 256 up. And it is ALWAYS maxed out. It never budges from full speed. I had DSL for like 2 years and I like cable better.
 
what kind of problems have you guys had with charter? i have had them for a year and connection is always up. in addition i download at 200-400 on my 256kbps/64kbps package.
 
DSL was a complete pain in the rear to get set up... After weeks of Bellsouth delaying the activation date, they finally activated, and long behold, it didn't work. Of course, that was using a USB modem which was just a tad bit faster than a limping chihuahua. Anyways, the speed problem was more of the computer's fault. When I reformated the HD, reinstalled Windows, and installed the crap for the DSL, it was noticably faster. Six to eight months ago, I bought an ethernet DSL modem off of eBay. I got it working with no problems, and it was SO much faster. It's only been down once in the whole time I've had it, and that was even a scheduled downage to upgrade...

I am, however, thinking about changing to Comcast Cable. They've bumped the bandwidth to 3.0Mbps down, a huge increase. My neighbor has it and it seems to run great. DSL is coming cheaper than cable at the moment, so if money is a factor, I'd highly suggest DSL. But if you have a little bit more to spend, cable is currently offering better performance. It really does break down to preference. Its also a good idea to check with your cable/phone company to see if you can get discounts for combining services.

Just my $.02
 
Were I live we only get 2 choices for High Speed internet, Charter Cable or Verizon DSL...for most around here it depends on where you live depends on what you can get...A lucky few can chose between the two....My family got DSL service a few months ago, up untill that time the only thing we could get was Dial-up, but my friend who lived a mile from us farther out could get Verizon DSL, it took them 3 years to get DSL out to our area....We couldnt go with cable because they dont offer it out here....I like our Verizon DSL 1.5MB download and 768 KB upload...I have tested the download and uplad several times, most the time it is maxed out, full download and upload,\.
 
Hello there. My personal experience is that cable is usually less stable than dsl. But it seems to vary a great deal from location to location.

Since you don't have to pay for your cable connection and you want to try dsl just order that and try it out. You can have both. And if you like dsl better just keep both of them (maybe you have more than 1 puter) since you don't have to pay for the cable anyways.

Anyway... I live in sweden. Cable @ 8/1 is available here now for us $ 55 a month. It is available pretty much everywhere.

We also have adsl 8/1 for us $ 38 and adsl2 10/1 for us $ 50.. and adsl2+ @ 24/1 for us $ 55 a month.
There is also vdsl for us $ 50. Though one has to live near the phone station to get that. < 3000 feet= 13/13 mbit and < 1000 feet = 26 mbit/sec. ´
Vdsl availablitiy is limited though.

And there is ofcourse lan 10/10 for about us $ 40 a month. 100/100 mbit is also available but it is very expensive (us $ 120 a month). 😀
 
Originally posted by: BDSM
Hello there. My personal experience is that cable is usually less stable than dsl. But it seems to vary a great deal from location to location.

Since you don't have to pay for your cable connection and you want to try dsl just order that and try it out. You can have both. And if you like dsl better just keep both of them (maybe you have more than 1 puter) since you don't have to pay for the cable anyways.

Anyway... I live in sweden. Cable @ 8/1 is available here now for us $ 55 a month. It is available pretty much everywhere.

We also have adsl 8/1 for us $ 38 and adsl2 10/1 for us $ 50.. and adsl2+ @ 24/1 for us $ 55 a month.
There is also vdsl for us $ 50. Though one has to live near the phone station to get that. < 3000 feet= 13/13 mbit and < 1000 feet = 26 mbit/sec. ´
Vdsl availablitiy is limited though.

And there is ofcourse lan 10/10 for about us $ 40 a month. 100/100 mbit is also available but it is very expensive (us $ 120 a month). 😀
Click to expand...

What kind of house could US $200,000 get me over there?
 
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