DSL or Cable?

[Draccius]

Thanks for looking!

I am going to be moving soon to Lansing, MI, and I am trying to figure out what I want to get setup for utilities. I now have the option to choose between SBC DSL or Comcast Cable Internet. I have read the topics that exist on this board and know that most favor Cable, however I would like to explain my specific situation and see what you think.

First off, I currently have Charter Communication Cable Internet, it is 1544k down/256k up. It's been pretty reliable and I have enjoyed the service.

Where I am moving, Charter does not service. It would have to be Comcast, I've called and talked to them and they are non-too promotion happy. It would cost me $57.99 for 3000k down/256k up. The ONLY promotion they would offer me is $29.99 a month for the first three months. I don't want cable tv through them, so that's the best I can get from them.

Now, SBC offers DSL in the area and according to their website I could get 1.5-3.0MB down/384k up for $37.99 a month with a one-year contract. According to DSLReports.com, I am about 12,000 feet from the office (though I don't know if that is SBC's office - is there some way to find out?).

So... what's the better deal here? Is DSL reliable? Will I have problems or is that a little overblown? I am a casual websurfer, I don't go download happy too often. ANY advice is very welcome.

Thank you!

 

[Slogun]

I've been a happy cable subscriber for 4 or 5 years now.
I need the fastest home connection I can get due to my gaming needs.

I looked into DSL a while back to save money, however, my home was too far from the central office to qualify for their faster service.

You should be able to find out what speed of service DSL can provide you if you furnish them with a street address.

Sounds to me, like the cost of cable in your area is too high for your needs, unless of course, you have money to burn.

 

[bgroff]

For that matter, if you're just a casual websurfer you could consider the 1.5 down/256 up for $26.95. There's even an offer for people switching from cable... You might be able to use your current cable acct for 2 free months.

 

[JackMDS]

Most important is to ask user in your new neighborhood about their experience with both type of services.

Otherwise you would end up making a decision inferred for services in New York and Kalamazoo that might not be the same.

Link to: DSL or Cable Internet, what should I get?

:light:

 

[FiberoN]

I live in Lansing, Illinois and I had the choice between Comcast and SBC DSL too. I chose SBC because it was cheaper ( a bit slower tho - 1.5mbit). I have had it for about 3 months now and its been pretty good. I've only lost connection about twice. One thing though, if you get the SBC Yahoo, and you use the modem they send you, if you use it a lot or if it will be on all the time, try to keep the modem upside down (cooler). The bottom gets really hot after more than about a day on and it is more prone to get disconnected. I discovered that a while ago and now it hasn't lost connection one time. Sorry for rambling :| Overall, very good.

 

[Draccius]

If only I had money to burn! Law school isn't cheap and neither are living expenses!

Thanks very much for the replies! I will make sure to contact SBC again once I get my final street address (the townhome won't be assigned to us for another few weeks) to determine actual speed. It sounds like it won't be much different than my current speed, actually.

I was really discouraged with Comcast's pricing and service offering and local customer service (the main line was very friendly, but not who they transferred me to!). I expected more in an area like Lansing, Michigan.

If I do go through DSL with SBC, I can purchase my own equipment right? Such as a Linksys DSL modem and wireless router? I kind of assume that would be better quality than the standard SBC DSL equipment.

 

[FiberoN]

I'm not sure but the SBC one is a Efficient Network SpeedStream 5100 if you want to look it up.

 

[Runner20]

I used to have ATT dsl here in NYC, I ordered 768 mbps down and 128 up. In reality I got speeds of around 545 down and 104 up on average. Not bad, but could be faster. It was pretty good for gaming as I got almost no lag in games.

I cancelled my ATT dsl and got Earthlink Cable thru Time Warner. It's basically Roadrunner but I have Earthlink e-mail. It also saves me $20 because I don't get penalized because I don't have Time Warner cable - Roadrunner would have cost me $60, this costs me $42, $29.95 for the first 6 months.

The speeds I get now from my cable connection are amazing. The advertised speeds are 3 mbps down and 384 mbps up. On the east coast server at Broadbandreports.com, I get on average 2850 down and 350. Amazing. But, to be honest, it doesn't feel that much faster than my dsl when I surf.

However, in gaming, my pings are very low and almost no lag - I did get some lag during my first couple of days of cable. I get around 20 ping in Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and in other games my pings are low as well. Sometimes, my pings are below 10. Even reaches 3 sometimes, heh.

So here is the deal:
For raw speed, cable is the way to go.

 

[FiberoN]

That's true, But for surfing, even a 78k connection is fine. If you wanna game, then find a DSL provider with more than 1.5 mbit or any cable provider.

 

[Runner20]

Originally posted by: FiberoN
That's true, But for surfing, even a 78k connection is fine. If you wanna game, then find a DSL provider with more than 1.5 mbit or any cable provider.

Any connection with 384 mbps or more download and 128 upload is fine for most online games.

 

[HalfCrazy]

I'm on DSL 1.5Mbps / 384 Kbps connection. When playing CS I can ping around 50 which is not bad at all in my book.

 

[FiberoN]

Originally posted by: Runner20

Originally posted by: FiberoN
That's true, But for surfing, even a 78k connection is fine. If you wanna game, then find a DSL provider with more than 1.5 mbit or any cable provider.

Any connection with 384 mbps or more download and 128 upload is fine for most online games.

Yeah but it depends on where the game server is located. LIke I play a small Half-Life mod where there are only about 8 servers and 5 are european. With a 1.5mbit connection, I get slower ping than my friends on 3mbit cable. If my situation doesn't apply to Draccius, then you are right. :beer:

 

[goblue420]

dose sbc allow you to get dsl with out landline phone service?

 

[Runner20]

Originally posted by: goblue420
dose sbc allow you to get dsl with out landline phone service?

No, dsl requires phone lines.

 

[AKA]

Not all dsl providers have to have phone service turned on, though its easier to get provisioned if it is.

However I do not know if sbc requires phone service to be turned on at residence.
I do believe their dsl is shared which means phone service would be required.

Best to call and find out.

 

[Draccius]

Again, thanks everyone for all the replies - they have really helped!

I think that I am going to look more at DSL right now. Before I jump into that boat, though, I want to make sure that I am able to get the Pro package speed of 1.5 to 3.0 down and 384 up where I will be living.

If speed becomes a factor with it, I will bite the expensive bullet and go with Cable.

If anyone else has any further comments or suggestions, please feel free to continue to chime in. Thanks!

 

[Runner20]

You can get Earthlink Cable, which is basically Comcast cable for you for only $40 a month and $29.95 for the first 6 months. You get 3.3 down and 256 up.

I have Earthlink cable also but its thru Time Warner so its basically Roadrunner. I would recommend you do that.

 

[Draccius]

I would enjoy getting something like Earthlink Cable, however Comcast is the only cable provider in the Lansing, Michigan area.

Monopolies are rampant through Michigan for cable except in a few areas of Detroit. As stated, Comcast wants $57.99 per month for 3.0/256k service - which is a little too steep for someone who can't work (the law school I am attending doesn't allow first years to work).

I can't mooch off of my roomates THAT much.

 

[Runner20]

Originally posted by: Draccius
I would enjoy getting something like Earthlink Cable, however Comcast is the only cable provider in the Lansing, Michigan area.

Monopolies are rampant through Michigan for cable except in a few areas of Detroit. As stated, Comcast wants $57.99 per month for 3.0/256k service - which is a little too steep for someone who can't work (the law school I am attending doesn't allow first years to work).

I can't mooch off of my roomates THAT much.

Earthlink Cable is just your email address, the infrastructure is provided by your local cable company. So you will get Comcast but cheaper if you go thru Earthlink. First 6 months are 29.95. My local cable company is Time Warner/Roadrunner and I get their service thru Earthlink Cable. So its Roadrunner with the Earthlink name on it. After the first 6 months its 41.95 per month. You will get the same service if you get Earthlink and instead of paying $57.99 per month you will pay $41.95.

 

[FiberoN]

I'm gonna switch over to Comcast as soon as my 1 year contract with SBC is over. I like the speed advantage cable gives me over DSL.

 

[Runner20]

Originally posted by: FiberoN
I'm gonna switch over to Comcast as soon as my 1 year contract with SBC is over. I like the speed advantage cable gives me over DSL.

YUP, thats why I cancelled my ATT dsl, in its first month so no penalty applied. Cable is just faster and so far its been better, ATT took what seemed like forever to connect (I took out the dsl phone line out of the wall jack each night).

 

[TazExprez]

Optimum Online from Cablevision is great. It's $45.00 per month if you have cable and $50.00 if you don't. It has a top speed of about 10Mbps/1Mbps. I have personally gotten about 9.4Mbps/1Mbps using a Speakeasy speed test.

 

[Draccius]

Originally posted by: Runner20

Originally posted by: Draccius
I would enjoy getting something like Earthlink Cable, however Comcast is the only cable provider in the Lansing, Michigan area.

Monopolies are rampant through Michigan for cable except in a few areas of Detroit. As stated, Comcast wants $57.99 per month for 3.0/256k service - which is a little too steep for someone who can't work (the law school I am attending doesn't allow first years to work).

I can't mooch off of my roomates THAT much.

Earthlink Cable is just your email address, the infrastructure is provided by your local cable company. So you will get Comcast but cheaper if you go thru Earthlink. First 6 months are 29.95. My local cable company is Time Warner/Roadrunner and I get their service thru Earthlink Cable. So its Roadrunner with the Earthlink name on it. After the first 6 months its 41.95 per month. You will get the same service if you get Earthlink and instead of paying $57.99 per month you will pay $41.95.

I'll have to look at the Earthlink site again and maybe give them a call. I checked out their site after your suggestion and filled out the address of the townhome office that I will be living at (I don't have my specific unit assigned yet) and it told me that I could not get Earthlink Cable service in my area. Did you have to call to subscribe through them - or did they offer advertised service in the area?

 

[Runner20]

Originally posted by: Draccius

Originally posted by: Runner20

Originally posted by: Draccius
I would enjoy getting something like Earthlink Cable, however Comcast is the only cable provider in the Lansing, Michigan area.

Monopolies are rampant through Michigan for cable except in a few areas of Detroit. As stated, Comcast wants $57.99 per month for 3.0/256k service - which is a little too steep for someone who can't work (the law school I am attending doesn't allow first years to work).

I can't mooch off of my roomates THAT much.

Earthlink Cable is just your email address, the infrastructure is provided by your local cable company. So you will get Comcast but cheaper if you go thru Earthlink. First 6 months are 29.95. My local cable company is Time Warner/Roadrunner and I get their service thru Earthlink Cable. So its Roadrunner with the Earthlink name on it. After the first 6 months its 41.95 per month. You will get the same service if you get Earthlink and instead of paying $57.99 per month you will pay $41.95.

I'll have to look at the Earthlink site again and maybe give them a call. I checked out their site after your suggestion and filled out the address of the townhome office that I will be living at (I don't have my specific unit assigned yet) and it told me that I could not get Earthlink Cable service in my area. Did you have to call to subscribe through them - or did they offer advertised service in the area?

I subscribed thru their website. I was just browsing thru Dell's website and came upon a pop up window, so I filled out address etc and it took me to Earthlink's website. When I saw 3.0MB/384MB for 29.95 first 6 months I almost immediately ordered it. So far, very good.

I think you should call Comcast as they are your local cable company and ask to sign up for Earthlink cable thru Comcast.

 

[Runner20]

Originally posted by: TazExprez
Optimum Online from Cablevision is great. It's $45.00 per month if you have cable and $50.00 if you don't. It has a top speed of about 10Mbps/1Mbps. I have personally gotten about 9.4Mbps/1Mbps using a Speakeasy speed test.

I love you Optimum Online people. Always bragging about speeds



OOL is available in some parts of NY, CT and NJ, so MOST people cannot get it.