DSL or Cable?

[Draccius]

Originally posted by: Runner20

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.

Well I called, but they don't offer the Earthlink service in my area yet. I am going to wait and see if any new promotions pop up from Comcast before I move (which isn't for another one to two months).

I guess I might look into getting them for Digital Cable, too (there goes the two-tuner goodness of a DirecTV TiVo!), to get a much needed discount on their services.

When I call Comcast, I am going to see if they will match Earthlink's Cable Internet Powered By Comcast offer. Maybe they'll be nice this time, who knows?

 

[AncientPC]

In Austin I have only used TimeWarner RoadRunner Cable, and outside of an occasional lag spike when I used it in the overcrowded West Campus and 2-3 week wait times for hookup, it's actually pretty good.

I used it in central Austin for 3 years with maybe the network (including TimeWarner cable TV) going down 3-4 times for a few hours. Otherwise, speeds have been great (300kB/sec down, 45kB/sec up) and ping times have been very low (single - teens for servers located in / near Austin, under 70-80ms for most other gaming servers).

On the other hand I am in using SBC Yahoo DSL at my parent's office in Dallas and it is horrible. Not only did I have to run to Radio Shack to buy a bunch of DSL phone line filters (one is needed on each phone jack else DSL disconnected everytime someone called in), ping time spikes to 700-1600ms everytime I downloaded something that used up the full pipe and had a chance of disconnecting. Even downloading at slower speeds still lagged the connection at least 300-400ms.

I'm getting Comcast Cable at my parent's home tomorrow, I'll post back as to how that goes. I had to convince them to get cable over DSL because despite higher monthly costs (around $50/month vs $30/month for SBC), there wouldn't be a connectivity issue or a required yearly contract.

 

[Draccius]

Yeah, I bit the bullet and decided to take the higher costs and go with Comcast. I'll have to compensate for it by subscribing to their digital cable service, but it'll be worth it in the end.

Now, I just need to watch that wireless cable modem combo from Linksys - hopefully that will come down in price or go on sale in the next few weeks.

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[Runner20]

Originally posted by: Draccius
Yeah, I bit the bullet and decided to take the higher costs and go with Comcast. I'll have to compensate for it by subscribing to their digital cable service, but it'll be worth it in the end.

Now, I just need to watch that wireless cable modem combo from Linksys - hopefully that will come down in price or go on sale in the next few weeks.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Hope you like it. Good luck.

 

[AncientPC]

Bleah I couldn't get Comcast cable because my parents' house is so old that it doesn't have any coax wiring for the cable guy to hook up the cable modem too. We actually had a cable company bury a line about 5-7 years ago, but he tested those and they don't work.

My parents don't want to hire a contractor to wire the house with coax (they plan on moving in a few years, and hell they're the one who have to use the connection) so they'll probably end up signing a 1 year contract with SBC Yahoo! DSL. The only bonus is we're relatively close to the phone company. Does anyone know a site where I can find our distance to the phone CO? I thought you could do it on www.dslreports.com but I couldn't seem to find a link.

 

[Runner20]

Originally posted by: AncientPC
Bleah I couldn't get Comcast cable because my parents' house is so old that it doesn't have any coax wiring for the cable guy to hook up the cable modem too. We actually had a cable company bury a line about 5-7 years ago, but he tested those and they don't work.

My parents don't want to hire a contractor to wire the house with coax (they plan on moving in a few years, and hell they're the one who have to use the connection) so they'll probably end up signing a 1 year contract with SBC Yahoo! DSL. The only bonus is we're relatively close to the phone company. Does anyone know a site where I can find our distance to the phone CO? I thought you could do it on www.dslreports.com but I couldn't seem to find a link.

On the main page, on the left side there is a link that says "CO distance", click on that.

 

[AncientPC]

Thanks, I feel dumb . . .

 

[Runner20]

Originally posted by: AncientPC
Thanks, I feel dumb . . .

LMAO, NO its a huge website with lotta links and stuff