Need help with understanding DSL speeds and deals

[bfletcher24]

I am going to order SBC Yahoo DSL, and they have two packages I am considering -

Standard - 384kbps - 1.5Mbps downstream / 128kbps upstream

Deluxe - 768kbps - 1.5Mbps downstream / 256kbps upstream

The standard package is 29.99 a month for 6 months, then 49.99 after that and the deluxe package is 39.99 a month for 6 months, then 59.99 a month after the 6 months, both with a one year contract.

My questions are, how fast are those DSL speeds? Which is the better deal? Are the comparable to cable? I play a lot of online games, and I want to have good ping times....will I get that with either of those services?

 

[wizdum]

Ok,


When it says 384 - 1.5Mbps, that means you're speed will never drop below 384 downstream, and have burst speeds up to 1.5Mbps.
To find out the real-time download speed, you divide those numbers by 10. For example, 384kbps = 38.4k/s downloading. 1.5Mbps = 150k/s downloading. 128kbps upstream = 12.8k/s uploading. etc, etc, etc. Anyway, because you play alot of online games, and games rely alot on upload speed, I would definitely go with the Deluxe package just because of the 256kbps upstream. (25.6k/s uploading.)

Well the thing is with cable, your bandwidth is shared. But on DSL, it is your own. Here, let me get the speeds of my local cable provider.

well, lol, my local provider doesn't even say how fast it is, lol. But for example, I know my friend has the deluxe cable which is 800kbps bi-directional. so he gets 80k/s downloading, and 80k/s uploading. If I were you I would look into something that has a little bit faster upload speed. But even I play games like Ghost Recon, Unreal Tournament, etc., on the internet and I have 56k! So 256kbps will be good for playing online games as long as the host is good. But again, if you can, look into something with a higher upload speed.

 

[bfletcher24]

Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to explain it to me

I'll probably go with the deluxe package...I just have to clear it with my fiance' first

Thanks again!

 

[Bleep]

...I just have to clear it with my fiance' first

Wow!! she is controlling your money already? it will not get better when your are married. A free peice of advice here, once a woman gets in control of your money you will be broke broke broke.

bleep

 

[alluu]

I must say I have been surprisingly impressed with Yahoo SBC dsl. I am 8000 ft from the CO and get 1200/104. My gf in CT signed up to and she gets 1300/118 and I am not sure how far she is from the CO. But what impressed me about Yahoo SBC is the extra services they offer for free. These are premium services through Yahoo that you would normally have to pay for. I chose the extra photo storage 260MB and 5 monthly reports on companies/financing. You also get free dial-up too.

Downside is that you are suck installing a bunch of Yahoo crap software and that is the only way to get a username/password. I had to uninstall everything after that (Yahoo browser/messenger, etc).

 

[MaxDSP]

Originally posted by: alluu
I must say I have been surprisingly impressed with Yahoo SBC dsl. I am 8000 ft from the CO and get 1200/104. My gf in CT signed up to and she gets 1300/118 and I am not sure how far she is from the CO. But what impressed me about Yahoo SBC is the extra services they offer for free. These are premium services through Yahoo that you would normally have to pay for. I chose the extra photo storage 260MB and 5 monthly reports on companies/financing. You also get free dial-up too.

Downside is that you are suck installing a bunch of Yahoo crap software and that is the only way to get a username/password. I had to uninstall everything after that (Yahoo browser/messenger, etc).

I have SBC DSL but I havent heard about this. Where do I get all the goodies?

also, what dialup option do they give you if the dsl goes down? I thought it was through prodigy but cant find the software.


BTW, Im another extermely satisfied SBC DSL customer. I have a 768/128 line thats only gone down for a coupla hours 3 times. I got a 29.99/mo for 1 year deal with one year contract.

 

[MichaelD]

Is there a way to just get the DSL service through your local Telco (telephone company) without getting Yahoo? I despise having to go thru anyone's proxy server like Yahoo or AO-Hell.

I had SBC DSL thru Southwestern Bell. The modem came with software. I never loaded a single piece of it.

You don't need Yahoo...you only need the CONNECTION thru the Telco.

For example, your email would be bfletcher24@swbell.net instead of bfletcher24@yahoo.com

It would be better that way.

Oh, Wizdum did a decent job of defining the speed thing. I would absolutely get the faster package if you want to game online. Faster is always better.

ps
I'm assuming you can't get cable internet where you live?

 

[bfletcher24]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Is there a way to just get the DSL service through your local Telco (telephone company) without getting Yahoo? I despise having to go thru anyone's proxy server like Yahoo or AO-Hell.

I had SBC DSL thru Southwestern Bell. The modem came with software. I never loaded a single piece of it.

You don't need Yahoo...you only need the CONNECTION thru the Telco.

For example, your email would be bfletcher24@swbell.net instead of bfletcher24@yahoo.com

It would be better that way.

Oh, Wizdum did a decent job of defining the speed thing. I would absolutely get the faster package if you want to game online. Faster is always better.

ps
I'm assuming you can't get cable internet where you live?

Yeah...unfortunately cable isn't available in my apt. complex.

I really don't like installing the software....when I had @home cable back in the day, I got it going without installing their stupid browser and such. I hope I can do something similar with the DSL.

 

[MrPhelps]

If you like the raw horsepower then when you can get cable, I had dsl-768/128 and I clocked it at 400k/130 which is not bad but my cable clocks at least 1.9 /400 up anytime day or night.
When they try to sell dsl they never know real numbers. Don't get me wrong when I surfed it flew but big downloads hurt.

 

[MrPhelps]

Of course I heard that there is fiber on the left coast. FAST

 

[sechs]

You don't need 248kbps for online gaming, although it doesn't hurt. You need low ping.

However, for $10 a month, it might be nice to have a higher guaranteed upload.

I suggest looking at Broadband Reports.

 

[alluu]

maxdsp - the extra services are only offered through sbc/yahoo. they recently partnered up to offer dsl. sbc or (pacbell, snet, whatever) is your local teleco and offers the service and yahoo offers the additional extra web services. a great alliance for both companies. i think it will show in yahoo's quarterly earnings and their commercials are not that bad.

michaeld - unless you have a local phone company other than sbc, no other way if you want the sbc dsl service. another route is dslextreme, or some other isp but there packages don't look as appealing as sbc's. you also don't have use there software but the way they are doing it now is that you have to load the software to get a username/password for the ppoe connection. you could possible cancel the software installation once you get your username/password but if i recall correctly, you pretty much have installed all the software before you get to the screen to create a username/password. after i signed up, i had to format my hd and then i didn't install any of their software cause i ran my connection through a router.

 

[alluu]

one thing i like about dsl is that it is a lot more reliable in my location. speeds were definitely faster on cable but it was always down.