DSL or Cable?

[Jon in Oakland]

With Skype installed on my computer I really have no more need for a separate phone line in my home office. Our one main house phone will suffice. The question is, do I transfer my DSL service to the house line and upgrade the speed to "up to 6.0 mbps" for $35/mo. through AT&T, or have Comcast come out and install cable internet "up to 12 mbps" for $42 per month. I currently get about 1.3 mbps through DSL. No fee for setting this up through AT&T. Comcast wants to charge a $99 installation fee but perhaps I can get them to waive the fee if I threaten to go to DSL.

Thoughts?

[custer]

You spend a great deal of time on the internet. You now have an internet business. So get the fastest internet service. Then spend the time you're taking deciding whether to spend $35 or $42 per month on making this site better. Maybe some colors? I recommend black and gold.

[WarDekar]

The answer to this question completely depends on what you're using your internet connection for and what you expect out of it.

FWIW if you download a lot (particularly torrents) I would NOT get Comcast (although a different cable operator might be a better idea than DSL still).

Basically I can't condone ever getting Comcast, but cable internet certainly has a lot of advantages these days as DSL is pretty 2nd rate and is only good if you really need reliability and a constant non-throttled speed for w/e reason.

[gambleballs]

I cant speak for your particular operators, But out here I have both cable and DSL in my office. The Cox cable destroys the Embarq DSL in speed for downloads and such. However both are very reliable and plenty fast.

To me, the only downside is you have to have a home phone service to use DSL. Might as well unplug it if you have already become dependent on your wireless phone, because the only calls I get are telemarketers and bill collectors for whoever had the number before me.

[Jeff Jones]

I cant speak for your particular operators, But out here I have both cable and DSL in my office. The Cox cable destroys the Embarq DSL in speed for downloads and such. However both are very reliable and plenty fast.

To me, the only downside is you have to have a home phone service to use DSL. Might as well unplug it if you have already become dependent on your wireless phone, because the only calls I get are telemarketers and bill collectors for whoever had the number before me.

Cox broadband seems fine. I mean really. The site is not facing content missles coming in over the San Francisco Bay Bridge likely to strike in the next fifteen minutes

Probably could get by with dial-up at this point.

[Jon in Oakland]

The answer to this question completely depends on what you're using your internet connection for and what you expect out of it.

FWIW if you download a lot (particularly torrents) I would NOT get Comcast (although a different cable operator might be a better idea than DSL still).

Basically I can't condone ever getting Comcast, but cable internet certainly has a lot of advantages these days as DSL is pretty 2nd rate and is only good if you really need reliability and a constant non-throttled speed for w/e reason.

Thanks.

The 1.3mbps has been fine for basic surfing. Video is a different story. I can't watch mlb.com at the highest setting. nba.com is unwatchable andother video can be balky. You Tube and many streaming websites are fine though I assume those are lower resolution.

[PerpetualCzech]

I can't watch mlb.com at the highest setting.

WHAAAAAA!

Spoiled Americans.

[Jon in Oakland]

Actually, you can get mlb.com with no blackout restrictions. Now who's spoiled?!

[Jeff Jones]

Actually, you can get mlb.com with no blackout restrictions. Now who's spoiled?!

Talk about straw hats in January.

[Zezo says]

I got Comcast to waive ALL fees and got my first 3 months of IS for $19.95. After that, I'll play the "Qwest is offering me this" or "Net Zero is offering me that" card to try to maintain my current service at close to the current rate.
Not to mention I have already got a 3-month free* trial offer by Qwest in the mail.
*With a 2-yr commitment guarantee. (LOL)
I won't mention that minor exception when I call Comcast in two months.

[Rudy1957]

Zeez has the right strategery. Play one off the other. Play CSR roulette if you get stonewalled.

I pay Comcast $33/month for 6 mbps, but I have to remember to threaten to quit every year or they jack me to mid 50s. It's plenty adequate for video. Never, ever pay an installation charge. Even the phone company will waive it these days.

Also, spend $50 on your own cable modem rather than renting for $3/mo.

[Jon in Oakland]

Ended up going with AT&T up to 6 mbps for $35 a month. No installation fee and they're giving me 50% off for the first six months. Installed yesterday. Of course, "up to" is the key phrase. I'm getting about 4000-4300 kbps according to www.speedtest.net. Still, about three times faster than my previous basic DSL. Video running noticeably smoother.

[Craps Master]

One thing about cable is that it depends a lot on where you are on their physical network and how many other cable users are in your vicinity. The "up to" part is in reference to this. I'm told that the closer you live to a node (I think that was the term), the faster your service will be, especially if a lot of other people don't also live close to it. This could be BS, but some IT guy told this to me a few years back.

[Rudy1957]

That is true about the nodes. Cable modem speed is dependent on how many users you share the node with, and how much they use, and to a lesser degree how many nodes are sharing the same trunk. When it gets too crowded on one node, they put in another node, and most systems were originally designed to have plenty of trunk space. Plus, as the switching equipment has improved over time, most systems actually have more than ample trunk capacity. There's no way to tell where you are in the pecking order from the outside looking in. Sometimes the installer can give you an idea if he knows the network construction.

I can always tell that my cable modem service is faster in the early morning than in the evening, because there are fewer kids in the neighborhood watching Youtube or other video.

DSL speed depends on how close you are to the "central office," and all lines go directly to that hub, just like phone wires. Speed is linearly correlated to distance. You can ask the phone company where your central office is, but you'd never know by looking for it. In cities, they're usually underground somewhere, and in the suburbs it's usually a little fenced-in area in an easement somewhere, with a big box in it and with minimal phone company identification around it.