difference between DSL and Cable internet?
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Joined: Jan 2002
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From: The Bluegrass State
Alot depends on your service provider....
Overall, as I understand it (and I'm sure that many understand it much better than I do)...
DSL will guarantee you more bandwidth because you're not sharing a pool of bandwidth...
Cable will get you faster speeds if the bandwidth that you're sharing is available.
Both are pretty reliable (DSL at the office and Cable at home).
For my $, it's cable.
RP
Overall, as I understand it (and I'm sure that many understand it much better than I do)...
DSL will guarantee you more bandwidth because you're not sharing a pool of bandwidth...
Cable will get you faster speeds if the bandwidth that you're sharing is available.
Both are pretty reliable (DSL at the office and Cable at home).
For my $, it's cable.
RP
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: New Durham, NH
Go with Cable. I work for Comcast and I see people jumping ship to come back to us from verizon all the time. Cable is more reliable to the home than DSL. Just FYI you are only using bandwidth when actually downloading or uploading. Sitting stationary on a page is not using bandwidth. Your town should be broken into areas that are feed from equipment that can handle X amount of customers in each area. In most cases the equipment can handle more than it is servicing.
I know we are going to be boosting our download speed soon SHHHHH!!!!
Anyway I not just saying this because I work for them, it really is the best way to go.(my opinion)
My brother had DSL... let me just say he switched to cable.( not because of me)
Hope this helps in your decision
By the way Invalid_access is right, you have to be within a mile or so of the phone Co's switch to get DSL.
I know we are going to be boosting our download speed soon
SHHHHH!!!!Anyway I not just saying this because I work for them, it really is the best way to go.(my opinion)
My brother had DSL... let me just say he switched to cable.( not because of me)
Hope this helps in your decision
By the way Invalid_access is right, you have to be within a mile or so of the phone Co's switch to get DSL.
Last edited by edgex; Nov 10, 2003 at 08:18 PM.
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From: Aggieland, TX
My vote is also for cable.
Had Telocity DSL, speeds were ok, but we were barely inside the line for availability.
With cable we get VERY good speeds
Using comcast BTW.
edgex can I expect to see this DL increase in the Dallas area?
Had Telocity DSL, speeds were ok, but we were barely inside the line for availability.
With cable we get VERY good speeds
Using comcast BTW.
edgex can I expect to see this DL increase in the Dallas area?
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Joined: May 2002
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From: FL
Cable: Generally faster for less $, usually higher uplaod speeds as well unless you pay for the faster DSL services. Somtimes Cable can be slowed down, especially if you have a joe schmoe provider that hooks up 200+ homes to one network hub.
DSL: Usually somwhat slower than cable, sometimes not by much. Again, the uplaod speed is usually 3-4X faster with cable. DSL usually has a better latency (ping) wich is good for gaming.
If you are REALLY into gaming I would recomend getting DSL. More often than not it will cut the latency in half from what cable can get.
If you are looking to be able to download mass quantities of files, or uplaod mass quantities then cable is your best bet.
I would recomend looking at all the options in your area. If you have a big cable company like brighthouse or comcast I would recommend that because it will most likely be cheaper, faster and more reliable. Otherwise compare download/upload speeds compared with price.
In my area: Cable $45 ($60 for AOL)with a downlaod of 2Mbit and upload of 384? Kbit. Basic DSL ranges from $30-50 a month with download speed of 256Kbit - 1.5Mbit and an uplaod of 128Kbit to 256Kbit. You can pay upward of $100 for faster stuff on DSL.
Hopefully that all made sense
DSL: Usually somwhat slower than cable, sometimes not by much. Again, the uplaod speed is usually 3-4X faster with cable. DSL usually has a better latency (ping) wich is good for gaming.
If you are REALLY into gaming I would recomend getting DSL. More often than not it will cut the latency in half from what cable can get.
If you are looking to be able to download mass quantities of files, or uplaod mass quantities then cable is your best bet.
I would recomend looking at all the options in your area. If you have a big cable company like brighthouse or comcast I would recommend that because it will most likely be cheaper, faster and more reliable. Otherwise compare download/upload speeds compared with price.
In my area: Cable $45 ($60 for AOL)with a downlaod of 2Mbit and upload of 384? Kbit. Basic DSL ranges from $30-50 a month with download speed of 256Kbit - 1.5Mbit and an uplaod of 128Kbit to 256Kbit. You can pay upward of $100 for faster stuff on DSL.
Hopefully that all made sense
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From: Lawrenceville, GA
DSL, as has been mentioned, is very dependent on how far away you are from the phone company's equipment. Another major thing to consider is that all your phones and phone equipment in your house must have filtres (usually provided by the phone company) installed, otherwise you get high-pitched squeaks and lose your DSL connectivity. DSL is sensitive to 900MHz cordless phones and certain types of satellite and cable receivers that plug into the phone line.
Cable in some markets is WAY faster. Comcast for me is 3Mb down, 256k up. DSL typically is 1.5Mb and 256k up.
The downside to cable is that typically you are stuck with the cable company for services such as web space, email, and Usenet. In most cases the cable company doesn't do as well as the DSL companies.
The positives for DSL is that it's typically available in more places, you have your choice of providers, and they strenuously compete against each other to your benefit. Check out the terms of Speakeasy.net and you'll see what I mean. It's not as fast as my Comcast connection but it's much more freedom.
dslreports.com is a great place to start for research. Ultimately it's a personal choice based on your own needs. Good luck!
Cable in some markets is WAY faster. Comcast for me is 3Mb down, 256k up. DSL typically is 1.5Mb and 256k up.
The downside to cable is that typically you are stuck with the cable company for services such as web space, email, and Usenet. In most cases the cable company doesn't do as well as the DSL companies.
The positives for DSL is that it's typically available in more places, you have your choice of providers, and they strenuously compete against each other to your benefit. Check out the terms of Speakeasy.net and you'll see what I mean. It's not as fast as my Comcast connection but it's much more freedom.
dslreports.com is a great place to start for research. Ultimately it's a personal choice based on your own needs. Good luck!
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From: NJ
Around where I live DSL has the potential to be the faster or slower of the 2. Part of the reason is that I live just on the outskirts of a business disricts.
There are more bandwidth options for DSL, some of which blow away cable. But the downside is you have to be within range, and the closer you are the better, meaning if your just in the range you will notice slower downloads/uploads then someone who is a few blocks from the hub.
Cable is much more consistant and reliable. But make sure you a good firewall up as cable is shared. Well make sure have a good firewall regardless.
Also, if Cablevision is your cable carrier, beware!!! First the company blows, second they will put a cap on your upload speed if they suspect you of running an ftp server (note suspect not proof), third they refuse to fix my problem. So I canned them. Luckily my girlfriend and best friend have no problems, though my friend got capped.
There are more bandwidth options for DSL, some of which blow away cable. But the downside is you have to be within range, and the closer you are the better, meaning if your just in the range you will notice slower downloads/uploads then someone who is a few blocks from the hub.
Cable is much more consistant and reliable. But make sure you a good firewall up as cable is shared. Well make sure have a good firewall regardless.
Also, if Cablevision is your cable carrier, beware!!! First the company blows, second they will put a cap on your upload speed if they suspect you of running an ftp server (note suspect not proof), third they refuse to fix my problem. So I canned them. Luckily my girlfriend and best friend have no problems, though my friend got capped.
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Joined: Sep 1998
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From: Las Vegas, Nevada (originally from Kearny, New Jersey)
Yea, I weighed them both real hard a couple years back. Only DSL wasn't in the area, I was to far the switching station. The Sprint salesman was looking for his commission, kept telling me to be patient, in another month or two it would be in my neighborhood. That went on for several months until I got cable. I perfectly happy with the cable, but like said above, get a good firewall - Zone Alarm is free and works well for me...
Oh BTW, check recently on DSL, still not in the area - been over two years since they told me to be patient...
Oh BTW, check recently on DSL, still not in the area - been over two years since they told me to be patient...
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I've got Adelphia Power Link cable now.... rents are gonna change it to Bell South DSL tomorrow... 
I don't think they know what they're doing...
I don't think they know what they're doing...
Last edited by Ford Lariat; Nov 10, 2003 at 11:22 PM.
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From: Aggieland, TX
Originally posted by ViperGrendal
Cable: Generally faster for less $, usually higher uplaod speeds as well unless you pay for the faster DSL services. Somtimes Cable can be slowed down, especially if you have a joe schmoe provider that hooks up 200+ homes to one network hub.
DSL: Usually somwhat slower than cable, sometimes not by much. Again, the uplaod speed is usually 3-4X faster with cable. DSL usually has a better latency (ping) wich is good for gaming.
If you are REALLY into gaming I would recomend getting DSL. More often than not it will cut the latency in half from what cable can get.
Cable: Generally faster for less $, usually higher uplaod speeds as well unless you pay for the faster DSL services. Somtimes Cable can be slowed down, especially if you have a joe schmoe provider that hooks up 200+ homes to one network hub.
DSL: Usually somwhat slower than cable, sometimes not by much. Again, the uplaod speed is usually 3-4X faster with cable. DSL usually has a better latency (ping) wich is good for gaming.
If you are REALLY into gaming I would recomend getting DSL. More often than not it will cut the latency in half from what cable can get.
But in any case, Im usually under 100 in most servers I play in.
As long as its not 56k, doesnt really matter
