My DSL contract is up so I am a free agent!

I'm thinking about switching to RR. Here's why:

1) They're offering me the first 6 months for $29.95 plus free install and free modem.
2) Monthly fee is $44.95 after 6 months (I'm paying $49.95 for DSL).
3) No contract.
4) My neighbor who has RR gets 2mb down/373k up speeds. I get 1.2mb down/128k up with my DSL.

Any reasons why I shouldn't switch to RR?

Thanks.

 

The question is why would you stay with DSL????

I know it varies depending on where you live but on average Cable is a lot faster than DSL....

 

I pay a lot more for dsl than you do and I've had it since Sept. 1999. Cable is cheaper, but I'm sticking with dsl for a few reasons.

With dsl, I get to pick my isp.

My isp provides me with a dialup account that I can use away from the house or just in case I have problems with dsl.

dsl runs on the phone lines and in my area, the phone has worked thru storms, hurricanes, and power outages. Cable seems to fail whenever a car hits a pole, the weather gets nasty, or the power goes out.

dsl is more secure than cable.

My dsl bandwidth is guaranteed. Cable does not have a similar guarantee.

 

Dropped DSL today and hooked up wth RR. It rocks! 2.2mb downloads and350k uploads. That's over TWICE as fast as DSL and it costs LESS per month.

Gotta love it. And I do!

T2DB

 

A couple of facts...

Cable SHARES bandwidth. DSL guarantees you bandwidth.

I have cable (not RR--mine's through a local company) and luckily, I'm in an area where not too many folks are utilizing the service and thus, my connection KICKS SERIOUS ****.

We have DSL at work (running our small interoffice network) and honestly, I'm just as happy with it.

I'd try to find some folks LOCALLY that have the RR service and probe them for answers. If the bandwidth is short and they're experiencing slowness then, you can expect the same. If they're screaming fast, you can expect exactly the same as well...

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR DECISION.

RP

 

When I took my software development job a couple years back I needed a fast connection at home. My buddy who also lives down the street was hired on also. He could get DSL on his trunk of the phone system(new build) and I couldn`t even though we were 1000ft apart. I was forced to get RR and I`m glad I did and he eventually switched too. My downloads and uploads blew the dsl service out of the water. Working from home uploading/downloading databases(large) has been a pleasure with the speeds RR gets. Luckily where we are there isn`t a bunch of people using RR so we see no slow downs at all. Add a good firewall and play away to your hearts desire..

 

That's a misconception. The fact is that both services share bandwidth among users. One difference is that with DSL you have a dedicated line. But here's the catch that they conveniently leave out of their promotions - it's only a dedicated line from your house to the Central Office (those little square block looking buildings scattered throughout neighborhoods). Beyond the Central Office - or your neighborhood - you are sharing bandwidth with every other DSL user in your area. That's a fact.

Does DSL guarantee bandwidth? Yes. But only a minimum bandwidth which is barely 8 times as fast as a 56k modem.

I say this not to argue, only to present the bigger picture.

I have now had both RR and DSL (Got RR today). So far, RR gets my vote hands-down for speed and price.

Only time will tell if RR is as reliable as DSL. My DSL service was only down twice in the year I had it, and both times service was restored within hours. Can't complain about that!

 

Cable is much faster and much more reliable than DSL. Im the guy that builds the fiber networks coast to coast. I run cable for my service exclusivley. My *** connection is 3 MBPS down 1.5 up for 42 bucks. DSL around here is a raping. The only thing that is going to replace cable is when fiber is finally to the curb and everyone has access to whats called "In the loop".

 

I stand corrected. I had been misinformed as well. Thanks for the clarification texan 2.

I'm always amazed at what I can learn on this page...

One thing I didn't mention in my first post.... I LOVE MY CABLE!


RP

 

Now Texan, don't go spreading incorrect info. Cable IS a shared resourse and DSL is not. I work for Qwest (the phone company) and I can assure you that if a lot of people in your neighborhood have cable service for their internet your connection WILL slow down. With DSL it doesn't matter how many people have it your speed will never change. I can get into more detail if anyone is interested but right now I'm on my way to work.

Dan Wilson
Central Office Technician

 

is there a difference between "AT&T BroadBand" and "AT&T Road Runner"?

 

Dan: Let's put the facts right out on the table. Your truck kicks butt!

Okay, now back to this boring DSL vs. Cable thing. I found the following explanation on bandwidthplace.com:

Despite what some companies would like you to believe, DSL connections are shared Internet connections. With cable connections you share the connection to your ISP with your neighbors and it is true, with DSL you do not and so have your own private connection to your ISP. However, at the ISP all their users share the ISP's connection to the Internet. This applies to cable, DSL, satellite, dial-up… everything.

Bottom line: it's all a shared resource.

Of course all I really care about is consistently fast speed! Which brings me back to your Lightning! Damn I am jealous.

Happy driving.... and surfing.

T2DB

 

I agree that dsl is a shared resource at the isp. By the same token, cable is a double shared resource. Not only do you share the bandwidth with your neighbors, but also with everybody else on the cable network once it gets to the cable isp.

Truth is, for all practical purposes, blazingly fast 2+meg speeds are going wasted. In most cases, there is little difference between a dsl modem running at 768K and a cable modem running at 1.5+megs because both systems are at the mercy of the pipelines and servers you are connected to. Both dsl and cable will be downloading very slowly if the server both are connected to is overloaded or has narrow bandwidth.

True, you may be attaining out of this world speeds when you test your connection, but connect to a slow server and you are no better than a slower broadband connection.

 

Well you are right, the entire Internet is a shared resource, it is, after all, a network. My point was that with a cable modem, the cable providers all use centralized hubs to different neighborhoods (usually using fiber optics) that have a set bandwidth (like 10Mbps or so) that is used by everyone on that hub, just like a LAN. The more users, the slower it will go due to the bandwidth limitation of that hub. DSL on the other hand goes directly to a central office into a piece of equipment called a DSLAM. The DSLAM connects all of the individual customers together and multiplexes (combines) them on to DS3 connections (44.736 Mbps), through a router and then on to the Internet. Why you get the whole amount of bandwidth to the Internet using DSL is that in each DSLAM there is enough bandwidth for all of the customers without having to share it with other users. A fully loaded DSLAM is just as fast getting to the Internet as one with just one customer on it.

Sorry this was so technical but it's kind of hard to talk about this stuff without too many long words .

BTW thanks for the comments on my truck. It isn't the fastest Lightning out there but I love it. Have a great day.

 

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/rema...bell~mode=flat

There you can find a lot of advice.