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#132308 10/22/05 07:48 AM
Joined: Jul 2001
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Is speed the only advantage cable connection to internet has over DSL?

#132309 10/22/05 08:42 AM
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Ron Offline
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It used to be, that with DSL you had to add filters to each phone in your home. I'm not sure if that is still required.
The cable (wire to wire) connection is important. Most older homes have better connectivity in coax rather than telco, as the coax was installed more recently.


Ron
#132310 10/22/05 12:36 PM
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I have had both. One thing to consider is the news server that they bundle with your connection. The speed of my DSL was reasonable but the news server was S L O W.
Advertised speed for the connection is seldom going to be realized in real life use anyway. You run at the speed of the slowest link in the chain.
(ECN can be pretty slow sometimes)
From a reliability standpoint I think the Telco wins based on my experience but that is a local situation. Then there is cost. The cable connection is about $10 cheaper here and more like $20 cheaper if you already have TV cable.


Greg Fretwell
#132311 10/25/05 04:52 PM
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 114
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Cable often has higher peak download speeds than DSL. Most of the people I know in my area who have cable have an advertised downstream of 3.0 megabits/second. A typical/average DSL service (like my Verizon DSL @ $30/mo) might be 1.5 Mb/S downstream, with an option to double that at extra cost, or cut it in half for half-price (768K for $15 per month). But, cable speeds can vary, as all your neighbors are putting their data on the same coax as you are. I have one friend who complains his cable connection is great all day until the kids come home from school, at which time he says it seems like he's on dial-up (I'm guessing he is exaggerating a little bit, nothing could be as horrible as dial-up!). I don't notice any significant variations in speed with DSL. I'm sure it's possible for things to get bottle-necked at the telco central office, but I haven't notice it, and at least there is a straight pipe from my house to the CO. I know some people have security concerns with cable and the sharing of the line, but have never heard of any actual problems with this. For the users I know, DSL has faster upstream speeds than cable - but the four people I know who use Verizon DSL all happen to be within one mile of their central office/hut. I have 448 Kb/S upstream speed. As I recall, typical upstream speeds for cable are 300 - 400 Kb/S.

So, I'd say its a wash. For downloading VERY big files, like movies, cable internet's peak throughput advantage over DSL might outweigh its occasional sluggishness. But for internet gaming (playing Battlefield 2 online rocks!) I'd take DSL for its consistency and better upstream (for gaming upstream is just as important as downstream).

[This message has been edited by electech (edited 10-25-2005).]

#132312 10/25/05 05:26 PM
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Cable has been down for 2 days. I am on dial up.


Greg Fretwell
#132313 10/25/05 11:46 PM
Joined: May 2005
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Cable can have an advantage in speed, but you are limited to the ISP services provided by your cable company.

DSL may be slower, but you have more choices when it comes to ISP's.

With cable, and some DSL ISPs, you are bound by some very restrictive Terms Of Service, which may prevent you from running any type of server, even personal servers.

Depending on the service you get, you may also be stuck with a dynamic IP address, which changes periodicly. I have seen some ISP's that change it randomly, which plays havoc with some types of interactive sessions.

The other thing to consider is tech support. We use a independant ISP, which partners with telco for the DSL circuit. They have very competent support staff, and very short hold times, as opposed to some ISP's with their long hold times, and script-monkeys, some of which are outsourced overseas, with the associated language problems, etc.

#132314 11/04/05 05:34 PM
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I've purchased "high speed" cable internet connection. The cable company offers MAX. 6mb download speed. Of course many things can contribute to a much lower speed. ie. operating system, etc. My question is: How do I know what MY internet download speed is? What can I do to find that out? My operating system is Windows ME. RAM = 255mb.

#132315 11/04/05 06:11 PM
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DSLREPORTS.COM will test your speed but I am not sure how accurate it is.
I am only testing at 750kbs down/350kbs up with my Comcast cable modem.

Don't expect to ever see the advertised rate


Greg Fretwell
#132316 11/05/05 12:07 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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Quote
It used to be, that with DSL you had to add filters to each phone in your home. I'm not sure if that is still required.

A filter is needed to keep the DSL signal from your phones. The individual filters hanging off every jack is a rather messy solution though.

The better approach is to install one filter at the network interface (or first jack), and then wire separately to voice and DSL jacks throughout the house.

#132317 11/05/05 12:19 PM
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When I got DSL they put in a new demark on the house with the filters in it.


Greg Fretwell
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