dsl or cable?

[cabralsoth]

i currently have adelphia cable.... but last night bellsouth called me up and is offering me dsl and it was gonna be $5 cheaper for me per month... i was just wondering which is the better one to have.....? any ideas?

[Chris Piers]

I had cable for the last several years but just got dsl. Seems just as fast to me. And it's a little cheaper.

Now, I've checked the technical specifications and DSL can be slower for downloads than cable but with all the variables out there which can affect each, they end up being basically the same.

[IndieRockPete]

dsl is consistently one speed, which is slower than cable's average speed. But cable connections are on shared bandwith so if many people in your area are using it at once, the speed will drop below dsl.

Anyways, it doesn't really matter. You probably won't notice the difference and if you can save 5 bucks a month i would go for it. Make sure its 5 bucks a month continually and not just for the first 3 months or whatever. You should also make sure there isn't a huge installation fee.

[cabralsoth]

the promotion they were giving me was free instalation, a 100 dollar gift certificate (which you use to pay for the modem) so you get a free modem ( no monthly charges) free delivery and instalation , no contract... only thing is if i cancel within a year i would then have to return the modem, but if i was with them more than a year it was mine ...

its the same monthly charge as my cable ($39.95 a month) but i dont have the $5.00 modem charge a month if i go with them....

[FD]

I'm using a 56K real lame connection, but I plan to get cable someday soon... I have heard it's fast, as fast as I want to download my stuff and surf all around...

[astrocity20]

It really depends on where you are. Where I live Cable is the fastest, while DSL blows ass at about the same price. It was horrible compared Cable.

[Ian Miller]

I have a friend with DSL, and when I went to his house, it took about twice as long to load a page than with cable. This was the only time I used DSL before, but it was annoying as hell.

[Chris Piers]

Hmm, that is too bad to hear but as someone who had cable for a few years and SWORE by it, I have to say, this DSL that I have is very, very fast. As fast as anything, and I've got a great connection at work to compare it to, also.

So, for the cheaper price, I'd try it and see how things go.

[GIGAFATTYMON]

In the UK cable is about twice as fast as DSL because there are so few broadband internet users anyway.

However all is not what it should be because the service provider scum restrict bandwidth so they can charge business users more, and when I say restrict bandwidth I mean fastest home connection you can get on DSL is 500k.

Like I said... scum.

[Dash Martin]

It all depends on your location. Here for example the cable speed is 1.5mbps for $45 a month and the DSL speed is 512kbps for $50 a month. Half the speed for $5 more. My transfer rate on cable is usually about 1.2mbps since not too many people have it around here. Now, in some places like California, they offer DSL for about $50 a month but don't put a cap on the speed. So, you can easily get up to 10mbps. The best thing to do is do research on the transfer rates from both your local cable provider and local DSL provider.

[jacon]

Originally posted by Chris Piers
Hmm, that is too bad to hear but as someone who had cable for a few years and SWORE by it, I have to say, this DSL that I have is very, very fast. As fast as anything, and I've got a great connection at work to compare it to, also.

So, for the cheaper price, I'd try it and see how things go. you just told me today the your broadband went down today and that you hate your internet provider :p

[Dash Martin]

Try this link to see what your current actual transfer rate is.

http://www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/

[Spidey]

Was DSL(Verizon) for like 3 years now im cable(Comcast). Sometimes cable is faster, but also sometimes its slower. Its not as consistent as dsl and more expensive. But Im happy with it.

[Killer_gym_sox]

dsl in my opinion.