jadebangle
Premium
join:2007-05-22
Olathe, KS
 ·SureWest Internet
·AT&T Yahoo
 ·Comcast
1 edit | DSL vs Cable
I use to be a fanboy of dsl but today my opinion is completely changed after using cable for the first time since cable was introduced. As soon as I signup for cable from comcast I was surfing instantly. Why can't they do this on DSL?
I'm on promotion rates 19.95 for 1 year surfing at 6/1 or 750kb/sec, 125kb/sec
This blows my elite speed away which is 600kb/sec, 75kb/sec
I'm paying less and getting more speed for it.
I am beginning to realize that dsl is a poor man's version of cable with no potential due to ancient technology using copper wire that are so small that you need a microscope to be able to see the copper wire.
They need to do away with DSL and many many people who have cable or fios is gonna put them out of business.
I have use cellphone and pay only 40 a month
Its convenient so I'm actually saving money by cancelling my landline, and dsl recently about 3 weeks ago.
Cable is as widely available as dsl, the coaxial line have a much greater distance so 95 percent of cable subscriber are able to upgrade to any speed available.
Cable really gives fios a run for it's money.
With docsis 3.0 we're talking 152mbit/108mbit
Pretty impressive IMHO.
By using more channel, it will go up to 304mbit/108mbit
I have been feeding the dsl monopoly since 2001, I have never subscribed to cable service even thought was able to get it. I bought into the hypes of dsl being not shared, dedicated line, never runs out of bandwidth use as much as you like.
landline needs to be scraped and replace with something better such as cat5, capable of 1gbps 10 times faster then 100mbit standard ethernet.
DSL being obsolete will be around for as long as consumer do not have a better alternative.
What's keeping the landline monopoly alive? They make a lot of money off it. Their are people who needs to use their landline to make international call which makes them a lot of money. DSL shouldn't exist, it exist because of greed and a desperation for something faster then dialup.
Because the speed of dsl is far less then cable users
Its seems like dsl have more bandwidth.
The majority of dsl user are on 384kbps, 768kbps, 1536kbps
You can subscribe to many more users and without notice of network slowdown or congestion. That's what someone need to take into account when saying DSL has more bandwidth, more stable speed, never slows down.
That's like saying 384kbps is smoother then 6mbit
just because the slowdown isn't noticeable
|
|
tschmidt
Premium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
·Verizon Online DSL
·Fairpoint Communic..
| Both Cable DOCSIS and DSL are clever engineering designs that added data to network designed for a different purpose.
Cable is a shared medium so adding a customer to cable is much easier as DSL requires the Telco to modify Central Office wiring. It also means everyone on a given node shares the available bandwidth. Whereas DSL is not shared until it hits the DSLAM.
Customer satisfaction has more to do with ISP business practices then underlying technology.
If you are happy with Cable Internet access that is great. As for me I'll stick with DSL and hope to get Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) some day.
/tom |
|
shdesigns
Powered By Infinite Improbabilty Drive
Premium
join:2000-12-01
Stone Mountain, GA
·Atlantic Nexus
| reply to jadebangle
As tschmidt  said, both are fine and which is better is more about the company your are dealing with than the technology.
Here cable is unreliable even though they rewired the neighborhood with fiber, it still drops out all the time. I got rid of it and went DSL/DirectTV and have no more problems. |
|
jimbopalmer
Tsar of all the Rushers
join:2008-06-02
Greenwood, MS | reply to jadebangle
Yes, my advice is always to send your money to the company you hate the least, the technology is less important than customer satisfaction. |
|
CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | reply to jadebangle
If you are in my neck of the woods with TW - then DSL is by far the better option.
since you have cable tv then it is easy to add internet on it - DSL is different and will remain that way and really is no big deal. |
|
Doctor Four
My other vehicle is a TARDIS
Premium
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX
 ·AT&T U-Verse
·RoadRunner Cable
·AT&T Yahoo
| reply to jadebangle
Same here as with CylonRed . Time Warner, though faster,
has crappier service than DSL or AT&T U-Verse (the two main
alternatives). Though Verizon is expanding now in parts of
Dallas, and if their FiOS service arrives here, it will surpass
both TW and AT&T.
--
"The trouble with computers, of course, is that they are very sophisticated idiots." - Doctor Who (from Robot)
|
|
Mchart
Super Joe
join:2004-01-21
Gurnee, IL
·AT&T Yahoo
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to jadebangle
As stated, it greatly depends on the area. Up home in Chicago, Comcast is pretty bad. More so in the afternoon when all the kids get home from school and start going online. However, down where I am now in San Antonio, RR is vastly superior to my DSL service up north. It's higher bandwidth, stable, low latency, and at 30 bucks a month - I can't complain.
--
"You figured it out. All new CPU's are nothing but overclocked Pentium 1's with a few bells and whistles added, ask any ol timer whose been around." |
|
dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| reply to jadebangle
With DSL soooo many things have to go right to get it working.
Fibre in the loop? uh-oh
no open port for you at the CO? uh-oh
Load coil? uh-oh
Bridge taps? uh-oh
going through a CLEC and there are issues(fingerpointing among the two) uh-oh
-
As far as bandwidth goes, DSL can have slowdowns too[its all shared at some point]
--
When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more new yonooz tonigh molinigh - Ken Lee |
|
dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| reply to jadebangle
said by jadebangle :With docsis 3.0 we're talking 152mbit/108mbit Pretty impressive IMHO. By using more channel, it will go up to 304mbit/108mbit If you're NOT in a fios area, i wouldn't expect too much from cable when DOCSIS 3.0 comes about.
--
When I gez aju zavateh na nalechoo more new yonooz tonigh molinigh - Ken Lee |
|
Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
clubs: | maybe 15 or 20mbps at the most |
|
Ryno
The Wanderer
Premium
join:2001-04-07
Danielsville, PA | reply to jadebangle
Apples vs Oranges |
|
Hayward
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL
| reply to jadebangle
eal question is how reliable is the cable????
Fine when it works but how long is it out, when the shit hits the fan?
You with tornadoes are like we are with hurricanes... and it can be WEEKS for cable to recover, but DSL often works through and immediately after hurricannes if you don't loose your pole drop, and even then more quickly restored.
--
»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West)
|
|
xxdave
join:2008-03-23
North Dartmouth, MA | reply to jadebangle
In my experience it depends on the part of the country. I lived in Florida in a neighborhood where cable really sucked always outages, now I reside in New England and Comcast is the far better the choice than DSL |
|
Siko
Premium
join:2006-11-27
Mechanicsburg, PA
clubs:
1 edit | reply to jadebangle
With Verizon dsl, there are no caps and no torrent throttling. 
Also web pages seem to load the same speed as comcast. |
|
ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs:
 ·VOIPo
·Metrocast Communic..
·AT&T DSL Service
·ViaTalk
| reply to jadebangle
I have used cable for years, and was happy. Using VoIP on cable can be frustrating sometimes, especially if your node is oversold.
I went to DSL about a year ago, and I like it alot. Yes, it's not as fast as cable, but it is a very stable line. I don't get the fluctuations I used to during peak hours. |
|
Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·AT&T Midwest
 ·Site5.com
·Comcast
| reply to tschmidt
said by tschmidt :Both Cable DOCSIS and DSL are clever engineering designs that added data to network designed for a different purpose. Cable is a shared medium so adding a customer to cable is much easier as DSL requires the Telco to modify Central Office wiring. It also means everyone on a given node shares the available bandwidth. Whereas DSL is not shared until it hits the DSLAM. Customer satisfaction has more to do with ISP business practices then underlying technology. If you are happy with Cable Internet access that is great. As for me I'll stick with DSL and hope to get Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) some day. /tom Excellent post tschmidt.
Lets be frank here, both of these technologies are in fact shared mediums. As you said, cable shares at the node whereas DSL is not shared until it hits the DSLAM. I have seen many DSL providers oversubscribe at the CO just as I have seen many nodes oversaturated on the cable side.
The common misconception around these forums is that cable is a shared medium while DSL is not. Some people think their DSL connection plugs right into the backbone of the internet or something which simply is not the case. Any broadband service you get is going to be shared.
The end result is the same, if you are happy with cable, thats awesome. I have Comcast cable in my area and AT&T DSL. I used Comcast at the beginning, moved to AT&T DSL after a year. Their DSL service was so unreliable that I moved back to Comcast for 2 more years. I tried AT&T DSL again back in 2004 and haven't looked back sense. I have subscribed to both lines for about a year and a half and that was quite cool to say the least. |
|
BinaryXtreme
join:2004-04-20
Sparks, NV
·Charter Pipeline
1 edit | reply to jadebangle
Apples vs. Oranges? That's it? Uh........... I've had both and cable is a lot faster depending on your plan but as far as reliability, cable wins hands down. My mother is forced to use DSL in her area when she moved and does not nearly like it as much as cable. She suffers from the same issues I did. Frequent outages and slower service. The one thing clearly noticeable between the two is that cable has that speed snap to it. I don't know how to explain it but there is no lag in the loading like DSL has. I speak this from home experience as work as well. If I had a choice, cable.
 |
|
TMMerlin
The Devil made me do it
join:2003-06-19
Oxford, MI
·EarthLink
| reply to jadebangle
I never experience "cable fade'..anymore !
My DSL is solid as a rock ..has been for years
My Sat TV is almost always "fade free" ..unless there is a thunderstorm
BUt best of all .."no cable fade" ..anymore !
--
Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy but they become legend. |
|
shdesigns
Powered By Infinite Improbabilty Drive
Premium
join:2000-12-01
Stone Mountain, GA
·Atlantic Nexus
| reply to BinaryXtreme
said by BinaryXtreme :Apples vs. Oranges? That's it? Uh........... I've had both and cable is a lot faster depending on your plan but as far as reliability, cable wins hands down. My mother is forced to use DSL in her area when she moved and does not nearly like it as much as cable. She suffers from the same issues I did. Frequent outages and slower service. The one thing clearly noticeable between the two is that cable has that speed snap to it. I don't know how to explain it but there is no lag in the loading like DSL has. I speak this from home experience as work as well. If I had a choice, cable. Again, has nothing to do with cable vs DSL.
I had crappy DSL with Earthlink, lots of droputs. Was good when it was Mindspring, but after the EL buyout they oversold lines and had poor support.
Changed to a better ISP and all problems went away. Same line, same DSLAM, just routed through different ISP.
Power here is flaky. The slightest flicker and you have to wait for the cable system to "reboot". DSL stays up for at least 4 hours when power goes out.
--
Scott Henion
Embedded Systems Consultant, shenion on #ATU @irc.freenode.net
SHDesigns home |
|
BinaryXtreme
join:2004-04-20
Sparks, NV
·Charter Pipeline
1 edit | True. Thanks for the reply. I will say that when either service goes down, cable has been easier for me to reconnect. Now, my honest question being away from DSL for so long is, what is the fastest speed available now via DSL?
Interesting.....
Bandwidth - From 756 Kbps to 6 Mbps, but you pay higher prices to get the higher rates of data transfer. Also, DSL is typically limited to 128 Kbps upstream. Bandwidth - Although you can theoretically get up to 30 Mbps downstream, the average rate is around 5 Mbps to 6 Mbps downstream and 384 Kbps upstream.
Not Shared - Bandwidth is dedicated, not shared, between the user's location and the nearest central office of your ISP. Shared - The bandwidth to your Cable ISP is shared by you and all the other Internet users in your area using same service.
More Secure - DSL is generally considered more secure since it uses a dedicated rather than shared connection to your ISP. Less Secure - Cable is a shared medium that is subject to eavesdropping, denial of service attacks, service theft, etc.
Distance Sensitive - The further you are from your DSL service provider's facilities, the less speed you will get. Not Distance Sensitive - You receive the same rate of speed no matter what distance you are from your provider.
Installation Fees - Usually no cost, but can have a shipping and modem rental fees. Installation Fees - Usually no cost, but can have a shipping and modem rental fees.
Monthly Rates - Ranges from $15 to $45, but the less you pay the lower your speeds. Monthly Rates - Average from $40 to $55 and you can't pay less for slower speeds.
Do Cable Users Really Share Bandwidth While DSL Users Do Not?
Many salespersons for DSL providers will tell you that DSL does not share bandwidth while Cable does, thus slowing down Cable Internet connections when many people near you are using the Internet. While this is true, it is a general statement that can cause you to make an uninformed decision if you think it means DSL will always be faster than Cable.
For example, if your local Cable Internet provider has enough bandwidth in your area that can handle a lot of users, the speed of your connection will hardly be affected by this sharing. Also, if you use DSL and your DSL provider's central office if far away from your home, your connection will be slower than normal even though you aren't sharing that connection with anyone else. In such a case, Cable would be better, since Cable maintains its rate of data transfer better over long distances while higher ADSL speeds can be limited by distance.
The Decision Usually Comes Down To Exactly Where You Live
For many consumers looking into DSL vs Cable, the debate of which Internet service is better will never even come up. You're often lucky to have one of the two services in your area. For those consumers who actually have both services available to them, the answer to which is a better choice lies in the exact location of your home.
As a rule of thumb, DSL speeds will depend upon the actual distance your building is from the nearest central office of your ISP. For Cable Internet, connection speeds can be affected by the amount of Internet use in your particular neighborhood. And since no objective article on the Internet can tell you how far your individual house is to your DSL-ISP's nearest central office or how many other Cable Internet users are actively using the Internet in your area, you'll just have to do some asking around on your own.
Since the connections speeds in your area will most certainly be different than in other areas, you're best course of action is to talk to other Internet users in your area who utilize the type of connections that you are looking into. Only by gauging the quality of a provider in a certain area directly with the customers who use their service will help you make a sound decision. |
|
