andyross
join:2003-05-04
Schaumburg, IL
| reply to Tatar
Re: [Speed] Comcast Cable vs. AT&T U-verse ?
With U-Verse, you may not be able to get Internet service without video unless standard DSL is not available.
VDSL typically uses interleaved data transmission. That can slightly increase your latency (ping times). That may affect sensitive applications like gaming. |
|
kenn10
join:2003-09-10
Kennesaw, GA
 ·VoicePulse for Bus..
·Vitelity VOIP
 ·Comcast
·Vonage
 ·Verizon Online DSL
·ViaTalk
| reply to Tatar
I personally get much better service (customer service and speed) from Comcast than I ever did from AT&T (I'm in a former BellSouth area.)
The reason I switched to Comcast in the first place was because the people on at&T tech support were either script readers or in another country whose speech I could not understand.
My recommendation to you would be to negotiate with Comcast for a better deal and stay put. While UVerse has some interesting equipment for whole-house DVR and such, the speed is just not the same and they offer no power-boost at all.
Now if the house doesn't cave in on me for saying something nice about Comcast, I'll reiterate the prior poster's comment about "Out of the frying pan into the fire..." if you switch to at&t.
Good luck! |
|
NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| reply to tshirt
said by tshirt  :AT&T U-verse tends to quote the sync speed, DSL does have around 15% overhead ... Not all DSL is the same. Verizon, Qwest (I think), AT&T Southeast, and some others "oversynch"; such that your throughput is close to advertised because they adjust for the overhead. It is my understanding that AT&T Uverse VDSL will be closer to the advertised speed than their ADSL product.
... and your must also subtract what other services (TV, Phone) uses.
Actually, that depends. If they are selling 18 Meg Internet, they are probably using bonded pairs to double the capacity of the wire. One pair is good for 24-25 Mb/s; bonded pair doubles that. Their first deployment limited DSL to 6 Mb/s because they reserved the rest of the bandwidth for IPTV.
beyond the local box you share the fiber to the CO with neighbors, just like cable.
But that is the fiber part of the network. The "Last Mile" copper is not shared.
--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum |
|
scooby
Premium
join:2001-05-01
Schaumburg, IL
| reply to tatar
said by tatar :
lol scooby!
Thanks for the reply.
I see you are from my area as well.
Which would you recommend in our area??
Comcast 16mbps or U-verse 18mbps?
I really do not car about the television services. I download alot of movies so my priority is the download speeds.
I'd stick with Comcast if you download a lot. AT&T is implementing download caps and charging $1 per gb when you go over. I do not think they have stated a cap for 18mbit yet but if it is 150gb, it would cost you $100 extra to match the 250gb cap that Comcast has. |
|
NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| reply to Tatar
said by Tatar :
I am currently using Comcast cable, but I am planning to switch to AT&T due to horrible customer service I recieved from comcast.
From what I read online so far, there are advantages and disadvantages for both services. For example I read that cable connection is a shared connection while dsl isnt.
It is only the "Last Mile" of the POTS copper plant which is not shared. All services are aggregated somewhere in the line between the premises and the Internet. And DSL aggregation routers can become congested, just as a cable plant can become congested (I hate to say, "oversold node", because I don't really understand the HFC plant that well).
which makes it more steady for dsl in metropolitan areas.
I have personally experienced a congested aggregation router on DSL.
However that also depends on how far you are away from the actual service provider. Distance between your computer and the ISP makes a difference in your internet speed for dsl , and it doesnt effect cable on the other hand.
Distance between your computer and the Internet is irrelevant. Distance between your modem and the DSLAM is what affects your DSL speed. And, if you qualify for Uverse, you are close enough that distance won't affect your speed. AT&T doesn't sell Uverse to anybody beyond the distance over which they can deliver maximum speed.
I currently have 16mbps cable connection through comcast but I am planning on switching to AT&T because they just started offering 18 mbps fiber optic connection..
Two facts:
• Comcast delivers over FTTN ("Fiber To The Node").
• AT&T Uverse delivers over FTTN ("Fiber To The Node").
There is no practical difference between the fiber in the AT&T Uverse network and the fiber in the Comcast network (unless you are in a "Greenfield" community; a newly build housing tract, where AT&T might have deployed FTTP ("Fiber To The Premises")).
Do you guys think it would be a wise idea to switch?
I don't; but it is your call.
The price is similar as well..
What I am worried about is the download speed.
With comcast cable, I am able to download movies at around 600-800 kbps right now...
Would this performance drop if I switch to AT&T even though they offer 18 mbps?
It is a wash ... maybe.
Speed should be close to advertised; AT&T VDSL (what you get with Uverse) is a bit different than the ADSL they sell to the rest of us.
Otherwise, they are no different than cable, in that they are a "hybrid" plant. Cable HFC ("Hybrid Fiber-Coax") is "Fiber To The Node" (FTTN). So is Uverse (except that the "Last Mile" is the copper pair of telephone service, not coax).
AT&T customer service is not, necessarily better than Comcast customer service.
Comcast has a 250 GB per month bandwidth cap. AT&T will begin 150 GB per month bandwidth caps on Uverse; probably by April next year (the last time they rolled out a test in Sept./Nov., they fully implemented by April the following year).
Two cliches come to mind:
"The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence."
"From the frying pan into the fire."
--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum |
|
tatar
@comcast.net
| reply to scooby
lol scooby!
Thanks for the reply.
I see you are from my area as well.
Which would you recommend in our area??
Comcast 16mbps or U-verse 18mbps?
I really do not car about the television services. I download alot of movies so my priority is the download speeds. |
|
scooby
Premium
join:2001-05-01
Schaumburg, IL | reply to Tatar
Fios is only in areas where Verizon offers phone service. There is a better chance of you getting hit by lightning and winning the lottery the same day then getting Fios in an AT&T area. |
|
Tatar
@comcast.net
| reply to Tatar
Thank you very much for the info tshirt.
I asked att if a contract was required. They told me that there is no contract and neither any cancellation fees.
The package includes 200 channels including locals, hd dvr, video-on-demand as well as 18mgbs internet connection for around 125 a month. it doesnt sound bad at all.
However, now I came across verizon FIOS and i read alot of good reviews for them. most comparison reviews pick FIOS over comcast without any hesitation.
One thing I know for sure is that i do not want to give comcast anymore business. I've had it with their lies and crap.
I know U-erse is available in my area but I have no clue if I can get FIOS around here. I live in northwest suburbs of chicago. Well "streamwood " to be exact. |
|
tshirt
Premium,MVM
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA
·Comcast
| reply to Tatar
Hard to say.
I think there may be a little confusion, If it's DSL it's probably not fiber to the home, but fiber to a nearby box and then vDSL to your home.
AT&T U-verse tends to quote the sync speed, DSL does have around 15% overhead, and your must also subtract what other services (TV, Phone) uses.
beyond the local box you share the fiber to the CO with neighbors, just like cable.
I think the end result will be very similar, so the TOS/limitations are what you should be checking.
Does AT&T require a 1 or 2 year contract?
Is there a usage cap?
what equipment do they provide/include "free"?
If No contract, then it is certainly worth a try, Particularly if comcast isn't working well for you (you can always jump back if the greener grass turns out to be bad astroturf) If there is a contract you should find out exact what the cost of early withdrawal is, in case it doesn't work out as you hope. Perhaps checking with other users in your neighborhood/local area as to how well it works for them. |
|
Tatar
@comcast.net
| I am currently using Comcast cable, but I am planning to switch to AT&T due to horrible customer service I recieved from comcast.
From what I read online so far, there are advantages and disadvantages for both services. For example I read that cable connection is a shared connection while dsl isnt. which makes it more steady for dsl in metropolitan areas. However that also depends on how far you are away from the actual service provider. Distance between your computer and the ISP makes a difference in your internet speed for dsl , and it doesnt effect cable on the other hand.
I currently have 16mbps cable connection through comcast but I am planning on switching to AT&T because they just started offering 18 mbps fiber optic connection..
Do you guys think it would be a wise idea to switch?
The price is similar as well..
What I am worried about is the download speed.
With comcast cable, I am able to download movies at around 600-800 kbps right now...
Would this performance drop if I switch to AT&T even though they offer 18 mbps? |
|
