cable vs DSL

FJohnSharp · Post by **FJohnSharp** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:39 pm

I may need to switch from cable to DSL. Will I notice a difference? Will I hate it?

mukade · Post by **mukade** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:58 pm

DSL speeds depend on how far you are from the exchange.
Cable lines are usually shared. Crowded lines can affect speed.

I have a 100Mbps FTTH connection. If I had to switch to DSL, I would feel it, but if you just use the Net for casual browsing and email you would not notice the difference.

Reliability and support from your ISP are more important factors to consider.

Mukade

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:06 am

I've used both.

I never noticed much difference between cable and dsl. If you have DSL, you'll need to put dsl line filters on the phone jacks that lead to regular phones.

Since getting fiber optic cable, though, i'll do my best to never go back to DSL and cable. When my wife and I moved a couple months ago, finding a neighborhood that had fiber was a primary consideration. I have 7 times more bandwidth just for me and my wife and son than my company uses for VOIP, and all of its employees. It's nice.

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:17 am

I didn't like DSL. Luckily, I hadn't gotten rid of Road Runner yet.
The DSL provider I used (BellSouth, I think) offered several speeds
at different price points, but I think to get up to cable speed actually
cost more... So, your joy may be dictated by your local market forces.

Wanderer wrote:Since getting fiber optic cable, though, i'll do my best to never go back to DSL and cable.

How does one go about finding out whether fiber is available? I
know TimeWarner was running fiber all over the place, but I have
no idea whether my neighborhood has it. If so, that would explain
why my cable modem seemed so much faster than DSL.

djm · Post by **djm** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:52 am

Cable modems are flat-out faster than DSL, but cable is a party line. The more people who share it, the slower cable gets. If you are in an area of mostly seniors who don't own computers you have lucked out on cable.

DSL is to your home only, so it won't get faster, but it won't get slower, either. Different telcos are opting for different technologies on DSL, so some offer higher speeds (at a price) but many do not.

I know Verizon is spending a fortune to roll out optical fiber to the home, but I think its pretty spotty right now as to which other telcos are doing this and which are not. Naturally, all investments will be in the larger cities first, as that is where the best returns will come from soonest.

djm

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:24 am

fearfaoin wrote:
Wanderer wrote:Since getting fiber optic cable, though, i'll do my best to never go back to DSL and cable.
How does one go about finding out whether fiber is available? I
know TimeWarner was running fiber all over the place, but I have
no idea whether my neighborhood has it. If so, that would explain
why my cable modem seemed so much faster than DSL.

I dunno about Time Warner, but you can check to see if Verizon has fiber in your neighborhood by putting in your phone number here:
http://www22.verizon.com/content/ConsumerFios

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:45 am

Wanderer wrote:I dunno about Time Warner, but you can check to see if Verizon has fiber in your neighborhood by putting in your phone number here:
http://www22.verizon.com/content/ConsumerFios

No Verizon in my city. They haven't gotten farther than Durham.

That's not the fiber I was thinking of, though. TimeWarner brought
fiber to the curb, you're talking about fiber right into the house.
Wow. I hadn't heard about that tech. 15Mbps, not bad!

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:17 am

fearfaoin wrote:
Wanderer wrote:I dunno about Time Warner, but you can check to see if Verizon has fiber in your neighborhood by putting in your phone number here:
http://www22.verizon.com/content/ConsumerFios
No Verizon in my city. They haven't gotten farther than Durham.

That's not the fiber I was thinking of, though. TimeWarner brought
fiber to the curb, you're talking about fiber right into the house.
Wow. I hadn't heard about that tech. 15Mbps, not bad!

Yup..i got a fiber cable running up the side of my house, through a hole, into the garage, where my 'demarc' is. I do notice that they've lowered their "top tier" internet from 50 Mbps to 30 Mbps...still, that's a lotta bandwidth, considering my middle tier (at 15MBPS) it's about 10 to 20 times as fast as DSL (depending on your DSL setup, naturally).

beowulf573 · Post by **beowulf573** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 10:16 am

Ooh, now I want a fiber connection. Do they have a problem with hosting services on your line; web, mail etc?

We're in the process of switching to Comcast in Houston right now. I get almost daily outages for a couple minutes which can be annoying when it happens just as I'm looking up directions.

Steamwalker · Post by **Steamwalker** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 10:31 am

I've had DSL twice before and I hated it, the connection would keep dropping - two different ISPs. Never had that problem with cable.

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 10:57 am

As several have said, on the customer end the quality of your service provider is more important than the delivery technology.

Overall, I think cable is more robust (can be farther from head end, fast to fix in an outage) and (during off hours) has a higher potential bandwidth, but these are mostly theoretical - a good DSL provider is far better than a bad Cable provider, and vice-versa. Cable technology makes it a bit easier to handle expansion and physical repairs when needed, but phone companies have had more experience (and more legal pressure) handling rapid emergency response.

Over the years, I've had both. I do prefer cable (and I used to work for a company that designed DOCSIS cable modems and head ends) but they are both interim technologies, trying to add digital connectivity using (mostly) exisiting infrastructure. I've got cable right now, and am generally happy with it.

But longer term, I'll be *very* happy when I can swap my cable modem for an optical fiber connection.

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:06 am

I hear cable is faster, but, cross my fingers, I have had very good service with SBC DSL in terms of minimal interruption for a good long run. I had a lot more problems with the old ATTBI cable service (now Comcast)...

I think the market is so competitive that the services are likely pretty equal these days...

djm · Post by **djm** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:14 am

DCrom wrote:a good DSL provider is far better than a bad Cable provider

That's the crux of it, I think. The cable companies here are jumping over themselves to sell internet and VoIP on cable, but their aftersales service is abyssmal, so much so that areas that don't have it yet are screaming at the telcos for DSL just to get off cable.

The telcos make no money on DSL itself. It is a loss leader for other services to sell you, so they are slow to roll it out to underpopulated areas (no matter how much money you have). On the other hand, the VoIP I have dealt with on DSL lines here leaves a lot to be desired. Calls fade in and out of resolution. I have not been persuaded to convert.

Like the battle between Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD, there's lots of new technology still to come, and we have not settled on many standards, yet. The only thing that's guaranteed is that you and I will be the ones to pay for it (and pay and pay).

djm

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:34 am

beowulf573 wrote:Ooh, now I want a fiber connection. Do they have a problem with hosting services on your line; web, mail etc?

No.

http://www2.verizon.net/policies/tos.asp

3.7.5 You may not use the Broadband Service to host any type of server whether personal or commercial in nature.

As far as I know, they filter incoming requests for port 80, which kills anyone running a web server. I don't know if they filter the ports for other services (like 21, 23, etc)