dsl vs cable

[dklink2000]

Hi all,

I'm making the switch from Cable to dsl at home because I got sick of dropping 50 bucks a month for internet service that just keeps getting slower and slower and more and more expensive. My question is...am I making a big mistake? I can't seem to get a straight answer as to which one is better. I realize that dsl speed can vary a great deal but I wanted to hear from people who have had both. Which did you like better? I can live with some drop in speed considering that the dsl is almost half the price.

 

[dirt bike dave]

I've had both. For me, there was no noticeable difference in speed, but your mileage may vary.

 

[Okiewan]

Both depend a lot on the provider ... even in this heavily congested suburb of Dallas my cable speeds are great. DSL will be substancially slower but, if you've been having issues with slow downs due to traffic, at least you'll always have the same speed.

Here, it's 768 down with DSL (seems like I heard they are offeering something over a Meg too), 5M down with cable. If all you do online is surf, you won't notice a huge difference.

 

[mxmatthew]

from my understanding dsl speed should not vary because you dont have to worry about traffic. It will vary greatly depending on the provider but the one I have gives about 1.5mb/s download and around 600kb/s upload i think.

 

[Okiewan]

Yup; DSL is a dedicated conection... the bandwidth is not shared.

 

[MadArrow]

I have dsl at the moment and hate it compared to my old cable service. It just doesn't have the bandwith of the cable. It is reliable and never seems to slow down, it's just not that great when it comes to downloading big files.

 

[Sandy Whoops]

The "shared" issue is an urban legend. I believe it was PacBell that sued a cable company for using the "shared" argument - PacBell won.

Once a DSL connection passes the DSLAM, it too is shared. In fact, the Internet is shared.

Who's better is a local situation - depends on the ISP. Generally, cable has higher download speeds and DSL has lower latency. A number of cable companies are going to higher DL speeds soon. Comcast is changing from 4Mb to 6 Mb. Another is testing 12 Mb service. In the near term, cable will reign in the speed wars.

If you're a gamer or want to use VOIP, a DSL connection may serve you better. If you're into downloading music and video, then cable may be the better choice.

 

[scooter1130]

I have used both, adn in the New York Metro area, I would never go back to DSL. The cable speeds here are 10Mb down and 1Mb up for $40 a month. even at the busy times when the lines get congested, my download speeds have never dropped below 8Mb. And cablevision will soom be offering 30/5, and they are working on 100/100 for comercial use which they are testing in a few areas now.