New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

DSL ponderings

post #1 of 30
3/15/03 at 12:54am
Thread Starter 
I need some fast answers for users of cable and DSL. Which would be better over the other? I currently have cable, but my parents are considering trying/switching to DSL. Is DSL any good; does it have any speed or other advantages over cable? Thank you.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 30
3/15/03 at 1:24am
PArt of it depends on where you live. If you live in an apartment or very crowded area cable may be slower because it is possible that many other people around you will be sharing your bandwith. If you live in a less crouded area, like a suburb, cable may be faster. It also depends on the specific service you get.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
EDIT: Just so you know, I have att broadband cable and I am happy with it.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 30
3/15/03 at 5:03am
As someone that works for one of the largest DSL providers in North America, let me just say that Wisefish is correct to an extent in that DSL speeds can be somewhat faster in larger populated areas due to DSL being Line-specific. Meaning that you are not forced to share your bandwidth with anyone else. The flip side to this being that every time there is a problem with the phone lines in your area or if your phone service is interrupted for any reason, chances are that you are not going to be able to connect. IMOA Cable connections offer a more stable connection (always-on VS. always-available) at very comparable speeds.

PS – If you happen to live in the state of Florida, go with a cable connection. Trust me, if you don’t you may come to regret your decision.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 30
3/15/03 at 5:19am

I tried both

I've tried DSL and Cable. I stuck with Cable. I am in Tampa Florida and I use the Road Runner High Speed Online BroadBand connection.

Very very nice...
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 30
3/15/03 at 1:45pm
I currently have cable with speeds exceeding 1.4 on a regular basis.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 30
3/15/03 at 3:38pm
It also depends on what you're going to use it for. Most cable companies contracts are draconian and nasty.. DSL is reserved bandwith, its like a T line in that you can do what you wish with it, have a server etc. Cable companys dont like that because you would have the potential of using all the nodes bandwith

Vash
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 30
3/15/03 at 6:27pm
I've been more then happy with my DSL. I got the lite version 256Kb . I average downloads of 30KB/s, ping delays of 100ms or less depending on the site which is decent. The best part is it's cheaper then cable. Around here if you want cable modem service you gotta pay something like $40/month plus the price for cable TV. Although, you can get cable modem service without cable TV they jack the price up on the service which is obsurd! I pay $29.95 $10 more then what 56k dialup was costing me.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 30
3/15/03 at 8:03pm
Since I live in the country, cable was not an option. Its a miracle that DSL was an option. The phone company in my area is Pioneer Telephone. They are very progressive about their lines. They have DSL running into town with as few as 180 people in them and you can often get a hook-up outside of town like me. I am nearly 3 miles from the CO and I often get line speeds of 1.2 meg. That is not the norm for DSL, but that's what I get. Of course your download speeds will NEVER come close to your line speed. I have experienced download speed of over 170 k, but 60 - 80 k is more normal. It all depends on who you get it from, how many connections it is going through and how busy the web is at the time. If I was in a town with cable I would probably go with it. As it is, I'm very happy with my DSL.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 30
3/15/03 at 11:29pm

slow speeds

You guys are posting some pretty slow speeds. I have cable and i max out at 500-600k. I average about 225-300k. I might be reading these speeds wrong. This is what the internet explorer window says when I download a file from the web.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 30
3/15/03 at 11:30pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Psychobob
I currently have cable with speeds exceeding 1.4 on a regular basis.
lol, you work for a DSL company and have a cable service. Doesn't your company give you good deals?
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 30
3/16/03 at 12:57am
Yes, in fact they do offer employees a very nice deal on service. Unfortunately, DSL is currently not available where I live. Besides the local cable company just finished laying down new fiber lines for their 2-way broadband connection.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 30
3/16/03 at 1:06am
I have cable in Baton Rouge, LA (pretty large city) and it's pretty good... I don't get disconnected too often, and I get speeds the top out at 600K/sec... average around 400K/sec
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 30
3/17/03 at 10:06am
Definition:
kB/s = KiloBYTES/sec
kb/s = KiloBITS/sec or kbps

Line speed is usually measured/expresed in Kilobits/sec as in my service is 256kilobits

Download speed is expressed in kilobytes/sec

Bandwidth (kb/s) Download rate (KB/s)
256 30
384 48
1,000 125
T1 1544 193

KB/s to kbps
Take KB/s and multiply by 8.192
Example
100KB/s = 819.2kbps

kbps to KB/s
Take kbps and divide by 8.192 (or multiply by .1221)
Example
1000kbps = 122KB/s

Quote:
I currently have cable with speeds exceeding 1.4 on a regular basis
I assume that 1.4mb/s > 170kB/s which is good for cable I highly doubt you're getting 1.4mB/s as that surpasses your bandwidth and is better then a T1.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 30
3/17/03 at 11:33am
Let me clarify:
I get average speeds exceeding 1.4 Mbps (downstream) and 200 - 218Kbps (upstream) on a regular basis. As far as bandwidth usage goes, it’s nominal considering that my nearest neighbor lives approximately 5 – 10 miles away.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 30
3/17/03 at 12:17pm

2.8 MBPS

I get 2.8 MBPS Dnstream and 200->300 KBPS Upstream.

Time warner Cable : Road Runner High Speed Online...
I live in an apartment complex where everyone watches TV and no one seems to have a job
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 30
3/17/03 at 1:57pm
I get clocked on those bandwidth sites well over T1 bandwidth all the time.... and my usual download speed is between 350-650 KB/s. With cable.
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 30
3/17/03 at 3:45pm
T1 lines are widely used by major companies for networking purposes. It is possible to get faster connection and download speeds out of cable or DSL, not in every case, but it is possible. The T1 lines at my office (we have 6) connect over 1000 computers to the internet and the speed at which they connect doesn’t appear to be nearly as fast as some DSL or cable connections.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 30
3/17/03 at 9:47pm
ok if your nearest neighbor is 5-10 miles then I believe you. Cable modem around here is pretty much saturated, and most people see peak 600kbps (2 am on a tuesday).

One of my friend's was a beta tester for road runner when it first came out. He was one of about 6 people in a mid sized city that were beta testers and he always had well over 1.4mbps. It was great, course back then internet gaming was still in its infancy and mp3s hadn't hit yet... There were also no firewalls on the corporate systems so after talking to tech support (one guy in Co. who was often bored and called him on company time to chat). Anyway he fired up his port scanner and mapped out every connection on their network.

Cable is nice if you in the 'boonies' because that's usually the only choice, phone companies won't put in the equipment let alone upgrade the lines.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 30
3/17/03 at 10:27pm
That and the local cable company just spent well over $50,000 laying down new 2-way fiber lines in my area in hopes of future growth potential.
Hey, I’m not complaining. LOL
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 30
3/17/03 at 11:41pm
GS - Im in St. Pete RoadRunner here too.

Jeff
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Notebook Forums - General