What are your recommendations? Why?
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
We are delighted with out DSL. We used to have cable, but chucked that in favor of satelite, which was cheaper anyway.
I'll tell you, it was nice not to deal with EvilCable anymore. Why would you want to deal with your cable company? Are you satisfied with their customer service?
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
We have satellite, which we're quite satisfied with. . . so DSL may be the way we're going to go.
What slows down DSL? Why is there a choice at all between cable and DSL?
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
If you get cable, then you can get VOIP. You can chuck your phone service altogether.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
I don't download much stuff so my $14.95 Verizon DSL is perfect for me.
Verizon does not require you have phone service to get DSL is many areas. So you may still be able to get VOIP.
Posted by peterh (Member # 5208) on :
Scott,
If you're going to be working from home, you'll likely want the fastest connection available. Check with both places on the the maximum speed (regardless of price) they offer to your location. Especially when talking to the phone company, ask them if they can test your specific line.
As far as differences go, if you qualify for DSL's higher speeds then there is very little difference in speeds between the 2. The main difference is that with cable, your speed fluctuates depending on internet traffic in your neighborhood. For example, you may only get the advertised 5Mb/sec in the middle of the night, and it can be pretty slow in the evening when everybody and their dog is surfing the net.
I've had both and prefer the stability of speed from DSL.
The downside to DSL is that they lock you into a contract. If you have any plans to move in the next year, I'd definetly go with cable.
Overall, there is very little difference for the average user. It's mostly just marketing hype between the two that causes confusion.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
My DSL is lightning quick. I've heard that if not too many in your neighborhood have it, it is faster than if your neighborhood is heavily saturated.
So, I guess you should sign up for DSL and then tell all your neighbors how lousy it is.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
My slow DSL is so much faster than my dial up that I haven't had any problems.
Posted by Seatarsprayan (Member # 7634) on :
Either way, make sure you get a ROUTER and don't just hook your computer directly to the modem. It'll act as a hardware firewall.
You can get DSL cheap from the phone company right now, but there's hidden fees and taxes, and their customer service is usually lousy.
Me, I get my DSL from a local ISP, Net Wizards which resells Covad DSL. They aren't the cheapest for the lower-speed broadband connections but when you call them you get a real person.
I don't know that much about cable, but I do know people who complain that it slows down in the evenings when the neighbors all start downloading.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Tante, how the heck did you get satellite broadband to be cheaper than cable broadband? How much are you paying for your satellite, if you don't mind sharing?
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Personally, I prefer cable. We had the highest-speed DSL at my parents' house and eventually ended up switching to cable anyway.
I had cable in New Orleans, and the bundling of services was good (even though the cable company totally botched it when we told them we wanted to add digital phone to our package). I'm lazy and cannot be bothered to write more checks than absolutely necessary.
And the no-contract thing is a big plus for me.
And from what I've seen, cable has been way faster than dsl, but I might not be online during "busy" times (I have no idea what they would be).
-pH
Posted by Ophelia (Member # 653) on :
We have been much happier with our DSL than we were with our cable. Granted we didn't have a choice in either case--we had to go with the company that was able to service our apartment complex due to (with the cable) a complete monopoly on the area market or (with the DSL) a deal that was made with the former apartment complex owners. But BellSouth has treated us well with our DSL, while Charter Communications had the worst service I have ever experienced.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Also, has anyone tried Verizon wireless broadband?
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
I haven't had DSL since 2000, so things have probably changed. I didn't have any problems with the speed, but incoming phone calls tended to kill the internet connection. Also, even though Qwest (or was it USWest at that point?) provided filters for the phones, there was still a significant amount of static if I tried to use a phone while the internet was on. I'm guessing that this is no longer a problem in most areas, but if you live somewhere with older equipment it might still be an issue.
I had cable internet in 2003, and it was wonderful. We rarely had problems with it, and Cox usually had the problems fixed pretty quickly. We had no problems with slow times, but we lived in a very poor neighborhood so perhaps there were few others with cable internet in that area.
I don't know how well Verizon wireless broadband works, as we were unable to get a signal where we live. I do know that they are extremely unhelpful when you try to return equipment and cancel service because it doesn't work. We will never do business with that company again.
--Mel
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Oh, yeah. About the static thing. Depending on where you live, if you get bad enough storms, water can get in the line or something and create too much static to give you an internet connection.
At least, I think that's what they told me when I called them absolutely outraged.
I need my fix, man.
-pH
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by Storm Saxon: Tante, how the heck did you get satellite broadband to be cheaper than cable broadband? How much are you paying for your satellite, if you don't mind sharing?
It's not broadband for internet connection, it's just TV. We pay about $50/month for service, including dish insurance and service contract. With cable, we were paying about $60. You get more channels with the dish, but honestly, we are not watching all those channels. My husband watches the sports and I watch classic movies. Oh, and sometimes we both watch reruns of Seinfeld. Actually, TV is pretty much wasted on us. I'd forget the whole thing, except the husband wants to follow his stinkin' team.
Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
Stormy, I use Verizon's wireless broadband and it is excellent. Far better than any other choice I had for my area. A lot of my neighbors use satellite (DSL and cable are not available in our neighborhood, since we live on an Indian reservation), which reportedly works great for some people but not so great for others. I have consistently excellent performance with Verizon wireless broadband and it's travel friendly, in that I can use it in most major metropolitan areas.
The main downside is that it isn't always live (it's a dialup) and I can't run it from a hub. I have to use my laptop. Supposedly you can USB a Blackberry with Verizon wireless broadband to a desktop machine and that will work, but they don't support it.
I love Verizon wireless broadband, but given a choice, I would switch back to cable. Much faster (up to 7mps where I used to live, whereas I get a reliable 2mps with wireless), always live, and I can hook it directly to my router for that added layer of security. My wireless broadband is faster than DSL, so I wouldn't switch if that became available in my area, even though it's live all the time.
edit: Mel, re: your experience with Verizon Wireless's broadband -- I had exactly the opposite response. I tested it for my area with a card that wasn't particularly strong. I am right at the edge of the broadcast range, so I just didn't get enough reception from the card to keep a good connection. I took it back a bit disappointed and the guy who did the return helped me find a better card, which works much better. He was very helpful and was willing to take it back if it didn't work. I've since had several problems (all of them my machine, not their service) and had excellent response from their call-in technical support.
btw, my dad also uses the service -- he's a long haul trucker, and has had spotty reception. It's his card, though, I think. If he switches to a newer card, I'm fairly certain that it will work better for him. My only real complaint about it is that you have to buy the cards. I'd rather lease it and upgrade when stronger ones become available.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
This Wireless Broadband thing intrigues me.
I have wireless on my laptop, and I think I have an external wireless card for my desktop.
-pH
Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
pH, you have to buy a special card for it. It works like a cell phone for your laptop. You have to use the card supported by the company.
There are other wireless broadband solutions becoming available all the time. Clearview is a new one that I've heard good things about. It's franchised, though, so its availability isn't as strong as Verizon Wireless's.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
You can get an expansion card for pc for wireless broadband, I'm 99% sure.
I was mainly looking for throughput, jeniwren. 2 mbps is really good. much better than a lot of dsl and certainly better than dialup.
quote: The main downside is that it isn't always live (it's a dialup) and I can't run it from a hub.
What do you mean by the 'it isn't always live (it's a dialup)' bit?
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
quote:Originally posted by jeniwren: edit: Mel, re: your experience with Verizon Wireless's broadband -- I had exactly the opposite response. I tested it for my area with a card that wasn't particularly strong. I am right at the edge of the broadcast range, so I just didn't get enough reception from the card to keep a good connection. I took it back a bit disappointed and the guy who did the return helped me find a better card, which works much better. He was very helpful and was willing to take it back if it didn't work. I've since had several problems (all of them my machine, not their service) and had excellent response from their call-in technical support.
We ordered our card from Verizon's website, so there was no helpful store person for us. We had no problems with tech support, and they did suggest buying a stronger card. However, at that point we had spent several weeks trying to get satellite broadband to work with no luck, and this was the last try. It was when we sent the card back and cancelled the service that they got difficult.
This was also two years ago, and the technology was less well established at that point. We may at some time try it out again, but not from Verizon.
It's really just as well that it didn't work out, as our financial situation changed and we wouldn't be able to afford broadband anyhow.
--Mel
Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
It's dialup. You know with cable, you're always live? With Verizon wireless broadband, your card has to dial a number to be connected. Your account is a phone number (that's a bit weird, but this is cell technology, so it kind of makes sense).
It dials quickly, and the throughput is consistently very good, both up and down. It does drop the line, however, if you're idle for a long period of time. That can be annoying, but I don't find it to be a problem for what how I use it. I'm mostly working through Remote Desktop sessions and VPN (which satellite doesn't do well, so I hear), and once I'm connected, those avenues keep my line busy enough it doesn't get dropped.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
![[Smile]](smile.gif)