Cable vs. DSL which is best ?

[poomanuk]

The topic of "which is better and faster" has been a highly debated topic, and still there doesn't appear to be a clear winner. DSL offers users a choice of speeds. Cable modem download speeds are typically up to 2 times faster than DSL, but the reason there is no clear speed winner is because cable technology is based on shared bandwidth, with many factors influencing a users download speed. With shared bandwidth the speed fluctuates depending on the number of subscribers on the network. With DSL, the connection is yours and not shared, and you tend to have a more constant speed. This is one reason why cable Internet providers don't often publish speed information. In more rural areas with fewer subscribers, you're bound to have faster download speeds than a subscriber in a city center. Because cable modem speeds fluctuate, it is difficult to gauge an exact download speed. On the upload stream, however, cable and DSL are closely matched for speed. Both DSL and cable Internet speeds are largely dependant on the service provider and either the distance away from the exchange you are or how many subscribers are in your immediate area.

So my Question is..from your experience which do you find best ?? Taking into account cost, realiability, customer service & restrictions.

[bishop]

we used to be on quest dsl, though it was only 256k. something ive noticed between cable and dsl is that you ping with cable changes more because it has prime time hours where everyone is on and its the same line all through the area, with dsl you have your own dedicated line cause it comes over the phone line.

[ijakings]

DSL can be a really mixed bag, Due to the fact that (assuming you live on the UK mainland here) your last mile is almost certainly going to be handled by BT, and unless you have LLU (Local Loop Unbundling) on your exchange for the ISP you want, your going to be stuck on thier crap Wholesale support. DSL has many more options for ISP's though, you can pretty much go with anyone you want, depending on what your requirements are, So with DSL the Cost, Reliability, customer service and restrictions are all highly variable depending on where you get your broadband from.

In the DSL space BT suck azz, Due to the fact most ISP's have to use them for the hardware in the exchange, anything that goes wrong with your line or the DSLAM Your stuck in the BT Wholsale queue, with you unable to chase anything up and relying completely on BT doing their job, and when they inevitably dont your ISP following it up.

If however you go with a LLU provider theyll have all their own kit in the exchange and you can communicate directly to the people incharge of nearly every step of your connection. For example, when i got my new LLU Broadband I had an initial set up problem where theyd accidentally put me on 1meg fixed speed. Had this happened with a BT DSLAM ISP (IE one without LLU) theyd have had to get in contact with BT to get it altered, a long proccess at the best of times. With my current one they did maybe 5 clicks from what i could hear over the phone and it was done.

On the cable side of things you are pretty much tied into that cable provider, from what I understand anyway, so you have alot less choice, although once again depending on the provider you go with youll have a wildly variable experience. There are many more ways to "trick" a cable line into giving you amazingly fast speeds, using two modems etc and you look into this at your peril, I dont know much about it other than the fact it can be done.

Best bet for both is to try and find a company thats avaliable in your area, be it vanilla BT WHolesale resold connections, LLU or Cable by checking on Samknows Broadband - Exchange Search and then checking out reviews extensively, theres nothing worse than being tied into a 12 month contract if you then realise the provider is rubbish.

Hope this helps.

PS: If you work for BT wholesale, no offense but ive had some pretty bad experiences.

EDIT

Well I completely misread your initial post, but ill leave the above reply in, took me long enough to write >_<

Anyway back to your initial question, I find that LLU DSL is better, In all accounts. Especially if you live a fair way from a town.

[DemonHunter2008]

Here is something that i read in the latest issue if Which? magazine, and i thought it would be of some use to you so i scanned them in :P






If any of them are too small that you cant read them, just send me a PM and i can email you the original files, which are much clearer :P

[AwptimusPrime]

If I had the option, I would choose ANYTHING over Comcast. They have got to be the worst internet provider out there. To begin, their upload and download speeds aren't that great and I am not really able to open multiple pages without some minor lag. On top of this, to make Comcast even more suckier, is the fact that the internet randomly stops to the point where I have to un-plug and -replug my router and modem. Also, Comcast loses thier signal very easily. For example this past week there was a day when it rained heavy for about 5 mins max and yet the Comcast signal was lost; no Tv, no internet.

Now I don't know if this is only the Comcast in my area, but I am really unhappy with their service. However its the only servive I have

[Insomnia]

I have Windstream DSL. Used to ne Alltel but i guess the company got bought. Anyhoo it works great. for 39$ a month i get 750 kb/s

[White-Pinnacle]

I had Verizon DSL which was capped to 3 Mbps but I only got about 1.5 Mbps. The cost for the DSL was about $30 but every year it jumped up $5. It was pretty solid and it came with a free modem/wireless router plus 5 phone filters. The download speed eventually increase to about 2.5 Mbps but the price increases caused DSL to be equivalent to cable which I have now.

I think either system is fine depending on your budget.

White Pinnacle

[Drifter]

Originally Posted by AwptimusPrime

If I had the option, I would choose ANYTHING over Comcast. They have got to be the worst internet provider out there. To begin, their upload and download speeds aren't that great and I am not really able to open multiple pages without some minor lag. On top of this, to make Comcast even more suckier, is the fact that the internet randomly stops to the point where I have to un-plug and -replug my router and modem. Also, Comcast loses thier signal very easily. For example this past week there was a day when it rained heavy for about 5 mins max and yet the Comcast signal was lost; no Tv, no internet.

Now I don't know if this is only the Comcast in my area, but I am really unhappy with their service. However its the only servive I have

What area? i have comcast and its great here. I've never had major problems with them. Have had a little one but it was fixed pretty quickly. My speeds are great. So might be your area I pay about $45 a month

[ijakings]

I dunno Why UKOnline is so low in the table up there, Im with them And Id rate them 5 Stars for everything, except for the initial 1meg capping problem when i signed up I think ive only had to cycle power on my router due to connection issues 5 times and ive been with them nearly 8 months now. And they have the best customer service ive known to date.

[poomanuk]

If you want to do a broadband comparison or speed check have a looky here thinkbroadband :: Compare broadband service providers
(sorry this is for the UK only)

[AwptimusPrime]

Originally Posted by Drifter

What area? i have comcast and its great here. I've never had major problems with them. Have had a little one but it was fixed pretty quickly. My speeds are great. So might be your area I pay about $45 a month

I don't want to give my exact location, but East Coast (if that helps)

My parents also pay around $45 a month. But the thing that irks me is that we shouldn't even be paying $45 because buying internet on its own costs more than buying cable with internet. My family and I aren't big TV watchers, so really we only wanted the internet, but were forced to get cable. So currently we have basic cable and internet.

[The-Uber-Bear]

I live in philly, PA and we pay about $50 i believe for cable internet and basic Comcast HD channels and programming. I love my cable because I mostly play CSS and surf the net on my laptop. Plus I had dial-up and now I only want the fastest my parents will buy.

[JK123]

Acually dsl is also subject to contention, generally 50:1, or for premium services 20:1.

see Tutorials - ADSL > Understanding Contention for an indepth explaination.

The two levels of contention are not really comparable because of the significant differences in the way the technologies operate.

My opinion is that cable is better. this is based on my own experience, the experiences of many of my friends/collegues who are in the IT industry and also many past and present customers experiences. However I believe that the quality of both services can vary significantly between different areas so perhaps my area is poor for dsl and good for cable. However another benefit that is always present with cable is that distance from exchange is never a factor.

Best bet is to talk to as many people in your area who have used one or both and see which is best where you live.

Btw pasting in scans of magazine articles constitutes a breach of copyright and I am pretty sure SP will be leaving themselves open to legal action if they do not edit/delete Demonhunters post