Cable modem vs DSL

[ToyStory Fan]

hey everyone,

I'm moving to a new home soon and DSL will be available there. I was getting tired of dial up anyway, but had only researched cable since that's all that was available at my current home. SO I am being lazy and asking for any insight you can give me on the Cable vs. DSL issue. Thanks!

 

[Towncrier]

We've had cable modem for a couple of years. DSL was not available in our neighborhood until recently. My neighbor opted for DSL and has had constant problems with his service. This may not always be the case, but I am glad that I haven't had to deal with the problems that he has.

The one advantage of DSL over cable is that with cable modems, you are sharing bandwidth (download speed) with all of your neighbors. With DSL, your aren't sharing your connection with anyone else.

 

[Disneymoon04]

I've had both and can honestly say I didn't notice a difference in service and DSL was a few dollars more. However, if Comcast is the only cable provider in your area - AVOID AT ALL COSTS! They are absolutely horrible! I've even thought of going back to dial up - THAT'S how bad they are.

 

[doxdogy]

We had cable before we had DSL. When it was first installed it was great. Then as more and more people signed on, the speed slowed down. During the weekdays it was great. But, then come about 6:00 in the evening and it slowed down to almost a crawl sometimes. We had frequent outages too. This was through Mediaone, which became AT&T and is now Comcast.

 

[Sonya]

It's been the opposite for me, we had DSL 1st and it was down more than it was up. After a year of messing with the phone co. we switched to Comcast cable. It has been wonderful, just a few outages.

 

[Grog]

I've had both. I had DSL for a couple of years and it was very unreliable. It would only go out for a few seconds when it went out, but it would go out about a dozen times a day. Typically this would happen when I was trying to download something. I've had Cable now (through Roadrunner) for about a year and a half and love it. It's had the odd day here and there where it might go out for a few hours, but I can count the number of times on one hand. Whenever the problem has been on my end, their tech support has been able to talk me through fixing very easily. Also, my Download speeds are almost twice as fast with cable than DSL.

 

[SuiteDisney]

Originally posted by Disneymoon04
I've had both and can honestly say I didn't notice a difference in service and DSL was a few dollars more. However, if Comcast is the only cable provider in your area - AVOID AT ALL COSTS! They are absolutely horrible! I've even thought of going back to dial up - THAT'S how bad they are.

I've had Comcast cable hookup for over a year and a half and I've never had a problem.

 

[ncligs]

We also have cable modem (RoadRunner), have had it for 2 years and I can count on 2 fingers how many times it was down. And even then it was only for 1-2 hours max.

 

[janette]

The only reviews that count are those of your neighbors. We have DSL, very few problems. I know people that have had DSL & Cable and been unhappy, switched and love the other service, this is within the same metroplex. The area seems to make a big difference, the only ones that can give you a good idea of what to expect are the people in your neighborhood.

 

[house_of_princesses]

Had 3 or 4 dial up servers. Slow, inconsistent, disconnects. I now have Comcast DSL and so far haven't had a problem. It may be me, but it seems to be a tad slower than AT&T (pre-merger) at times.

 

[skuttle]

We've had both. We've had DSL for over a year now and never had one problem. We switched to DSL from Cable b/c we HATE our cable company! We didn't want to give them any more business than we had to.

 

[cart-mom]

I work on a Helpdesk providing tech support for my company which uses VPN. Long story short, I get lots of calls about different ISP's.
The one that causes the least problems and provides the most dedicated service is cable modem or high speed access. DSL is not as fast as high speed cable. Also, cable modem high speed generally has minimal down time. Unless there is a major storm problem in your area, service is usually restored very quickly i it should go out.

One other tip is that DSL in most areas is actually more expensive than cable modem high speed. I use Comcast at 42.95@month and DSL in my area is over $120@mo.

I hope this helps with your decision. Good luck on your move.

 

[swatts1]

Hey Skuttle, Your reply could have been mine! We got cable modem a few years ago when DSL wasn't available. It was just fine but the MOMENT that DSL was offered we switched so that we could deal less with the cable people. We are switching all TVs in our house to Direct TV and will only have the lifeline cable so that our dealing with them are as little as possible.

 

[RoutemanDan]

I'll take cable over DSL any day.I also have comcast and only had it go down twice in a year and a half.

 

[Ted and Holly]

Originally posted by janette
The only reviews that count are those of your neighbors. We have DSL, very few problems. I know people that have had DSL & Cable and been unhappy, switched and love the other service, this is within the same metroplex. The area seems to make a big difference, the only ones that can give you a good idea of what to expect are the people in your neighborhood.

I agree with Janette. The only comparison you can really do are of the reviews of the people living in the area you are moving to.

Cable does have a disadvantage as you are "sharing" bandwidth with others on your node. DSL is slightly different. Cable usually has a higher quoted bandwidth rating than DSL for a comperable price.

I have DSL now. This is due to the fact that it was available 3 years before cable was. We are moving soon and I am signed up for cable. I know a couple people in the area that I am moving to that have cable and work out of their house. It works well for them.

Ted

 

[dianeschlicht]

WE have had cable modem from Mediacom for over 2 years now, and have only had minimal down time when the whole cable has been interupted. Once was a couple weeks ago when the entire network was down for 2 days! ARGH! That was awful! No internet OR TV for that long!

We will soon be moving to our new log home, and I know cable is not available there. There is some information that DSL might be by the time we move in. If not, I am wondering if anyone has satlite through Direct TV? Does this work for internet?