KimRaye, sorry to join this thread so late, but I will tell you that I have SBC service and am quite happy with it. That being said, one of the differences between Cable and DSL is that with the DSL you can get a guaranteed bandwidth. I have a different connection than most (I actually have commercial DSL service). I started with Earthlink, they used COVAD, and I was as far away from the CO as possible without being in the next CO's area (I flunked all of the DSL speed tests) They sold me an IDSL line.
(what most people mean by DSL is ADSL..Up and downloads are at different speeds. Commercial people generally want SDSL...Up and downloads going the same speed IDSL is an ISDN line over a DSL line so you bypass some of the distance problems) I was quite happy with my connection until SBC told me that they could more than quadruple my bandwidth (The located an R-HOP, or remote CO a block away from my house). DW thinks that Earthlink was faster, and I think they were a "Tier 1 provider" but the downloads work great.
As my good and dear friend Alex told you, service really does depend on your area, and as an addition, since the DSL can guarantee bandwidth, you won't have a total slowdown.
IloveDMB, Some people on this thread say a firewall slows you down; I would preface that with it depends on the firewall. I would strongly urge anyone on a cable modem or DSL to have a firewall. At the very least you need a router that runs NAT (Native Address Translation) If you are looking into wireless, linksys makes a broadband router that plugs unto your cable modem/DSL modem, and has a built in 802.11G WYFI access point (if you already have a router or a real firewall then all you need is the access point, but they are both $99 and CompUsa for your choice.) the 802.11G will work with the 802.11B card that is probably in your laptop, and will support the newer higher speeds as well. they come with great documentation; it took all of 20 minutes for me to get mine hooked up, and DW likes to watch QVC and check prices while they are having their scrap booking events, and she doesn't need a phone cord...)
PM me if you want more information; I can tell you that firewalls like Black-Ice that sit in the computer are not nearly as effective as a separate box, Many people call a router a firewall because it changes your internet address to a local address thus making it more difficult to hack into your system.
Sorry for the rambling, 3 other quick things, Get a good Virus Scan program that updates every day. Run a program to remove Ad-Ware (like Gator that Kazaa installs) I use Adware by
www.lavasoft.de it is free, doesn't do the best job against the biggies like Gator, but will really speed up most systems. Do a system cleanup to get rid of temporary files and run a Defrag...Again, PM me for More detailed instructions...
end of rant....
Clap, Clap, Clap!
my line and, see if it's viable for their service. Very 
Any more opinions?
I briefly checked the site and, Covad & DirecTv are definately out. ATT also offers DSL, which surprises me since they were the ones that sold the cable business to Comcast .... anyway....
