Switching to DSL

I'm switching to DSL and wanted some input. I'm currently on cable broadband but it is $55 a month and I'm trying to cut costs. The MSN Broadband DSL is only $26.99/month but it isn't the really fast one. It's 256 I think. I'm wondering if it's going to be a lot slower where I'll notice a difference. I could get the 1.5 mbps for $39.99 but I'm thinking I'll wait and see if the 256 performs well enough. Can anyone give me any words of wisdom?

Broadband speed I believe fluctuates while DSL speed is more fixed and certain. I use to have a 3 mbps and that was fast. Pages load in an instant. Faster than a cat's response to you taking out a can of cat food. But my current place does not support the 3mbps (sigh). I think the 256 one might be a bit slow. At least personally that is what I feel.

We have SBC Yahoo DSL, It is much faster with dial-up, but we have laptops now that are wireless (they are DLINK brand) I don't know if it is D-link or SBC, but one of them makes us lose connection A LOT! We also have to reconnect the whole computer at least once a week, which is very annoying and time consuming. But with all that I would still never get anything other then DSL, it is awesome, I haven't tried broadband but I am not up to paying that much! lol, I have no clue if I said anything that really matters, it is almost 11pm and I am tired..lol

Originally posted by chixyb
We have SBC Yahoo DSL, It is much faster with dial-up, but we have laptops now that are wireless (they are DLINK brand) I don't know if it is D-link or SBC, but one of them makes us lose connection A LOT! We also have to reconnect the whole computer at least once a week, which is very annoying and time consuming. But with all that I would still never get anything other then DSL, it is awesome, I haven't tried broadband but I am not up to paying that much! lol, I have no clue if I said anything that really matters, it is almost 11pm and I am tired..lol

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Yeah, I don't think I could ever go back to dial up! I've had my cable broadband for about 2 years and have loved it. I just don't have any experience with DSL broadband. I guess I wll now! When Comcast bought out AT&T broadband they promised the rates would stay the same. Then all of a sudden I noticed my bills went from $35 to $55! WOWZER!! I've been paying that too long. Even if I go to the faster DSL speed I'd be saving $15/month. But I'm going to give the 256 speed a try!

Personally, I don't notice much difference between them. I've had Earthlink DSL, then I went to Comcast Cable, and now I'm on SBC Yahoo DSL. I noticed a little bit of slow times on the cable. Usually with DSL, I don't notice that, but on the whole, I think they are pretty similar.

As I understand it, the difference is not so much between service providers as between [a] dial-up cable [c] DSL, i.e. the type of service. We all know about dial-up, I won't bother with that.

The difference between cable and DSL is that with cable, you share a connection with sometimes as many as 300 other subscribers -- it's like a party line -- whereas with DSL, the connection is yours alone.

If traffic is not heavy, you won't notice any difference -- or not a significant one anyway -- between these two types of service. When it will make a difference is at peak times, when all your neighbours are using the connection too. The total capacity doesn't change, but now it's being shared. If you're on DSL, it doesn't matter how many other subscribers are online at the same time, because they're not on YOUR line.

Bottom line: If you're in an area where the number of subscribers on one cable connection is low, your performance probably won't take a hit. If you don't use your connection at peak times, your performance probably won't take a hit. If either or both of these issues is pertinent to your situation, you're likely better off with DSL, and any DSL is significantly faster than dial-up.

For what it's worth. Good luck.

Broadband became available in our area in November. I can't find the leaflets with the details, but we pay €16 (add about 24% for dollar prices) for DSL to the phone company - Deutsche Telekom, and €9.90 to AOL for 3000 MB - so far I haven't managed to use much over 1000 MB per month. The monthly price paid to Deutsche Telekom is supposed to go down. DSL is much faster, and you can watch video clips or view music videos at no extra cost.

I got my DSL hooked up finally. It's not too bad. I have noticed it's a little bit slower (then the cable broadband)to download large files or music. But that's about it. I think I can live with it!

I have had DSL for the last couple of years, it's fast, and I like it a lot better than dial-up which is what I had before. I have to say this...the only time I ever notice any slowness is when I'm here at TCS, and some days the site is faster than on other days. I don't know if anyone else with DSL has noticed this.

Originally posted by Lorie D.
I have had DSL for the last couple of years, it's fast, and I like it a lot better than dial-up which is what I had before. I have to say this...the only time I ever notice any slowness is when I'm here at TCS, and some days the site is faster than on other days. I don't know if anyone else with DSL has noticed this.

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I live in a different time zone (6 hours ahead of EST), but I have noticed it. When I try to access German forums on the weekend, I find I often get "thrown out", so "when" you access a particular site plays a big role, regardless of whether you have DSL or dial up.

I also frequently have trouble with TCS being slow and sometimes not even being able to access it. I think it's the server it's on. Maybe a heavy traffic time or something?