Cable or dsl??

sharky

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I have had cable internet for about three years , it has gone up form 19.99 to 45.99.. The phone company has DSL for 14.99 a month.... Is there a huge speed difference?? I use the computer for work and personal stuff so I spend about 30 hours a week online....

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fonzi

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I have cable also and love it!! I hear cable is alot faster than DSL, but I'm sure it's just as good. My sister is going to get Yahoo DSL..
 

sweetiecat3

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Oops, I accidently voted DSL because I thought it was better--that's what we have. But I've heard cable is much faster, so if the cost isn't TOO much of a problem for you, I'd stick with the cable Internet.
 

rapunzel47

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I gather the main difference between cable and DSL is that with DSL you have a line to yourself, whereas with cable, you share a connection with other subscribers. If you're old enough to remember when phone lines were party lines, that's a parallel of sorts.

Two possible drawbacks of that scenario are: variable speed, depending on how many other subscribers there are and how many of them are on line at the same time; and the security issues resulting from the fact that you are essentially sharing a network with all those people.

Computer security being what it is, there are ways of protecting yourself, of course, and if you are using the connection at times other than heavy traffic times, you won't have much impact from sharing the connection. But those are the issues that keep us with DSL, and we've found the speed to be more than acceptable.
 

purr

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Originally Posted by rapunzel47

I gather the main difference between cable and DSL is that with DSL you have a line to yourself, whereas with cable, you share a connection with other subscribers. If you're old enough to remember when phone lines were party lines, that's a parallel of sorts.

Two possible drawbacks of that scenario are: variable speed, depending on how many other subscribers there are and how many of them are on line at the same time; and the security issues resulting from the fact that you are essentially sharing a network with all those people.

Computer security being what it is, there are ways of protecting yourself, of course, and if you are using the connection at times other than heavy traffic times, you won't have much impact from sharing the connection. But those are the issues that keep us with DSL, and we've found the speed to be more than acceptable.
That is pretty much what my roommate has told me before, and he is CTO at an ISP.
 

MoochNNoodles

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Originally Posted by rapunzel47

I gather the main difference between cable and DSL is that with DSL you have a line to yourself, whereas with cable, you share a connection with other subscribers. If you're old enough to remember when phone lines were party lines, that's a parallel of sorts.

Two possible drawbacks of that scenario are: variable speed, depending on how many other subscribers there are and how many of them are on line at the same time; and the security issues resulting from the fact that you are essentially sharing a network with all those people.

Computer security being what it is, there are ways of protecting yourself, of course, and if you are using the connection at times other than heavy traffic times, you won't have much impact from sharing the connection. But those are the issues that keep us with DSL, and we've found the speed to be more than acceptable.
I thought it was the other way around, that you share DSL lines? As far as DSL we were unable to get it becasue there were too many other subscribers in our area they said. I've used DSL and I currently have Cable. I love my cable internet, it is much faster and I do spend a lot of time online. I don't think I can ever go back! Most certainly not to dial up. I love pictures so I must have a fast connection! Plus it keeps me working more efficiently!
 

yasmine

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Before i moved and had to get DIAL UP
i had cable and loved it...my my mom has yahoo DSL and i dont see a BIG difference...i'd go with the one that fit your budget!
 

kai bengals

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I live out in the country, the sticks, the boondocks, I need binoculars to see my neighbors, our mailman drives his own jeep wrangler to deliver our mail, racoons and deer think we're intruding on their space., so.......I have a satelite dish for internet...it's ok...not the fastest. Somewhere between dial-up and cable.
 
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sharky

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Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

I live out in the country, the sticks, the boondocks, I need binoculars to see my neighbors, our mailman drives his own jeep wrangler to deliver our mail, racoons and deer think we're intruding on their space., so.......I have a satelite dish for internet...it's ok...not the fastest. Somewhere between dial-up and cable.
I live five minutes from the sticks
..


Thank you I think I will give DSL a try , consistant service is likely better than my cable out 2 days a month and certain times of day feeling like dial up..
 

fwan

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I have high speed DSL, i dont think they have cable here, but i presume there isnt such a big differece?
 

stinkyandrambo

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We had ADSL for 3 years , then last week we switched to high speed cable internet ( our cable has 3 tiers for cable internet ) . I've been clocking our speeds over the last few days and we are roughly 35-50 % faster than ADSL that we had before . We told our local phone company to "shove their services " where the moon don't shine . Our average monthly bills were 160 for cable , net , phone and long distance calling . As of Dec 1 our cable service is included in our rent so we switched and are going with a voip telephone . We'll be spending less than 60 for everything now .
 
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sharky

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Originally Posted by stinkyandrambo

We had ADSL for 3 years , then last week we switched to high speed cable internet ( our cable has 3 tiers for cable internet ) . I've been clocking our speeds over the last few days and we are roughly 35-50 % faster than ADSL that we had before . We told our local phone company to "shove their services " where the moon don't shine . Our average monthly bills were 160 for cable , net , phone and long distance calling . As of Dec 1 our cable service is included in our rent so we switched and are going with a voip telephone . We'll be spending less than 60 for everything now .
wow that different , which tier are you on... I am currently on the middle teir cable
 

stinkyandrambo

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Originally Posted by sharky

wow that different , which tier are you on... I am currently on the middle teir cable
We are on the Middle too , I had a minor issue the other day so we had a service tech in and he did something and now we are surfing faster way faster than ADSL
. Telus rates are alittle pricy
for us when compared to other companys .
i've been testing our speeds here http://myspeed.visualware.com/
our best speeds have been around the 4.8 MBPS (download ) and Uploading around 1.5-2.5 MBPS
 

eburgess

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My parents have cable but I liked DSL better it was at my apartment
 

dazeemazeegraze

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Originally Posted by sharky

I have had cable internet for about three years , it has gone up form 19.99 to 45.99.. The phone company has DSL for 14.99 a month.... Is there a huge speed difference?? I use the computer for work and personal stuff so I spend about 30 hours a week online....

Help if you can
That's a big increase - did the cable company switch you to a higher tier?

Are there conditions with the phone company DSL offer like paying for the whole year in advance, or the rate is only good for 3 months and then it goes to a higher amount. Do you have to have other products to get the offer?

If not, you could always try the DSL and if you don't like it switch back to cable.
 
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