Cable Vs DSL

Tyrannosaur · **on:** August 09, 2009, 05:33:14 AM

so recently i decided to get rid of my cable internet as it was always crashing.

i have used both before with moderate success, and i have come across the following statements regarding the 2:

Cable: Pros - much faster than any DSL line. modem automatically configures itself. Con - shared connection; the more people on at once, the slower everything gets. kind of unstable; the connection can drop at random, and the speed is rarely consistent.

DSL: Pros - very stable and consistent connection. single line for each house; only you are using it. Con - typically alot slower than equivalent cable service. modem has to be manually configured. tied into phone system; if exchange box in your area dies, so does your net (not sure on this one).

those are my views on it. there are probably other points about both of them that ive missed out though. please post your comments and views on each.

CONCLUSION:

DSL wins. reason being, for me, is the connection is tons more stable. the bandwidth is more consistent, so the speed isnt going to fluctuate as much.

Cable is nice and fast, but for me, doesnt really have anything else going for it. for most though ,the speed is what draws them into getting cable over DSL when they have the choice.

what do you reckon?

.

Petrie. · **Reply #1 on:** August 09, 2009, 08:20:56 AM

Most people don't get a choice where they live. I had one choice, and its cable. I've had only one outage since I got it. I'm happy with the service despite the provider's monopoly on the area.

action9000 · **Reply #2 on:** August 09, 2009, 12:40:16 PM

I get a choice here but the DSL service isn't nearly as fast as cable here, even at peak times on the cable line.

I have cable myself (used to be on DSL) and aside from technical problems (which were just as bad on DSL as on cable), I find cable to be a lot more bang for my buck, especially since the services are the same price here and I get about 6x the bandwidth on the cable provider.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #3 on:** August 09, 2009, 12:40:23 PM

If your cable was crashing it must've been your modem or your ISP (or your computer of course). I run a server off a cable modem and I don't have any problems. I need a stable connection and cable always delivers it. I know what you mean though. Back in Washington on Camano Island the only cable provider was Wave Broadband. It totally sucked! Dropped out like twice per day.

I got a new modem several times and it didn't do anything. Comcast is great except for the bandwidth limit. I'd get that if it's in your area. DLS is sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

Kor · **Reply #4 on:** August 09, 2009, 12:57:04 PM

I use dsl and my speed does fluctuate with a reduction in speed at times, with a 50/50 chance of it going back to full speed if I shut the pc down and turn off the modem for a few minutes then try rebooting. Often I don't notice this unless I'm downloading something.

I use to have cable internet but it was way more then the dsl I use now and since I'm not downloading a huge amount anymore I don't need the speed of cable.

Tyrannosaur · **Reply #5 on:** August 10, 2009, 06:39:13 AM

Quote from: landbeforetimelover,Aug 9 2009 on 08:40 AM

If your cable was crashing it must've been your modem or your ISP (or your computer of course). I run a server off a cable modem and I don't have any problems. I need a stable connection and cable always delivers it. I know what you mean though. Back in Washington on Camano Island the only cable provider was Wave Broadband. It totally sucked! Dropped out like twice per day. I got a new modem several times and it didn't do anything. Comcast is great except for the bandwidth limit. I'd get that if it's in your area. DLS is sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

yeah. i think it was my ISP.

its strange though, the actual internet would stay connected on the modem, but no DNS servers could be reached. this would happen quite alot too. and without DNS servers, you cant access anything on the internet

lbt/cty_lover · **Reply #6 on:** August 10, 2009, 07:29:35 AM

I personally want to go fiber-optic, but as of now, I'm stuck with cable. From what I've heard, though, DSL in my area is really slow. So for me, cable wins.

Petrie. · **Reply #7 on:** August 10, 2009, 06:22:52 PM

Heh, you must be in a real techie place to even have fiber-optic as an option.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #8 on:** August 10, 2009, 06:32:17 PM

Comcast can get you up to 150mbps. I can't imagine needing more than that anytime soon.