Joined: 16 Mar 2007
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Posts: 114
Topic: Which is better, Cable or DSL? Posted: 05 Apr 2007 at 12:24pm
Unless you’re unfortunate and live in a remote or very rural area, you’ve
probably considered switching over from that lousy slow dial-up connection to a
high-speed broadband service. You’re given the choice of DSL or Cable – but which
is better?
Speed Despite
what many may say, there isn’t a clear winner. DSL provides users a choice of
speeds ranging from 144 Kbps to 7 Mbps. Cable modems are generally faster than
a DSL connection, although the reason there isn’t a clear winner is because
cable technology uses shared bandwidth, with a variety of factors effecting a
users download speed. Cable connection speeds will constantly fluctuate
depending on the amount of users on the network. DSL provides a dedicated
connection, thus giving you a much more constant speed. This is one of the
reasons you won’t see cable Internet service providers offering information on
their speed. For upload side of things, cable and DSL are closely matched for
speed. Both Internet services are largely dependant on the provider for speed, for
DSL, it’s how far away you are from the provider, for cable, its how many
subscribers are in your immediate area. The answer to the speed question is
more dependant on the users location than the type of connection.
Networking & Security Dsl and
Cable Internet service can both easily be shared with other computers on your
home local area network through a router or an ethernet hub. It’s necessary to
check with your Internet service provider before sharing your broadband
connection with other computers to ensure it doesn’t violate your Terms of Service
agreement. Since cable connections are shared with all the subscribers in your
area, it is necessary to take the proper security measures, such as firewalls; else
your connection could be at risk. The overall security of DSL is much stronger
than cable due to the fact it’s a dedicated connection to the provider and is less
likely to get interference from threats. Although, you’re never safe without
the proper software or hardware to protect your system.
Price There’s no standard price
for DSL or cable Internet service. It all depends on how much competition there
is for broadband services in your area. For instance, DSL costs in my area were
quite high, but once cable Internet became available the price of DSL dropped. Both
options will generally charge you a one-time set-up fee. With cable you could expect
to pay roughly $30 to $100, while DSL installation usually will run you around
$100, unless you purchase a do-it-yourself kit. Once the installation is complete,
you can generally expect to pay your Internet service bill on a monthly basis. The
costs of both services are usually very close though averaging around $30 to $45.
Although some DSL services, such as AT&T Yahoo DSL will offer it’s a DSL service
starting at $15/mo. Usually if you live in an area where both cable and DSL are
available you can expect a better deal. It’s also important to check with the
service provider for discounts on bundled services. For example most cable
companies will offer TV and Internet service at a discounted price.
Well, I am currently usin comcast cable and my next door neighbor is on qwest dsl. He's gettin at best 150kb/s download speeds and I've gotten up to 800KB on cable.
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Topic: Which is better, Cable or DSL?
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