Stupid question time

[Vick]

Can someone please give me a rough idea in the upload, download and overall speed difference between DSL and cable modem?

Please put it in laymen terms as much as possible

I've had Comast cable modem for the past 7 years and know that using a regular dial up through AOL drives me nuts when I'm traveling

Sort of getting tired of some of the nonsense Comcast is doing here and am considering switching to DSL if there is not a huge difference

Much thanks for any help or input

[Inabon]

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/dslvsca...l/aa111200a.htm (http://compnetworking.about.com/od/dslvscablemodem/l/aa111200a.htm)


thats a good source for info.


my 2 cents. dsl runs on phonelines which are used also for voice therefore tend to be more oversold than cable where you only get video to each house. video runs in different frequencies on cable than data on dsl is the same however with voice over ip you are basically using the same bandwidth.


very easy laymans

dsl oversold more than cable

cable has its disadvantages too depending on the medium they use to transfer data from optic fiber to copper wire tends to have loss however overselling that is a bit lower.


take all this in to consideration and add 1 more variable upload and download speed.

if they are giving you asynchronous (which is a new trend in cable modem) where they give you more download than upload that means there is a pretty good chance they are overselling too. not sure about DSL however ADSL and DSL are basically the same the difference is that ADSL is giving you different upload and download capacities.

in my experience they both suck at least for office work. for house work cable is good. like it more than dsl.

[DrGuile]

Very simple answer is that it varies.

Ask what speed they offer, do the same for your cable.


also http://www.dslreports.com/

[Cleo]

Upload speed of cable is usually much higher. I do a lot of FTPing to my servers so this is a big deal.

This is another good site to check around at.
http://www.broadbandreports.com/

I have Satellite for TV but keep basic cable with my cable modem for a backup, like during a hurricane.

I have been thinking of also getting cheap DSL for a backup in case my cable goes down.

When I'm on the road I find a place with WiFi like the hotel I'm in or a coffee shop.

What is this thing called dialup?

[Inabon]

one more note the report states that DSL gives you dedicated bandwidth ermn yeah thats what they advertise but when you go in to the heart of the internet serving operation of a phone company like i have you know it is BS.


Right cable and wireless :)

anyways good luck. i got fiber to my office from a local provider and i have not had any problems since then.

and ofcoz our datacenter has fiber duh LOL

[Vick]

Wow
Much thanks to everyone for their help

Looks like I have a few things to read over

Obviously the upload speed is a critical to me

[TheEnforcer]

I love my cable modem through time warener and earthlink. My sister has DSL and I don't like it at all.

[Mike AI]

Cable is normally always superior to DSL.

[sharky]

Originally posted by Mike AI@Apr 27 2005, 02:43 PM
Cable is normally always superior to DSL.
On download speeds you are right! However Uploads are a whole other story!

I have both in my house! lol. You never know when someone will cut a cable or phone line!

[Trev]

I've got the new 2Mb ADSL from BT and it rocks...


Not much help to you as I'm in the UK but I thought I'd pipe in :)

[RyanLanane]

Thought I heard something vague about a possible new 5 MBPS Dsl service coming out... Out Cable Provider jsut kicked from 2 to 3 or 3 to 4 M/S download - saying nothing about upstream speeds...

[Inabon]

down here in panama i have seen adsl as big as 8 mbits down and 3 up

however thats on low hours or since you are the one using it you catch the BW before all other fuckers do.

i love fiber :)

[Hell Puppy]

Speed is a question of money.

For base residential service, cable will usually be faster. However, if you're willing to drop some extra money on it, you can buy faster DSL, whereas cable typically tops out.

I have both cable and dsl. In practice i've found DSL to be much more reliable. DSL is a dedicated connection all the way back to the telco switch. With cable, you're sharing the head end with the rest of the neighborhood.

If you have cable TV service, cable will typically provide the best bang for the buck. Bottom line, shop what's available in your area, buy the one who'll bring you the most speed for the least money, everything else is a wash.