DSL or Cable.

My dad may be forcibly switching us to DSL instead of Cable and I was wondering what the downsides/upsides are to dsl over cable.

from http://www.satelliteinsight.com/dsl.html

DSL And Cable Comparison


Advantages

DSL

• DSL is cheaper than cable internet service!

• Always-On Internet Connection 24/7. No dial up. No busy signals.

• Connection is unique and speed is not affected by the number of users on- line at the same time. DSL speed stays consistent.

• Upload speed is comparable to cable. One study indicated that dsl is faster than cable modem service.*

• Customers can dial up services remotely when travelling.

• Optional Static IP address supports server hosting for gaming, home office users, and telecommuters.

• Surf the internet and talk on the phone at the same time.


* Based on a month-long benchmarking study by Keynote Systems, DSL was found to be 11% faster than cable modems.



Cable

• Always-On Internet Connection 24/7. No dial up. No busy signals.

• You can browse the Net, watch cable TV, and be on the phone at the same time.

• Downloads up to 100x faster than a 28.8K modem; however, typical speeds tend to be much lower than the maximum. Speed potential is greater.

• Cable provides bundled discounts for TV, Internet, and telephone services.

• &nbspCable offers a much wider service area.




Disadvantages


DSL

• Only as reliable as your phone line. Service may be subject to interruption by &nbspsevere weather.

• Service is currently limited to an area within close proximity of local telephone &nbspfacilities. (18,000 feet or a little over 3 miles)



Cable

• Service can be affected by the weather and reliability can be an issue.

• Shared bandwidth causes speed slowdowns especially during periods of peak demand. The more users on the system at the same time, the slower the connection speed.

• Shared bandwidth technology exposes users to privacy concerns.

• Dynamic IP address does not support server hosting for web site, e-mail or gaming.


Keep in mind that no service is perfect. Cable offers greater speed potential; dsl offers an individual Internet connection with more consistent high speed and a greater measure of privacy and security.


Additional features, such as firewall protection, spam blocking software and anti-virus software make dsl a popular choice for new subscribers. The bottom line is ...


DSL is cheaper than cable.


While neither service guarantees download speed for residential service, dsl presently gives you more benefits than cable. Accordingly, it represents the best overall value for high speed internet service today.

Cable > DSL by general rule. DSL tends to be a pain, and slower.

I have DSL and it is perfectly fine. No problems, always fast. Look at my earlier post, it depends on how close you are to the service station.

Just talking about the experience I and other people I know have. DSL is about half the speed, and stuff like logging on is stupid and annoying.

I second that. I have had both. Cable > DSL

Are you a moron, you can set it so it never disconnects. It's so easy. Everyone around here has DSL since its a hell of a lot better than the cable service.

It depends on the area and how close you are to the service station too.

The DSL is better where I live because it is cheaper than the cable. I don't know why but the cable company in this area caps it to a really low download speed compared to all the other cities with the same cable company. My DSL doesn't have to log in either and I have had only one mess up, but I just replugged and it worked again unlike all the times my cable screwed up.

Actually DSL doesn't require you to logon. You can also get the same download speeds as Cable as for about 1/2 the price. The ONLY difference generally is the Upload speeds, in which cable will be somewhat higher.

There is nothing wrong with DSL, it's also alot cheaper than most cable plans.

Cable here, and it works great for me. DSL was never an option, however, seeing as how I don't live close enough to a station.

I have DSL and I never have to log on or anything like that, it's always connected. The only problem I ever had with it was connectivity problems but that's just because I needed to have a static IP address and my wireless router was fucking things up. I'd say DSL is very reliable.

DSL have better connectivity than cable does in big storms, unless they both go out. I've had both at one point or another, and DSL has prevailed.

Only time my DSL service has gone out was just recently when the power went out for about an hour at my ISP. No power for them means no internet for me.

That's an exception, like when mine went out for 3 days when our house got butt raped by the hurricanes.

I've never researched into dsl so I know so little .

Do they have wireless DSL routers? I'm sure they do just making sure.

Thanks for your imputs.

Yes they do.

Cable and DSL are around the same price here. Cable usually has a higher max, but you wont really ever get that because the whole neighbourhood is connected at the same cable station and "share" the speed. With DSL you always get the max. We dont have to worry about bad weather either...I never even knew that that could effect your connection :S. Cable usually also has a higher upload speed, but you shouldnt worry about that, it will be enough since im assuming your just using it do download, game and surf the net. I suggest you just choose one which is reliable and has good service. (ask other people)

Whichever is better depends on the area.

If you live in an area where there is good cable, but most of the people are computer illiterate and probably won't spend their evenings downloading the latest episode of Bubble Gum Desire Tentacle Rape Ninja anime, then cable is the best. Otherwise, you better get DSL.

For example, DSL might be better for the west coast, and cable might be better for the redneck South.

lol, during a huge snow storm at the endof November, power was out for three days. My dad had a generator so i hooked it up to my comp and surfed the net.