dsl internet

anyone know the pros and cons of dsl? right now...we have a cable modem/internet, but recently got direct tv and were thinking of dumping the cable company altogether and going dsl. im know it involves a phone line...which we'd have to have installed...but that is about all i know about it.

 

I had it in my last apartment and it worked well. I don't know all the technical comparisons behind it but it was quick and reliable (which I'm sure depends on where you live). It was explained to me like this: DSL depends on how far you are away from the source. If you're at the end of the line, you're going to have crappy service. If you live in a city, or heavily populated area, chances are your DSL will be pretty quick. Cable or fiber optics apparently don't work that. I had a phone line installed when I had DSL but never actually had a phone attached to it, just the DSL (not sure if it mattered cost-wise or not). I've got that Fios crap now and I didn't notice any difference going from DSL to that.

 

I recently dumped Comcast TV/Internet in favor of AT&T Netflix/DSL and couldn't be happier. The telephone company turned the line on outside and I had to wire up a jack in my house. The rest was just plug and play.

Another thing to think about, I got an overall lower price for DSL by bundling it with home phone service. That said, I've never hooked up a phone to it .

 

I had DSL in my apartment as well and I had no complaints. I know AT&T though now has the ability to give you DSL and not a phone line if you don't need it. Runs over the same lines but they only send the internet signal and not dial tone.

 

isnt dsl slower then cable? also Fios is supposed to be faster then dsl or cable. true or not?

 

Nothin wrong with DSL nowadays. Gettin 4500k vs 6000k from comcast so 1/3 of a blink of an eye slower, big deal. Not gaming or downloading autocad files so whatever, comcast cust service sucks way worse than ddm tuning, lol..........

 

thats one of the concerns we are having is the speed of it...cause i do remember how slow dial up was/is. but...we live in the city, so im thinking it shouldnt be a problem.

 

I currently have DSL with AT&T and it works well. I have had cable and fiber optic (FIOS) before and can't really tell the difference.

 

DSL vs Cable is debatable and depends on where you're doing the comparison. In the city DSL is pretty quick, if you get out to the country the speed falls off the further you get away from their source.

I think Fios is BS personally. The fiber optic cable coming into the house may be extremely fast and efficient, but then it uses all the standard connections from the street to the house. Normal cables don't carry information like fiber optics so doubt it's realistically any faster.

All that being said, it depends on what you're using it for. I've never noticed a difference between Fios, DSL or cable but I don't do online gaming or download massive amounts of information. Keep in mine where you're located also and who's local. I lived in Richmond and Comcast's customer service was great. Up here in Boston it was horrible. Verizon's customer service sucks no matter where you go, but once you're up and running you don't really need them for much.

 

My husband and I have been running DSL (Verizon) for years. I know nothing about it...other than its been flawless for us. It's pretty fast - although, probably not as fast as your cable connection would be). For basic internet browsing and uploading/downloading....it works fine for us.

And....you can talk on the phone while being online, which is nice.

DSL will definately be much faster than dial up!! We just converted my mother-in-law from dialup to DSL and she LOVES it.

 

Unless you are an ultra-hardcore online gamer you won't notice a difference anywhere except your pocket.

Had both, once a month or less I'll notice a web page takes literally a second or two more to load. 99.9% of the time you will notice no difference. Save the money. Go DSL.

 

I have DSL with ATT and it has been solid and fast for years. The closer you are to the Telco (switch building), the better, or at least that used to be the standard wisdom. I am about 1 block away.

This site is great for researching providers/satisfaction specific to your area.

http://www.dslreports.com/tweaks/

 

I work for a telecommunications company and we offer both cable and DSL

DSL is a lot slower than cable speeds.....but other than that....it's fast enough for day to day internet usage.

And if you have a land line telephone.....you'll have to put filters on all your phones.....they just plug inline with your telephone cables.

 

yeah, the only phones we have nowadays are our cells. i'd have to get a phone line installed here if we decide to go dsl.