Cable internet vs. DSL

[RichManitoba]

I'm thinking about looking into bundling my DirecTV with the new AT&T "merger" for internet. I currently have Charter with 60 mbps. It looks like the fastest AT&T DSL is 6 mbps. I'm not a gamer. I do the usual stuff on line. Searching, YouTube, etc. If the price is right, would I notice a significant drop in performance? That's a huge drop from 60 to 6.

Thanks.

 

[king3pj]

I'm thinking about looking into bundling my DirecTV with the new AT&T "merger" for internet. I currently have Charter with 60 mbps. It looks like the fastest AT&T DSL is 6 mbps. I'm not a gamer. I do the usual stuff on line. Searching, YouTube, etc. If the price is right, would I notice a significant drop in performance? That's a huge drop from 60 to 6.

Thanks.

As you have shown with the numbers you posted cable internet is usually much better than DSL. If all you are doing is browsing the web and watching youtube you probably won't notice much difference.

If you rely on streaming video services like Netflix a lot it wouldn't be a good idea though. 6Mbps is enough for 1 Netflix HD stream but DSL users often don't get their full advertised speeds depending on how far you live from the node. Also if you have other people in the house doing stuff on the internet at the same time as you are trying to stream something they might take up enough bandwidth to bump you down from the HD streams.

I personally couldn't do it because I stream a lot of video and download large video games from the internet. It sounds like it might be possible for your typical usage though.

 

[primestar31]

I've had DSL and I now have Charter 60meg service. There's NO comparison! Charters service is FAR BETTER in every way!

You can try for yourself, but I'll bet you'll end up switching back.

 

[EarDemon]

You'd be going back 10 years if you switched to DSL. DSL is really a dead technology and is the new dial up. With VDSL and bonding, a few areas are catching up to cable, but once DOCSIS3.1 is available and implemented there will be no comparison, DSL won't even be in the same galaxy as cable. You also have to take into account, not just how far you are from your local CO, but the quality of the lines. I live in Verizon territory, but this applies to DSL as a whole. My aunt went from AOL dial up to 1Mb DSL probably about 5 years ago. It's a rural area that was previously not serviceable due to distance but now is thanks to remote terminals. She got hooked up and all was well, then she kept complaining about how slow (slower than normal that is) it was. I asked if her landline had static on it she said no, I picked up the phone and it wasn't so much static was it was just muffled. Called Verizon, they came out and did some stuff, it was fine for a while and then it back to being crappy. After almost a year and a half of going back and fourth, VZ finally agreed to replace her line and the phone and internet were fine. Speedtest results would return dial up like speeds, if the site was even able to load and there was constant loss of sync. She said the Verizon tech said the lines had to be at least 50 years old.

I have TWC's fastest service in my area (60Mb) and cannot wait for the 300Mb+ speeds to come my way. I couldn't imagine going back down to under 10Mbps in a world when just about everything is connected to the internet, and devices are getting software/firmware updates on a constant basis.

 

[Bongu]

I have had the AT&T uVerse Internet before. I paid for their 16Mb service and I actually received 10Mb. I am a HEAVY user with 3 Roku devices, large game downloads, and at least 5 active mobile devices at any given time. The AT&T service was quickly saturated with the heavy usage. I currently have Charter and their 100Mb service. I have yet to max out the Charter connection. Speed tests for Charter put me at 135Mb down and 6Mb up. I am happy with the cable solution and hope to not go back to AT&T using copper.

 

[nvsundevil]

So glad to have found this forum......currently have CenturyLink DSL with 6MBPS....apparently that is the highest speed available for my location....when trying to watch "on demand" from Directv have received messages that the internet connection is too slow and will continuously pause/buffer. Did a "speed test" and registered l.03 mbps for download and 0.46 for upload. Numerous calls to CenturyLink have been made and was told this was the best I would receive due to living in a rural area.....20 miles east of a very popular, well-known tourist area....not THAT rural IMHO. Spoke with Cox and am scheduled for internet hook up this Monday....Cox's Preferred Internet packages claims speeds of 50 MBPS.....a little pricey, but that could be because I won't bundle with their TV services. Truly feel this change will be for the best and will have no regret telling CenturyLink where they can put their "high speed" internet"...........

 

[Mr Tony]

can't get either where I live

cable is a pip dream....as in 20 miles away
DSL says "not available"

oh well. My hotspot does what I need it to do. Sure I can't stream stuff but for internet and updating my 2 Tivo's it gets the job done

 

[andy_horton]

My Windstream is 6mbps and I am actually getting 7.1mbps. I have a laptop, Roku and smartphone hooked up and have no trouble. They have just upgraded and offer 16mbps & are really pushing it but I've had no trouble with buffering or HD switching to sd. I'm a happy camper. I did have Comcast extreme 105 and never had trouble, but too costly. No data caps on Windstream either, which I love.

 

[Stargazer]

I have frontier 21 mb down 2 mb up and it does what I need an no buffering or data caps bundled with dish. I know others that have slower speeds with no problems. Most don't need more than 10 mb.

 

[andy_horton]

If you're a gamer or have like umteen devices, then get the faster cable speed. Otherwise, you're paying for something you just don't need. These CS reps are trained to up sell as much as possible. While the video end of cable and telco companies are dropping off, their internet is.growing.

 

[harshness]

One possible thing that DSL has going for it is that as more and more customers switch to something better, its performance may improve... or not.

Either way, the performance you get will be about half the promised speed (once the "turbo mode") transfer rates kick off. At 3Mbps, some of the streaming services start to balk.

 

[harshness]

can't get either where I live

Any shot at microwave?

 

[Mr Tony]

Any shot at microwave?

moot point now as I moved and can get unlimited internet

 

[EarDemon]

I wouldn’t wish Windstream on my worst enemy!

Never dealt with them on a consumer level, but their business class service sucks. A few years before I started working where I presently work, my predecessor replaced the unreliable and slow Windstream T1 with fiber from Time Warner Cable, but still used Windstream for voice. This past year when the 3 year contract ended we switched our dial tone from them to Time Warner PRI over fiber. Windstream was nothing short of a nightmare to deal with. Frequent, and I mean frequent as in a few times every few weeks we had trouble dialing internationally, for almost a week we couldn’t call any number in the 616 area code (Grand Rapids), we couldn’t call Canada for a day or two every so often, hell there was a point we had issues calling 150 miles down the road in Syracuse. Their tech support was next to useless, and would just say ‘we’ll submit a trouble ticket’ and a few days later the problem would be solved for a while with no real explanation as to what the problem was, but sure enough a week later there was a new problem.

It’s just my boss and me in the IT department, and I have more pressing matters to attend to then dealing with the shotty reliability of our voice provider. Small world, the sales manager at my previous job got a position with Windstream as a territory manager when he found out where I worked and what I did and practically begged me to give them another chance for data, and nearly cried when I told him that we were going to dump their voice service as well. I think he felt like I betrayed him. I had it timed perfectly, it’s was 45 day lead time for TW Voice, the contract with TWC was signed exactly 45 days before the end of the Windstream contract expired.

And it ended on a sour note. Windstream refused to release our toll free numbers to Time Warner for a few days after the cutover. It took many calls to solve what they called a ‘glitch’. And one of the DIDs that we were paying for with Windstream, that was no longer actively used by my company, could not be ported over to TWC because they as in Windstream assigned it to a business around the corner from us. I reached out to three different people asking them how that was possible and if it’s their standard business practice to assign an existing phone number to another customer without notification or consent of the original owner and change two business for the same phone number. Never got an answer.

Good riddance to those swine!

 

[andy_horton]

I wouldn’t wish Windstream on my worst enemy!

Never dealt with them on a consumer level, but their business class service sucks. A few years before I started working where I presently work, my predecessor replaced the unreliable and slow Windstream T1 with fiber from Time Warner Cable, but still used Windstream for voice. This past year when the 3 year contract ended we switched our dial tone from them to Time Warner PRI over fiber. Windstream was nothing short of a nightmare to deal with. Frequent, and I mean frequent as in a few times every few weeks we had trouble dialing internationally, for almost a week we couldn’t call any number in the 616 area code (Grand Rapids), we couldn’t call Canada for a day or two every so often, hell there was a point we had issues calling 150 miles down the road in Syracuse. Their tech support was next to useless, and would just say ‘we’ll submit a trouble ticket’ and a few days later the problem would be solved for a while with no real explanation as to what the problem was, but sure enough a week later there was a new problem.

It’s just my boss and me in the IT department, and I have more pressing matters to attend to then dealing with the shotty reliability of our voice provider. Small world, the sales manager at my previous job got a position with Windstream as a territory manager when he found out where I worked and what I did and practically begged me to give them another chance for data, and nearly cried when I told him that we were going to dump their voice service as well. I think he felt like I betrayed him. I had it timed perfectly, it’s was 45 day lead time for TW Voice, the contract with TWC was signed exactly 45 days before the end of the Windstream contract expired.

And it ended on a sour note. Windstream refused to release our toll free numbers to Time Warner for a few days after the cutover. It took many calls to solve what they called a ‘glitch’. And one of the DIDs that we were paying for with Windstream, that was no longer actively used by my company, could not be ported over to TWC because they as in Windstream assigned it to a business around the corner from us. I reached out to three different people asking them how that was possible and if it’s their standard business practice to assign an existing phone number to another customer without notification or consent of the original owner and change two business for the same phone number. Never got an answer.

Good riddance to those swine!

I have them for residential phone and internet, and yes, it goes out some. I've had just one problem with them and they were out the next morning to fix it. I am satisfied with their service. And it definitely beats Comcast prices in this area!!

 

[Jim S.]

I doubt that Windstream is any worse than any other provider if you're in an area that they're committed to serving decently. If you're not... Around here, some of the DSLAMS aren't connected by fiber yet, and not only that, since the FCC wimped out and decided that 3M/.7M was OK after all (whatever happened to broadband being defined as 10M/1M?!), they don't even plan to connect them in the foreseeable future, contradicting what they just told customers a few months ago! So, not only won't they upgrade these DSLAMS to VDSL like they've been bragging about doing this year, some of them can't even handle the traffic of all their low-speed users without monster latency and packet loss. When you complain, their excuse is that the FCC won't provide them with funding! WTF?! I know of NO other utility that refuses to do necessary infrastructure maintenance without a government bailout, and in fact virtually ALL of the other local utilities have been doing major infrastructure upgrades lately whether they've been needed or not!

 

[joelwnelson]

To the OP: I would not give up a Charter connection (what I have now) for AT&T DSL or U-Verse. However, I probably would give up a Comcast or a Mediacom connection for U-Verse. U-Verse/DSL will not match the speed or reliability of Charter unless you're in a bad market, which I know do exist.

 

[mruk69]

I my area U-verse internet is $79 for 1gb with 1tb download limit

 

[Bronxiniowa]

What do y'all think of 12mbps from CenturyLink?

 

[Mr Tony]

What do y'all think of 12mbps from CenturyLink?

my dad has it here in Minneapolis and it works pretty well....but it all depends on how many items you plan on running at the same time on it

I had it for about 3 years when I lived in my apartment and it worked well. Much better than the 1.5MB I had at my house