>Biggestquestion: Which new technology is going to win out: Cable
>modem orDSL?
>
>Fromwhat I hear, DSL is the better of the two because you're always on,
>itdoesn't tie up your phone line and it's better security. Could someone
>who is "in the know"provide a more informed opinion on the future of
>everyone's internet connection? Perhaps an evenbetter technology is
>lurking on the horizon?
>
>Also, could someone post the "top speeds" of both types of connections
>andcompare them to, for > example, a T1 connection. (How fast is a T1
>connectionin bps?) I realize you can pay more for faster connections,
>so let's say less than$50 per month. Which gives you the better bandwith
>for your buck?
>
Neither DSL or cable modem ties up your phone line and both
are always on. The cable modem speeds allegedly go up to 1.5Mbps for
downloading, but I generally see closer to 300kbps - 700kbps on my
cable modem. Upload speeds are around 100kbps. You have to take into
account that there are other network bottlenecks between you and the
remote server so you seldom get the ideal speed. My cable modem costs
$40/month.
With DSL from Bell Atlantic, you can get download speeds of
640kbps for around $49/month. Upload speed are 90kbps. If you want
faster, they offer download speeds of 1.6Mbps and 7.1Mbps for more money.
Of course, those speeds can also be slowed down by the remote networks
and servers.
The main problem with both solutions is that they're still hard
to get in most areas. Bell Atlantic serves DSL in my area, but I'm over
2 miles from the local office so I can't get it. You'll have to call
about it.
I think that for now either one is a fine solution. I love
having the high bandwidth cable modem in my home (my wife and friends
can all play EverQuest at the same time. Woohoo!). The high bandwidth
and always on service makes the internet usable. Both DSL and cable
modem would provide that. If you have a choice, I might recommend the
DSL since it doesn't share bandwidth with anyone but I haven't had
much experience with it.
Steve
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Apr 01 2004 - 19:07:30 EST