High Speed Internet Question

[rtucker5]

I need some help from the techies out there. I just saw the thread on wireless suggestions and I have decided to post my question. I currently have dial-up service through AOL, but I'm looking to get high speed internet and eventually go wireless. What is my best option for high speed internet?

My options are DSL through Verizon for about $30 a month, a cable modem through my cable provider for about $35 a month, and high speed through a satellite dish (Directv) for about $50 a month. I may have other options, but they are the ones I know of.

My uses for the internet other than on-line poker will be basic surfing. I have no idea what the differences are between my options and if they really make a difference. Any help from you all would be greatly appreciated.

[ThaSaltCracka]

go with the cable modem.

I got mine through comcast and have been very happy with it. It's always fast and reliable. $50 a month is pretty high for internet service, and I doubt its much faster than cable.

[astroglide]

try cable first, it shouldn't require a contract. if the reliability sucks try dsl.

[Ray Zee]

can you get two way with satellite now or is it just downloads as before. where i am i can only get dial up from my phone company. but its funny another company says they will get me dsl using the same lines my phone company uses. i think its a little slower but they will offer it but the phone company would rather lose me for a customer.

[wacki]

Here you go Ray Zee,

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/qotd606-satellite-diagram.gif

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question606.htm

http://www.starband.com/findadealer/index.asp

There may be better companies, but this should get you started.

With StarBand 481 Residential...
# Lightning fast downloads up to 10x faster than dial-up
# Upload speeds up to 100 kbps in Turbo Mode®**

StarBand Model 360 Residential
Download Up to 500 kbps
Upload Up to 50 kbps
http://www.starband.com/services.asp

[astroglide]

satellite internet, even two-way, sucks for general browsing because it has very high latency. when you go to a web site you send requests back and forth all the time, and then go to separate servers for ads/etc. each time it takes an amount of milliseconds to send and then to receive. with satellite you get nice, fast downloads but most people spend more time browsing than downloading large files. i would take something like idsl (144/144, basically isdn) over satellite.

[cardcounter0]

Dish internet access outright sucks for surfing. Not to mention weather related outages. The only reason it is more expensive than other options, is because if you have to go with dish, you HAVE to go with dish, and they know they have you by the nuts.

Don't know any specifics about DSL from Verizon, but I would be inclined to go with the cable modem, as long as the provider isn't Time/Warner RoadRunner.

Anything would have to be an improvement over AOL dial up service!
/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[TomCollins]

Satelite sucks for poker IMHO. Way too much lag.

[AncientPC]

[ QUOTE ]
go with the cable modem.

I got mine through comcast and have been very happy with it. It's always fast and reliable. $50 a month is pretty high for internet service, and I doubt its much faster than cable.

[/ QUOTE ]

I second that.

[Nepa]

You said 30 for the DSL and 35 for the Cable. I would go with the one that offers the greater speed. If they are both about the same I would go with the DSL. The reason I would go with the ADSL is that it is based on a ATM backbone instead of Ethernet. Plus it is 5 bucks cheaper.

I agree with almost everyone else that Dish internet sucks.

[BradleyT]

[ QUOTE ]
You said 30 for the DSL and 35 for the Cable. I would go with the one that offers the greater speed. If they are both about the same I would go with the DSL. The reason I would go with the ADSL is that it is based on a ATM backbone instead of Ethernet. Plus it is 5 bucks cheaper.

I agree with almost everyone else that Dish internet sucks.

[/ QUOTE ]

ADSL is normally much more expensive than DSL. Maybe they're comparable now but when sprint was testing their 8Mb ADSL in Kansas City 3-4 years ago it was $160/month.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
satellite internet, even two-way, sucks for general browsing because it has very high latency. when you go to a web site you send requests back and forth all the time, and then go to separate servers for ads/etc. each time it takes an amount of milliseconds to send and then to receive. with satellite you get nice, fast downloads but most people spend more time browsing than downloading large files. i would take something like idsl (144/144, basically isdn) over satellite.

[/ QUOTE ]

Satellite has a latency of 720ms - 1500 ms!?!?!! Wow, that is huge. I am at 40 ms. That would drive me nuts.

[Blarg]

Yahoo DSL is 26.95 a month.

My experience, and the experience of millions of others I'm sure, if you were to judge by all the class action lawsuits, is that cable is notoriously unreliable and there are many blackouts each month, some lasting hours, some occasionally lasting a whole day or more. Cable's history as a monopoly provider has set in a culture of not giving a damn about the customer and not making good to the customer for their mistakes.

Add to that that it is 20 bucks a month more than DSL service like Yahoo and Verizon provide, and you're batting zero for two on cable.

I've heard many complaints about cable service, regular and internet, and by comparison comparatively few from people using DSL.

[Jim Kuhn]

I have had very good service with Charter Pipeline. I have had one outage in about a year. It was on a Saturday night and I utilized my free dialup backup. I had many problems with Charter my first couple of months.

Thank you,

Jim Kuhn
Catfish4U
/images/graemlins/spade.gif /images/graemlins/diamond.gif /images/graemlins/club.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif

[AncientPC]

My parents have Yahoo DSL for their office, and their connection drops everytime someone calls in even with line filters installed.

Using even 50% of the bandwith pipe will cause your latency to spike in the hundreds / thousands. I talked to DSL support and they said that's just the way it is.

Not to mention that they are stuck for a one year contract.

I convinced them to get Comcast cable at home and they love it. I use TimeWarner cable myself.

I'd suggest getting cable modem and trying it out. If it doesn't float your boat, then switch to DSL because of the contract.

[wacki]

I have cable, and I love it.

It depends on your area. If cable is bad, ask them will you be able to cancel in the first month or so.

[WC64]

My cable modem through Comcast has been anything but reliable, but maybe I am just an isolated problem. They have been out to fix it 5 times in 4 months.

[rtucker5]

It seems the general consenus is that satellite sucks. I will talk to the cable company and see if they require a contract. Thanks for your help.

[SeppDeitrich]

I work for tech support with comcast, and i second this. Maybe it's because i only hear from the worst cases. but comcast's service sucks. Get dsl if you can, provided the phone lines in your area are good. DSL is more reliable than cable.

[wacki]

I know it's a little late, but does this qualify?



http://parazen.bio.indiana.edu/speed.jpg

[ohkanada]

I had directway satelite internet and although it worked fine enough to allow me to play poker on-line, I was quite happy when regular cable internet moved into my neighborhood this past spring.

Cable is the way to go.

Ken

[astroglide]

as it says, 'unbelievable' /images/graemlins/smile.gif do you get these rates from all other testing sites?

[wacki]

pcpitstop is always lower than bandwidthplace. I've always assumed it wasn't as good of a connection. Do you have any sites you want me to try? Keep in mind that I am literally sitting a mile a way from two fiber channels and one OC3 that runs from IU to Indianapolis. I know the cable co is still the bottleneck, but maybe that has something to do with it. Then again, those lines are IU's so maybe not. All I know is I'm very happy with my cable service. However, my upload sucks. It's like phoneline speed.

[astroglide]

http://www.dslreports.com/stest

http://reviews.cnet.com/Bandwidth_meter/7004-7254_7-0.html

http://www.toast.net/performance/

how much lower is pcpitstop?

[wacki]

Normally it's about 10-20% lower, sometimes up to 50%, but right now bandwidthplace is showing 3.3 mbs and pcpitstop is showing 3.6 mbs. My connection is highly volatile though.