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Cable Modem v. DSL

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  • Cable Modem v. DSL

    Mocha asked: "BTW is there any difference between RR & DSL? The DSL seems cheaper now, and now our area can get it."

    I'd be curious about other people's experiences. We recently switched from Oceanic RoadRunner to Verizon DSL, and have few regrets.

    We switched primarily because of the price. It got to the point where Oceanic was getting $100/mo. out of us. We "dumped" them a bit by downgrading back to basic cable from digital (praise TiVo!), and by going with DSL instead of their cable modem service.

    Besides a better price, DSL to me seems more stable. My mother has RoadRunner, and she lives in Mililani, and that's Oceanic's backyard. But she can go hours, usually in the prime time evenings, with nothing but a sadly blinking box and no service.

    Cable modem also seems more sensitive to "system load" -- wicked fast at 2 a.m., sure, but if you're surfing the web at the same time as all your neighbors, it comes down to a crawl.

    Finally, although it may just be propaganda, I always felt DSL connections represented a more secure option than RoadRunner. I remember when RoadRunner was first rolled out, and Microsoft was only just starting to patch the swiss cheese that is their OS. I clicked on "My Network" on my mom's PC, and saw little icons for every single one of my neighbors! Of course I couldn't browse their systems, but I'm sure someone who really wanted to probably could.

    Downsides? Well, one. When there is a problem, I have to mess with Verizon on the mainland, and a maze of automated this and that for customer service. Oceanic is always just a call to someone in Mililani.

    Still, saving, what, at least $150/year for internet service and spending less time waiting or cursing? I think it's worth it.

  • #2
    Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

    Thanks Pzarquon for the answer to the question...I'll discuss the situation with the gang here.
    Retired Senior Member

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    • #3
      Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

      The one reason I go w/ DSL, is that the bandwidth isn't shared w/ everyone else who is in the neighborhood surfing at the same time w/ you. I have some cousins who live down the street from me, who also has DSL and usually w/ cable, when someone else is on the connection, it'll slow down.

      But for some reason, when I leave the connection on for a while, it'll go "blank", and I'll have to "reset the connection" (disable it, then reenable it from the computer).

      So far, since my family's been w/ Verizon DSL, we haven't seen any problems (got a seperate router and I made the cables).
      How'd I get so white and nerdy?

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      • #4
        Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

        I've been DSL the whole way, and it's never let me down. I hear horror stories all the time about cable...

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        • #5
          Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

          Originally posted by dick
          I've been DSL the whole way, and it's never let me down. I hear horror stories all the time about cable...
          I live in Kaneohe and I'm very happy with my DSL. I had problems early on. But the technician reseated a card at the CO and I haven't lost connection since. Well, except for the few times when I accidentally moved my DSL modem around. That was my fault.

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          • #6
            Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

            Anything "hi-speed" is welcomed for me. Dial-up is painful.

            But anyhoo, back to topic, I always had a thing for DSL because it was a dedicated connection, no "used" bandwidth here and I would most likely have a landline phone rather than cable since I rarely watch tv. I thought they also gave you a static IP address so you could host your own server, but I think someone told me it's dynamic? My only concern is about the distance from one of the stations. Does it really degrade your connection the further you are from one of those repeaters?

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            • #7
              Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

              Another positive vote for Verizon DSL. I've never had a problem in a year!!

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              • #8
                Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

                I just installed a D-Link Ethernet card, and it was a bit of a struggle. Drivers were installed in several different folders, and the default search looked for a Win98 CD-Rom. I (hopefully) eventually got it DSL-ready; guess I'll find out when I get the Verizon modem today or tomorrow.

                Who's using what as a firewall?
                http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

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                • #9
                  Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

                  Yes, in Hawaii the DSL quality of service is not so hot from what my friends at Upena Systems have told me. Cable seems to be the way to go and much better quality of service. Outside Hawaii it is a bit different, but I think it is a matter of since most folks already have cable, getting the cable data service is pretty straight forward, whereas I am not so sure about getting DSL. DSL is limited to the physical distance from you to the CO or Central Office of the phone company. The further away you are from the CO, the poorer the quality of service, in some cases.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

                    Obviously YMMV. I know Verizon brought a number of new 'nodes' online a couple of months ago to improve their service in rural areas. DSL deployment is not as widespread as cable, so Oceanic has the advantage there. It's not hard to test if you can get DSL, though (Verizon has an online utility to check your number), and if you can, then both have the advantage of having lines already running into your house.

                    But we just moved to Mililani, and repeated what we did in town and dropped cable for DSL, and my mom has already commented that it's not "out" as much. I have no idea which was faster, but DSL is definitely more consistent. Odd, since we're in Mililani (Oceanic's HQ), but there you go.

                    Linkmeister, good luck with your DSL install. With that and your Ethernet card, I suppose you can see how the fact that you install it yourself can be a plus or minus!

                    Whatever you do, kill the Verizon installer after it's done with the "real work" and prepares to put MSN on your PC. You don't need that junk!

                    As for firewalls, Adri's already nabbed the question for a new thread.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

                      Just a quick note... if you use Oceanic RoadRunner, and you love Oceanic RoadRunner, but hate overpaying for Oceanic RoadRunner, just cancel.

                      Really! Call them and say you want to cancel your service, as you're moving to DSL.

                      We made our cancellation official this week, and we've been called no fewer than three times by Oceanic, trying to talk us into sticking with them. The final offer was to match Verizon's DSL price -- $29.95/month -- forever.

                      Tempting, but I like DSL better. But if you don't, save yourself some money!

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                      • #12
                        Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

                        Wow if you call RR and tell them you're switching to DSL they'll match the price eventually...that's good! I'd mentioned that they nickle and dime you with RR...tax the tax! I'll have to rethink...again.
                        Retired Senior Member

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                        • #13
                          Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

                          Ok, I got my Verizon DSL modem and installed it today, and it works fine. But when I install my DLink router it doesn't work at all. I think it has something to do with the Point-to-Point configuration, but I'm not sure. Anyone got any ideas?
                          http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

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                          • #14
                            Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

                            Originally posted by Linkmeister
                            Ok, I got my Verizon DSL modem and installed it today, and it works fine. But when I install my DLink router it doesn't work at all. I think it has something to do with the Point-to-Point configuration, but I'm not sure. Anyone got any ideas?
                            Read the manual. My Linksys router just configured everything and I was up in seconds.
                            How'd I get so white and nerdy?

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                            • #15
                              Re: Cable Modem v. DSL

                              Originally posted by Linkmeister
                              Ok, I got my Verizon DSL modem and installed it today, and it works fine. But when I install my DLink router it doesn't work at all. I think it has something to do with the Point-to-Point configuration, but I'm not sure. Anyone got any ideas?
                              point-to-point for a lan refers to connections between two points within no intermediary node. more than likely PPP is used between two routers. i am not sure how this plays for a home network. what makes you think it is a problem with PPP?
                              Fair and Balanced

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