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by Sigma6 on June 28th, 2003

Sigma6

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Is a cable modem or DSL faster?

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Answers. 6 helpful answers below.

  • by HungryGuy on August 7th, 2004

    HungryGuy

    It depends on several factors.

    DSL is between about 8 to 10 Mbps. With DSL, you have your own line connecting your home to the central office. The speed depends strictly on the quality of the lines and the distance between your home and the cenral office, and won't vary much by time-of-day.

    Whereas, cable is about 30 Mbps. BUT...cable is like shaing a network with everyone else on your block or neighborhood. If your cable company is cheap and puts a lot of people on a given network, speed is going to be pathetic. At best, like someone else said, the speed of your connection will vary depending between peak and non peak periods.

    If you do most of your surfing in the wee hours, cable might be better for you.

    If you want consistent speed throughout the day, then DSL might be better.

    Otherwise, it's a coin flip...

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  • by misuba on July 3rd, 2003

    misuba

    Yes. :-)

    It all depends on the situation: many users report that cable modems get them blazing speeds compared to DSL, but cable service providers typically use one central "pipe" to supply bandwidth to all the users in a neighborhood. If you're the only one in your immediate area using cable, your speeds will be great, but if all your neighbors get it too, your slice of the local bandwidth pie will get slimmer and slimmer.

    As for DSL, it largely depends on your location and how much you're willing to pay. "Business" DSL packages can cost twice as much, but are four or sometimes as much as eight times faster. They also typically have less restrictive terms of service than residential DSL agreements.

    So, your answer: probably cable, for now, but you're gambling. No matter what you get, you'll probably end up switching in a couple of years.

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  • by lunatik on December 7th, 2003

    lunatik

    The previous submission is correct, but I would like to add my 2 cents.

    Many "DSL" are ADSL which means the max upload speed is different from the max download speed. This is true for CABLE also. Cable will generally have higher bandwidth (download speed) during non peak usage. Around 4:20 PM to 8 PM is peak usage and your mileage may vary. Some CABLE providers may band limit your download speed. I think charter in my area needs another DNS server.

    Many of the BELL providers actually bandlimit you to your specified rate. There have been cases of providers of 384K DSL bandlimiting to 256K. That was WRONG man!

    IF you are looking for the best price beware that DSL requires you to have an existing phone line and when you talk, it will slightly degrade your service.

    IF you are wanting to host a website, you may want SDSL or a business package from your ISP. Also consider a web hosting site. They can provide better bandwidth if you think you may get a lot of hits (traffic).

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  • by brandon on September 18th, 2008

    brandon

    is having wireless enternet still your own network or is it still the outside network like as in the community

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  • by Treetrunk on October 27th, 2006

    Treetrunk

    SOME CABLE PROVIDER HAVE A LIMMIT OF 6 SLICES TO OFFER A CONSITENT SPEED IN ITS REGION

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  • by wannabegeekTC on March 13th, 2011

    wannabegeekTC

    There are some good answer here already. I want to point out that there is a big difference between upload and download speeds.

    DSL has a slow upload, always. Mine is 1/20 of my download speed at least.

    Cable will have an upload speed equal to the DL speed.

    Why care ?

    I didn't care until I wanted to set up a home file server. Also, I liked torrenting and wanted to upload my own torrents to the community. It's starts to matter then...

    I have AT&T DSL and hate it but not willing to deal with cable company for now. My plan has a max rate around 3Mbs but the average is much slower. I called to complain and the rep said that I was well within the minimum range. What a rip off...

    Remember, Mbs is mega bits per second....there are 8 bits to a byte....1Mbs = 0.125 MBs or
    125 KBs not that fast ...

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