DSL Vs Cable Internet

Which is Better?

When I was younger, I had a computer with a 2400 baud modem. If you don't know what that means...it means slow. Today's modems are 56k, which should be around 23 times faster than my old modem. I'm an avid Internet user, and have experienced it all from the slowest to the fastest.

Today, even 56k modem connections pain me. I loathe dial up connections. It's high speed or nothing for me. You might then wonder, which high speed internet connection do I prefer? DSL? Cable? 

Cable Internet

In my area, Comcast provides cable internet. As a company, I don't like Comcast. They have terrible customer service, questionable prices, and a complete monopoly on cable television and internet.

But they have great commercials. The commercials feature a family of turtles called the Slowskys. The Slowskys don't like things to be too fast, so they prefer DSL to cable internet. The commercials comically show how Comcast's cable internet is faster than DSL.

Sounds convincing. If I didn't know anything about the Internet, I would choose Comcast even if the price were higher.

The only problem is that it isn't really true. I've used both Cable and DSL. For most practical purposes, you cannot tell a difference. Are you checking your e-mail? Surfing through Associated Content? Downloading songs (licensed songs of course)? You won't notice a difference.

To be fair, cable is noticeably faster when you're downloading especially large files. If you download many files over 50MB, then you'll notice a difference over DSL. 50 MB is about the size of 10 MP3 songs.

DSL Internet

AT&T (formerly SBC, formerly AT&T before that, and formerly Michigan Bell) provides DSL in my area. I don't like AT&T as a company either. They too have poor customer service.

Often, you'll need telephone service to get DSL internet. Be sure to factor telephone service cost when you compare prices.

Also, beware the hidden fees with DSL. With AT&T, I saw many unexpected taxes and charges on my bill. More so than with Comcast cable internet. This might just be customer specific, but it's something to look out for. Make sure to ask about all the fees.