I recently moved into my new house and promptly ordered up Adelphia (Southern Florida) Powerlink Premiere Cable modem service, which was touted to be 4Mbps down and 512kbps up for a whopping $80 per month. But, because I love you guys and wanted to be a gracious host of 12-16 player GR and R63 matches, I ponied up the cash.
After install, my speed tests showed an average of around 1Mbps down and 80kbps up. Digusting. I was getting lag in games, and my iChat video-conferencing with friends/family was severely pixelated compared to normal.
After fighting for a few weeks with Adelphia, who doesn't guarantee your speeds, I dropped down to the inexpensive 3mb/256 $30 option. Still got slow speeds but at least i wasn't paying exhorbitant costs. Recently my line speeds improved (miraculously) to close to spec (2.4 down and 220 up). Of course, this happened after I had already placed my order to Bellsouth DSL service rated at 3Mbps down and 384kbps up at $44/mo.
I haven't installed DSL yet, but if the speeds are close to advertised and given the stability of the connection, I'm thinking it might be the way to go. However, Cable offers more frequent upgrades (like Premiere) at speeds that top DSL.
The DSL 'activation' by the phone co seems to have introduced noise into my phone line, even though I don't currently have the DSL modem installed anywhere.
Long story short, anyone have an opinion on whether I should stick with DSL or crawl back to adelphia since my speeds were finally close to normal?
Thanks!
OT: DSL or Cable? How do we feel?
Moderators: Bill_Abner, ScoopBrady
Sport,
Funny you should mention this. I have Comcast Cable broadband here in Chicago. For the past 6 months my speeds have been great. I think I pay like $39.99 for 1.5 down and about 256 up. Well, a couple days ago I see a commercial for Comcast stating that they have upgraded their broadband service to 3mps download. So I immediately go to my laptop and test my speed at ‘broadbandreports.com’. Well, no change at all. So I call Comcast and ask if there is anything I need to do to get the 3mps service. They give me the ol’ ‘turn your modem off for 30 seconds’ rap. So I do and still no change !?!?!
I didn’t call back as I got too busy, but I still want to know how they can advertise this, say that all their customers should be upgraded and I have NO change at all.
DSL in my area is WAY worse though. My friend who is right down the street form me is with SBC DSL and gets like and average of 300-350 kbs download. Yuck!
Funny you should mention this. I have Comcast Cable broadband here in Chicago. For the past 6 months my speeds have been great. I think I pay like $39.99 for 1.5 down and about 256 up. Well, a couple days ago I see a commercial for Comcast stating that they have upgraded their broadband service to 3mps download. So I immediately go to my laptop and test my speed at ‘broadbandreports.com’. Well, no change at all. So I call Comcast and ask if there is anything I need to do to get the 3mps service. They give me the ol’ ‘turn your modem off for 30 seconds’ rap. So I do and still no change !?!?!
I didn’t call back as I got too busy, but I still want to know how they can advertise this, say that all their customers should be upgraded and I have NO change at all.
DSL in my area is WAY worse though. My friend who is right down the street form me is with SBC DSL and gets like and average of 300-350 kbs download. Yuck!
My understanding is that DSL has notoriously poor upload speeds. Mine is about 128 up from just testing now. But it's 760 something down.
But if your experience with cable is significantly slower than that, then i guess DSL would make sense. I can't believe they would charge you more for a faster connection, but give you a service that is actually slower than the standard cable. Well, I can believe it, i just think it's ridiculous.
But if your experience with cable is significantly slower than that, then i guess DSL would make sense. I can't believe they would charge you more for a faster connection, but give you a service that is actually slower than the standard cable. Well, I can believe it, i just think it's ridiculous.
I'm not so sure that download speeds by themselves will guarantee better online game performance. It's still ping more than download/upload speed.
As for hosting a lot of players, that has to do with the game and the hardware. For instance, I remember that EA's NASCAR game supported only two players online on the PS2 but either 16 or 32 players on the PC. You weren't going to have a faster connection for the PC but obviously, you could have a lot more processing power and RAM.
Here's what's going on in broadband. The regional Bell companies have muscled out the CLEC companies years ago and now are combatting cable. So they've driven down prices, like $30 or less for DSL with a year contract. The cable companies have been reluctant to lower prices so they've upped speeds but kept prices the same.
I used to be with @home and got 4.5 Mb down sometimes. Then AT&T took over and limited it to 1.8 Mb. Now Comcast is raising that up to 3 Mb. I was never a big downloader so this doesn't do anything for me. I'm paying $16-20 more than I could for DSL but for now, work is paying so I'm staying with cable.
Even tho Comcast has increased download speeds (but not uploads), there is an unwritten cap and if you "abuse" the downloads, they will charge you more or cut you off. So screw the increased speeds, give me lower prices.
BTW, those Florida prices are great compared to prices out here. And broadband in the US isn't nearly as good as in some Asian countries, where you get much faster speeds for lower prices.
As for hosting a lot of players, that has to do with the game and the hardware. For instance, I remember that EA's NASCAR game supported only two players online on the PS2 but either 16 or 32 players on the PC. You weren't going to have a faster connection for the PC but obviously, you could have a lot more processing power and RAM.
Here's what's going on in broadband. The regional Bell companies have muscled out the CLEC companies years ago and now are combatting cable. So they've driven down prices, like $30 or less for DSL with a year contract. The cable companies have been reluctant to lower prices so they've upped speeds but kept prices the same.
I used to be with @home and got 4.5 Mb down sometimes. Then AT&T took over and limited it to 1.8 Mb. Now Comcast is raising that up to 3 Mb. I was never a big downloader so this doesn't do anything for me. I'm paying $16-20 more than I could for DSL but for now, work is paying so I'm staying with cable.
Even tho Comcast has increased download speeds (but not uploads), there is an unwritten cap and if you "abuse" the downloads, they will charge you more or cut you off. So screw the increased speeds, give me lower prices.
BTW, those Florida prices are great compared to prices out here. And broadband in the US isn't nearly as good as in some Asian countries, where you get much faster speeds for lower prices.
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GROGtheNailer
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I posted this in another thread, but since we'r on the subject...
The Broadband Tipping Point
› › › Broadband
By Robyn Greenspan | April 19, 2004
Dialing up is on the downswing, as 55 percent of all adult Internet users have high-speed access either at home or work, and 39 percent of adult surfers have a broadband connection at home. DSL is largely responsible for home broadband growth, as Pew Internet & American Life Project reports that DSL subscriptions have catapulted from 28 percent of market share in March 2003 to 42 percent in 2004.
DSL, the distant second to cable modem in the American broadband revolution, is gaining on the high-speed connection leader. The number of DSL subscriptions doubled over the year, while the number of cable modem subscriptions only grew about 24 percent. Cable modem is still commanding 54 percent of the market, however.
Pew Internet & American Life Project's John Horrigan, senior research specialist and author of the report, says that the study didn't specifically address the reasons why DSL is becoming popular but he believes DSL appeals to consumers on a number of levels.
"...just in talking with people in the industry, it appears that availability has improved, and customer service. With respect to customer service, the phone companies have done a better job in filling orders, as have competitive entrants such as Earthlink or Covad. DSL is a bit less expensive — users estimate their monthly bill at $38 versus $41 for cable modems, so that price advantage does help DSL," says Horrigan.
The Pew report identified a number of trends among the broadband population. More than half (54 percent) of work broadband users are college educated, and 37 percent have annual household incomes above $75,000.
Furthermore, among Internet users who have been online for 10 or more years, 56 percent are broadband users.
The Broadband Tipping Point
› › › Broadband
By Robyn Greenspan | April 19, 2004
Dialing up is on the downswing, as 55 percent of all adult Internet users have high-speed access either at home or work, and 39 percent of adult surfers have a broadband connection at home. DSL is largely responsible for home broadband growth, as Pew Internet & American Life Project reports that DSL subscriptions have catapulted from 28 percent of market share in March 2003 to 42 percent in 2004.
DSL, the distant second to cable modem in the American broadband revolution, is gaining on the high-speed connection leader. The number of DSL subscriptions doubled over the year, while the number of cable modem subscriptions only grew about 24 percent. Cable modem is still commanding 54 percent of the market, however.
Pew Internet & American Life Project's John Horrigan, senior research specialist and author of the report, says that the study didn't specifically address the reasons why DSL is becoming popular but he believes DSL appeals to consumers on a number of levels.
"...just in talking with people in the industry, it appears that availability has improved, and customer service. With respect to customer service, the phone companies have done a better job in filling orders, as have competitive entrants such as Earthlink or Covad. DSL is a bit less expensive — users estimate their monthly bill at $38 versus $41 for cable modems, so that price advantage does help DSL," says Horrigan.
The Pew report identified a number of trends among the broadband population. More than half (54 percent) of work broadband users are college educated, and 37 percent have annual household incomes above $75,000.
Furthermore, among Internet users who have been online for 10 or more years, 56 percent are broadband users.
Xbox Series: Murph1
Nintendo Switch 2: SW-8125-7768-9102
Nintendo Switch 2: SW-8125-7768-9102
Broadband is also a campaign issue (although obviously nowhere near as big as the economy and national security). President Bush has talked about making broadband available everywhere by 2007. Kerry is expected to advocate getting broadband to low-income and rural householes, with govt. subsidies if necessary.
Other countries have more forward-thinking policies, with the goal of getting fiber to every home. Some believe a true broadband infrastructure could be as important to economic growth as the transportation infrastructure was to this country starting in the '50s.
Other countries have more forward-thinking policies, with the goal of getting fiber to every home. Some believe a true broadband infrastructure could be as important to economic growth as the transportation infrastructure was to this country starting in the '50s.
Cox Cable $39.99
3Mbps Download
256Kbps upload speed
Both have their disadvantages. Cable speeds are affected by how many people in your area are online and downloading. DSL speeds can be dramatically affected by how far away you are from the base.
3Mbps Download
256Kbps upload speed
Both have their disadvantages. Cable speeds are affected by how many people in your area are online and downloading. DSL speeds can be dramatically affected by how far away you are from the base.
[url=http://sites.google.com/site/bmdsooner/]My place for games![/url]
The DSL service is a new XTREME (love their marketing) option from BellSouth that gives you 3Mbps and 384kbps up. The upload speed is what I'm most interested in because it is what lets you host games and prevents 'hiccups' in a lot of games.
(Yes, I know ping is more important...yadda...yadda...yadda, but XBL with voice and multiple players is all about pushing/pulling data to and from the host as quickly as possible, and a fatter pipe helps that immensely).
I'll report back tomorrow on the speed results DSL provides (as I'll finally be able to set it up).
(Yes, I know ping is more important...yadda...yadda...yadda, but XBL with voice and multiple players is all about pushing/pulling data to and from the host as quickly as possible, and a fatter pipe helps that immensely).
I'll report back tomorrow on the speed results DSL provides (as I'll finally be able to set it up).