Need new Internet for my new place

[tonedeaf]

So I'm looking at local providers for Internet in my area and it seems all there is are charter, direct tv, and at&t (maybe verizon?). I'm torn on what to get. I'm willing to pay the $50 a month for a high speed Internet (I think it's $54.99 for charter's 25mbps package) but am torn on the providers and cable bs dsl. The consensus seems to be cable > dsl in speed, but what about the fact that cable "shares" your Internet with your neighborhood? I'm wanting opinions on what would be my fastest and easiest option without breaking the bank. (like the difference between at&ts dsl vs uverse?)

Thanks gais.

[jshark5]

I myself go through cox. (Nebraska) its cable and we have the fastest speed you can get due to we don't have tv. I get a little more then 2 mb/s durring tor*ents. Iv yet to try downloading on steam but I'm betting its a higher number. I never really have an issue playing games online, and the service is enjoyable.

[That1Kid]

Cable > DSL.

[Skullz]

Charter may be the only option for cable as most places only have one provider servicing a wide area, dsl is a joke compared to cable and when you need service well cable will have that beat hands down also.

[BassJunkie]

You do not want dsl. Think about the cables which the signals are transmitted through. DSL uses phone line which is usually 3 strands 20-30 gauge wires (maybe even smaller) to transmit your data, cable on the other hand is 40-50 strands of thicker cable. The infrastructure of most of americas phone lines is pitiful, some of those phone lines ran through the house and the ground are older than I am.

I have timer warner 10mb cable internet which I pay a little over $50 a month for. We have 3 xbox's all connected to live, 2 laptops, a desktop, and 3 phones all connected to our internet and we're able to play all 3 xbox's with zero lag.

ATT&T uverse is still dsl internet, it just has a few more bells and whistles.

[brownm3]

Dont know if this really helps you but maybe think about the programming you like or plan to watch or if you prefer HD channels over standard and see which companies offer the best options for what you like.

My only concern is a fast internet connection bc I rarely watch live tv anyways. I am always streaming nextflix and typically download the shows I like online and stream them through my tv.

[jeffm4688]

Cable > DSL.

+1, unless you need crazy reliability, which DSL doesn't really offer compared to cable anymore then cable is your best bet. DSL is extremely slow compared to even the basic cable packages.

You do not want dsl. Think about the cables which the signals are transmitted through. DSL uses phone line which is usually 3 strands 20-30 gauge wires (maybe even smaller) to transmit your data, cable on the other hand is 40-50 strands of thicker cable. The infrastructure of most of americas phone lines is pitiful, some of those phone lines ran through the house and the ground are older than I am.

I have timer warner 10mb cable internet which I pay a little over $50 a month for. We have 3 xbox's all connected to live, 2 laptops, a desktop, and 3 phones all connected to our internet and we're able to play all 3 xbox's with zero lag.

AT&T uverse is still dsl internet, it just has a few more bells and whistles.

I agree when you say DSL is not worth it, and that yes it is actually transmitted through ~22 gauge wire and is either one(green & red) or two (+black and yellow) twisted pairs which doesn't really give you much play to work with. Add in the older technology and your likely stuck behind something that doesn't have the ability to transmit data anywhere above 3MBPS, more like 1MBPS unless your very close to the main infrastructure building.

The only thing I disagree with is AT&T U-verse, it is not DSL and is actually FTTH (Fiber to the home) and is capable of waaaaay faster speeds then the 12mbps they offer as a max speed on their best package. They actually run fiber right up to your house (verizon fios actually utilizes their speed and offers up to 100mbps I believe now) and then they throw it through an ONT and convert it to a coax signal.

Kind of the same thing for cable, except its not really 40-50 wires, the coax line basically travels from your house into a splitter in the ground (or on the pole) and converts into a larger coax line till it hits the node in which fiber then takes over from that point. The problem with cable is the longer the run of coax the worse the signal & connection gets, which is why the connection speed fluctuates.

Long story short: If you had verizon fios, I would go with that any day of the week, second though I would choose cable over U-Verse or DSL.