cheap broadband

[Capt. Orygun]

so who's got it?

Where do you get the most MBPS for your $?

I tried xbox live on free wifi in my complex and I'm not having it, I need more

so who's got the hookup? cheap and fast is what I neeeed!

 

[whiterabbit06]

For your area:
at&t 6mbps is $34.99/mo
verizon 3mbps $27.99/mo
I'd go with at&t

 

[reikoshea]

yup...there is no reason, in this day and age, that the average home user shouldnt go with Cable...unless you REALLY need that extra $10-$15 a month.

 

[nootrac22]

is there a diffrence in bandwidth between cable, dsl and fios?

 

[reikoshea]

FIOS > CABLE > DSL (Assuming you get the max bandwidth allowed by the service)

FIOS has all the speed advantages of Cable with the security advantages of DSL. Its also more expensive than both.

Usually you can get between 10-20MB of FIOS bandwidth for $50-60 plus install, you can get 5-7MB of cable for about $30-40, and you can get 1-3MB of DSL for $25-30.

DSL speeds are also limited by distance, so if the Central Office is a few miles away youre hosed unless they have an intermediate DSLAM.

 

[nootrac22]

that I understand, I guess i didn't pose my question right. compairing apples to apples, lets say 8mbps for all three, would there be a diffrence. Does one have more useable bandwidth than the other?

 

[reikoshea]

nope...the only difference is that in a fiber system or dsl, you have a dedicated line. on cable you dont.

 

[TurboMirage]

i've been using DSL for years, $15 a month with no issues. i can download shit on the internet, be streaming a movie, and have no problems playing on live

 

[Capt. Orygun]

but where do you get DSL for $15/mo?

 

[TurboMirage]

verizon.

 

[Briansol]

i hate dsl. its slow as shit. 1.5mbs is like 56k to me

 

[reikoshea]

Cable is just enough and id like fios (static IP).

 

[BodyDroppedNikes]

FiOS is awesome stuff!! if you can get it, then GET IT! you WONT be disappointed...

 

[Crito07]

cable is def. better then dsl

 

[nootrac22]

i hate dsl. its slow as shit. 1.5mbs is like 56k to me

I've had better luck with dsl. I think, in my area at least, compairing a 1.5 cable to a 1.5 dsl, dsl would win. I never seem to get the full bandwidth on cable.

 

[reikoshea]

thats cause you dont get the full bandwidth. read the contract where it says "up to".

same thing with dsl, the only reason youre more likely to get the full bandwidth is because its a dedicated line.

 

[reikoshea]

and tomorrow we cover the difference between a MB and a Mb.

 

[TurboMirage]

i'll always have DSL... FiOS is offered in my area but i cant justify the extra cost.

 

[reikoshea]

well since ive got some free time at work, ill explain it in light detail:

1MB (aka MegaByte) is the same as 8Mb (aka MegaBit).

A common misconception when buying an internet connection is that the 7Mb/s they advertise in commercials is the same as seeing 7MB/s in the down speed of your web browser, Limewire agent, or BitTorrent agent.

The truth of the matter is, its not. If you see DSL commecials advertising 1.5Mb/s Download, what they are saying is, your BitTorrent client will max out at 187KB/s.

I can feel it all sinking in now. Its a tricky ad scheme, and I do not know why they dont just advertise it for what it is. Companies that sell networking equipment do the same thing. The equipment is sold with a bit value, but every OS on the planet reads that speed in bytes (unless you are using a few specialty utilities).

So, if you ever wondered why your Wireless G transfer speed caps at around 6MB/s when its advertised at 54....now you know....and knowing is half the battle. GI Joe.

 

[TurboMirage]

thank you for clearing that up for these sorry desolate souls.