Cable vs. Satellite Internet Access

[fabsroman]

After waiting almost two months for Verizon to "move" my DSL line from my old place to the new townhouse, and enduring one excuse after another, I finally got a call stating that DSL service is not available in my area. Of course, this is wonderful. My address change cards went out with my Christmas cards and they stated that the e-mail and cell phone numbers were going to stay the same. Now, I guess I have to do another mailer stating that the e-mail address is going to change.

Okay, enough complaining. I am now trying to figure out what is the best high speed internet option other than DSL. It appears that DSL would have been the cheapest, but cheap doesn't matter when I can't get it.

What are your guys' thoughts regarding cable vs. satellite? It looks like Satellite will be $600 more expensive over the first 15 months, but that it will be the same price as cable after that. Is satellite worth the extra $600?

Are there any other alternatives to satellite or cable, other than dial-up access.

[denton]

I have cable broadband, and that's what I would recommend.

Satellite tends to be very fast on the download, but pokey on the upload... at least last time I checked.

Cable is also slower on the upload than the download, but is still 386K up, and 3M down.

My package cost $100 to install, and $65 per month, and that is the zippier commercial package. It's $50 if you want the "home" version.

Buy a $45 router, and hook the output of the cable modem to it, and you have the basics of a network, if you have more than one computer. Or, spend a little more, and get one with the G version of an RF router, and put your laptop on the network wirelessly.

Each network card has a MAC ID number, and your cable hookup is specific to that MAC ID. When you hook up the router, be sure that the only computer connected is the one that the cable guy sets you up on. When you turn on the router, one of the first things it asks is if you want to clone the MAC ID. Click yes, and the router will automatically assume that number, and assign new numbers for the rest of the computers. Presto, all your computers are can connect through the router.

[TheeBadOne]

Cable kicks ass, with one caveat, group size. When you are on cable you're neighborhood is a "hub". If you have a lot of high bandwidth users your top speed will suffer. Usually (hopefully) the cable company responds to this and boosts bandwidth. You need to check out which cable company supplies your area, then talk to people who have it. My cable rocks at well over 2 Mbps! When it was new (cable Internet), I use to average 700 kbps, then it jumped to over 1 Mbps, then 1.5, and then leaped to where it is now. I've had it for approx 4 years. The cable co in the next city was pretty slow for a while (they had huge subscriber growth in short order). They've caught up now and provide well over 1 Mbps.

TBO

[gumpokc]

Fabs, if your choice is cable or satellite, get cable.

I researched it 2 years ago for a friend who lived out in BFE, and at that time ( may have changed since then??) _NO_ satellite provider had an unlimited service. 150 hours a month, anything over that was like a dollar a min.

now granted if you don't use much internet, it won't hurt you, but if you surf every night, it'll bust you in the chops fast.

Granted as i mentioned things may have changed since then.

[fabsroman]

I did a little more surfing tonight and found that Earthlink says I can get DSL from them. I called one of their reps and he thinks that Verizon had a technical difficulty and that is why they cannot provide it. He is shipping the modem out to me. I'll keep my fingers crossed because Verizon thought they could provide it to me at first too. Something tells me that the modem is going to get here and I am going to have absolutely nothing but a bill from Earthlink. Then, the headache will begin. I am sure they will try to remedy it for months to come. Hopefully, they will provide me with complimentary dialup in the meantime. Even though dialup sucks, I guess it is better than nothing for the moment.

[foto]

Check out DSL reports or dsl.com to find out who else offers it in your area. I've had speakeasy/covad dsl for 7 years with only 2 days of down time in that entire period due to a bad switch, even 9/11 didn't knock it out, they rerouted my connection from downtown NYC when their generator ran out of gas a week afterwards. Got 1500/768 and two static IPs. nothing but good to say about them and they respond instantly via e-mail, with constant updates about the status of your order.
As for Verizon DSL, wouldn't use it unless they were the last service available. Worst service and speed. Had it three months at the office and it would timeout during online research sessions. Would get me kicked off my service so many times that they would freeze my account thinking someone was breaking into it or I was already logged in. Absolute garbage. Good luck with whatever you get.

[VinVega]

If you were satisfied with DSL, then you'll need nothing more than cable. I stay connected at nearly 3mbps, and download in the high 300kbps's if I have a good server to connect to. Satellite is overrated unless you use a LOT of bandwidth. It also is a little more affected by weather (don't let the cable company tell you the weather doesn't affect it at all, it does).

[iwerk2hard]

Fabs
Do some research on Earthlink, I heard that they are a big supporter of gun control. I don't know about you, but that would carry a lot of weight on my decision.

[fabsroman]

Iwerk2hard,

At this point I am willing to sign up with anybody that can provide me decent high speed internet service at a decent price. Since I use the internet to do legal research and a lot of others thing related to my job, I really do need it. If Earthlink is a big supporter of gun control, that just means that I will have to make a bigger donation to the NRA this year with the money I earn from using their internet service. I'll definitely donate more money to the NRA than Earthlink will make off of me.

[iwerk2hard]

I can't argue with your logic.
If you need it, you need it.
I don't like what's on TV, I don't like our local cable provider, BUT, I do have my internet connection with the cable company because of the speed and convenience. Sometimes you do things that you don't really want to do, just because it's the best option to fit your needs.
If you're willing to donate more to the NRA, you might be just as well off to go with cable in financial terms, and still have enough to make an extra donation to the NRA. Cable is very fast and dependable. (At least it is in my little corner of the world).
I won't fault you or criticize your decision, I'm just offering my 2 cents worth of opinion. If there's change due, I'll take it.

[fabsroman]

You had me laughing pretty hard with that change due comment. Cable will cost me another $40 a month more than Earthlink DSL for the first 6 months and $20 a month thereafter.

Figuring out which company is for gun control and which isn't is a pain in the rear. I guess I should check the NRA's site all the time before I purchase something, but that becomes a little tedious too. I figure I'll just continue to donate to the NRA and hope that they fight the good fight for me. Of course, if I know somebody is blatantly anti gun or anti hunting, you can bet I won't use their product. The ASPCA sent me a donation request along with return labels for my mail. While I could use the return labels, they went into the trash can along with the donation request.