[HM] Cable Modem Speed

[JBD]

on 11/30/05 7:00 PM, Duane Murphy at duanemurphy at mac.com wrote:

> Ah the never ending question. Ask a DSL provider and they say they are
> faster. Ask a cable modem provider and they are faster.
> 
> The answer is that they are both pretty fast. Bits are bits. They both
> go similar speeds for similar dollars. They both have pluses and minuses
> and potential bottlenecks, so bit for bit, they are the same.
> 
> For example the previous writer said he was getting 3 Mb on cable. I
> have 4Mb on DSL. I know people who can get 6Mb on DSL. I expect the same
> is true of cable. DSL is highly dependent on distance to the central
> office. Cable can be limited by the number of people using the same cable.
> 
> So, compare speed to speed for the dollars to determine the best deals.
> 
>  ...Duane


I¹d be curious about the pros and cons of each. This was discussed years ago
at a BMAC meeting, but things have changed a lot since then I'm sure.

Regarding speed and DSL is it true that most of the DSL lines are dependent
on the Verizon central offices? If so, and if it is dependent on distance,
then do I just have to do some math and take my current speeds and (in my
case, Earthlink's) quoted speed and figure that that percent will be about
the same from another provider? I.e. If Earthlink quotes download speeds of
3Mb and it's coming into my office at 1Mb then I can assume that another
providers' will also come in at about 1/3 of what they quote?

Regarding speed and cable, from your comment above that cable can be limited
to the number of people using the same cable - is that on the whole or at
any given point, and in your neighborhood?


Regarding the other posting regarding Fiber Optics - I'm sure that many of
you saw the article in the Globe a few days ago.
>http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2005/11/28/verizon_tests_sup
er_fast_dsl_as_it_also_rolls_out_fiber_optics<
Though as someone on the listserve that we know and love and I concurred,
and as the article essentially says, this will likely be years before each
of us see it in our own neighborhoods.

Jackie

P.s. I went onto Speakeasy as suggested and found that my actual download
speed for my Earthlink DSL is a whopping 767 kbps!!! I'll definitely be
changing in some way! Is there any of my equipment that could be slowing
this down once it hits the house?