[X4U] DSL versus Cable ??

[Randy B.Singer]

Kirk McElhearn said:

>What bandwidth do you get? Here in France, if you're close enough to  
>the switch, you can get 20 Mbps. (I only get 6, because I'm on the  
>outskirts of a town...)


DSL speeds vary according to how close you are to the switching station.  
They are supposed to remain steady all day, but my DSL access always 
experienced a slowdown at noon each day, and at about 4AM.

Cable modems are supposed to be about the same speed whereever you are 
located, but the speed varies depending on how many other subscribers 
there are, and whether they are online at the same time as you are.  
Interestingly, I don't experience regular slowdowns with my cable 
service, even during the after-dinner hours where one is supposed to 
typically see it.

I don't recall what speed my account is guaranteed to be, but I do know 
that I send out an e-mail newletter to close to 6,000 subscribers, and it 
used to take hours to send each issue out via DSL.  It took only slightly 
less time when I first got cable modem service.  After I upgraded my 
cable modem service, I was able to send out my newsletter in only about a 
half hour.




Randy B. Singer
Co-Author of: The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th and 6th editions)

Routine OS X Maintenance and Generic Troubleshooting
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html