[Hidden-tech] DSL vs cable internet for office

[Tom Goldsmith]

Robert; 

I agree with you that DSL gives you a "dedicated" line, while Comcast gives
you a "loop" you have to share with others.  (Then one thing about Comcast
is how many others you share with.  Also the habits of those neighbor-users
regarding, say, frequent downloads of large files which can impact YOUR
response times.  ....If you notice that "busy times" (like after supper)
slow your service down a lot, then what some might call "last mile"
congestion can be the problem.  Especially for Comcast.)  

But I've got a somewhat different view about what determines speed for DSL.
While problematic "old" copper can be a factor, those difficulties are more
likely to be catastrophic, giving erratic and seemingly random headaches,
perceived as worst when it has rained, and the like.  

I also believe, however, that DSL is linearly effected by the distance from
the telephone company's "central station".  That is, the further you are
"from town", the slower your DSL service must be.  This is just a rule
determined by physics/electronics, and is one reason why Verizon doesn't
like to invest in rural services.  That is, it can take a lot of electronic
equipment for them to give you good service far from their usual central
station.  

Then also, if you don't care for dealing with Verizon, have you looked into
working with Crocker Communications?  They deliver DSL to many locations in
western Mass, and fill in for Verizon where we'd all like to see less of
that behemoth.  (I believe they still use some Verizon functions, but
happily one does not need to deal with Verizon oneself.)  From what I've
seen on Hidden Tech, Matt Crocker is very serious about delivering value
with their services, and also very knowledgeable about how all of this
works.  I'd suggest asking him if it is possible to deliver good DSL service
to where you need it, and then to trust his answer.  ....Surely he can tell
you if Comcast can be a good alternative for you in your circumstances.  

Also, if you want to learn which service can work best for you or your
neighbors, you ought to seek to "quantify" what happens.  There are lots of
"bandwidth" measurement tools out there.  Most of which measure both
download and upload speeds.  http://www.bandwidthplace.com/ is one I've
recently found to be useful.  (Download will always be much faster than
upload.)  

Just MY thoughts.  Check it all out for yourself, within the context of your
own environment, circumstances, and needs.  And try to separate, in your
mind, reliability vs. performance.  

Tom Goldsmith  

-----Original Message-----
From: hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net
[mailto:hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net] On Behalf Of Robert
Heller
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 11:14 AM
To: Val Nelson
Cc: Hidden-Tech Listserv
Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] DSL vs cable internet for office

   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
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At Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:59:33 -0500 Val Nelson <val at valnelson.com> wrote:

> 
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> 
>    ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's
area.
>    ** If you did, we all thank you.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hi HT friends,
> Sorry to ask this age-old question but I feel overwhelmed by the tech talk
> when talking to Comcast and Verizon. Can you help give me some perspective
> on these options?
> 
> I need to set up Internet access in my office and these are the two
choices
> in my price range:
> 
> Comcast cable internet $59.95/month
> 
>    - Downloads 6-12 mb, uploads 1-2 mb
> 
> 
>    - "Internet speeds up to 15 times faster than DSL"
> 
> 
> Verizon DSL $49.99/month
> 
>    - "Up to 5.0M"
> 
> It will mostly be for one user at a time, but occasionally up to 5 users
at
> a time. I'm in a building that probably has no Comcast users yet because
> they just installed it here, but eventually might have more.
> 
> Will I notice a difference in speed between these two options? I'm not
doing
> any major downloading or uploading but I give my browser a run for its
> money.

DSL Speeds depend mostly on the copper quality.  *In Town* it *might* be
good (or not).  Out in the woods it can be pretty bad.  Cable speeds
mostly depend on who else in your neighborhood is also using the
InterNet. 

(Technically [greatly simpified!] what is going on is this: with DSL
you have a dedicated 'wire' to the central office, but the wire can be
of poor quality.  With cable, you share a 'wire' with folks in your
neighborhood.)

One other gotcha: DSL depends on the *old* copper telephone system. 
Verizon wants to rid itself of this infrastructure.  The more rural
parts of it are in various states of decay.  If (When) Western Mass
Connect gets the fiber backbone and eventually the last mile gets
wired, it is likely that copper system may even vanish.  (The fiber
option system will effectively replace it.) 


> 
> Which option would you do?

If it was available where I live I'd go for Comcast, mostly because I
really, really want to stop sending money to Verizon (a black hole).

> 
> Thank you!!
> 
> Val
> 
> MIME-Version: 1.0
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