cable modem/dsl

[Dan Cordon]

I've had DSL for about three years now. I'm with Verizon but going
through a local service provider. One friend has wireless to his house,
and another has a cable modem. So far, the wireless seems to produce the
fastest results, with our DSL coming in a close second. As they point
more and more people at a particular wireless antenna, the performance
tends to slow down during high-use times. The DSL stays pretty constant
(though the service provider can slow down I suppose). The friend with
cable modem was one of the first on his line to get one. It was pretty
fast at first, but has slowed significantly. At this point he's about
1/2 the rate that we are. He's also calling the cable company about
once/month with some problem. DSL here has been plug and play since we
got it.

We considered switching to a cable modem, but it was going to reduce
performance and reliability. For us though, it was going to save a lot
of $$ though. We pay about $55/month to the phone company, and another
$20/month to the ISP. That's $75/month for a high speed internet
connection. I usually feel it's a waste of money, but my wife needs it
for work, so we pay. Plus, I get to shop ebay at high-speeds too :o)

FYI, our house was built in the mid 80's. We were in a house from the
30's that had to be re-wired for the DSL to work.

--
Dan Cordon
Mechanical Engineer
University of Idaho - Engine Research Facility