[ale] Re-send: Opinions on Cable versus DSL

[rob hoppe]

aaron wrote:

> Previously, Jay Finch typed into the ether:
> > Hey everyone,
> > I know this question has been asked a million and one times, but being that
> > the technology has changed so much in the past few months and I'm only now
> > becoming concerned with it, I wanted some opinions.
> >
> > I've been a Charter Comm. Cable Modem subscriber for about 3 years now, and
> > have had pretty good service.  It's been fairly peppy, but I hate how it
> > goes down when it rains (without fail) and other weird routing and downtime
> > issues.
>
> You obviously know about the difficulties that can crop up with the
> current high speed offerings, so we won't need to repeat too much.
>
> > I just got a notice from BellSouth that I'm (finally!) eligible
> > for DSL service.
>
> You may want to try to find out exactly how far you are from the
> "Central Office" connection. Distance to the C.O. does have a big effect
> on throughput and reliability.
>
> > What I want to know is this: How reliable is DSL vs. Cable?
> >  What about the speeds?
>
> I chose EarthLink/Mindspring last year; I didn't want to just buy into
> the Bell monopoly and Mindspring had, at least at one time, been good to
> deal with for alternative platforms.
>
> ADSL service was a new thing back then, and it took 6 months of trying
> on two different phone lines before I was up. The delays were mostly due
> to BellSouth line noise problems on the first attempt which they
> evenutally jsut refused to address; every difficulty was compounded
> by truly miserable communications and response time for info to filter
> through the layers of Customer<>Installer/E.L.M.<>BellSouth.
> (BTW, Mindspring seems to have ZERO Atlanta customer service presence
> since "merging" with Earthlink, which may be a big part of the problem)
>
> Even when we got my alternative line working the ADSL has been
> marginal. I am apparently on the "fringe" of useful distance from the
> C.O., and DownStream speed has averaged about 288kbps (of a potential
> 1500kbps). The connection was fairly reliable early on, but has
> been inexplicably degrading since, especially of late. Numerous waits on
> hold with customer service have not yielded any significant results; BS
> is "supposed to be" looking into it, that was 3 weeks ago (my most
> recent call).
>
> >  (I generally get 1.5MB download and 128k upload
> > on Cable fairly  consistently, depending on I-net traffic.)
>
> I wish I could think about dreaming of getting the actual bandwidth I'm
> paying for. Though my upload speed is always 256kbps/
>
> > Additionally, I'm using a Linux box as my firewall/gateway, and I have a
> > Static IP with Charter right now.  I know that Mindspring & Bellsouth both
> > use PPPoE with DHCP as a standard, but Mindspring offers a Static IP for
> > $15 extra a month.
> >
> > I want a static IP.  From y'alls experience: Do Mindspring and Bellsouth
> > refresh their IPs often enough to warrant asking for a static one?  (I have
> > several DNS mappings to my home machine right now.)
>
> The IP shifts every time my line drops sync and the modem re-connects.
> I have no idea how often the IP was changing when re-syncs were less
> frequent.
>
> I, too, would prefer a Static IP, but without paying an extra charge.
> So...
>
> ...in hopes of still avoiding the cable and B.S. line monopolies
> plus get assigned a static IP at no added cost, plus give B.S. the
> chance to provision my third line with newer (hopefully better working)
> technology, plus change over my purchase dollars to a service company
> that acknowledges LINUX support, I decided to switch to Telocity ...
>
> ... which, when I go to place my order about July 1, I find out has
> just been bought up by DirectTV DSL. I place my order anyway, because
> the static IP / Linux support deals doen't seem to have changed.
> Provisioning is promised to be done within 14 days ...
>
>  ... so I get a call from DirectTV DSL on the 19th, about the time I'm
> getting ready to call -them- and ask "what the frell?". Apparently, they
> lost most all of the order info (though not my phone number, at least)
> and are -just- getting around to letting me know. After cluing them all
> over again on all the data they lost, I'm back in yet another 14 day
> holding pattern, waiting on B.S. to get the line provisioned. At
> least I -did- get an email confirmation of my order from DirectTV DSL
> this time. ...
>
> ... le sigh.
>
> > And finally, I know that neither "support" Linux --
>
> So go with DirectTV DSL. At least they still note Linux/Unix among
> supported platforms on the web site. They've also noted LINUX on my
> account (again). The EarthLink-Mindspring folks don't even have a
> category for Linux in their customer forms, so they have no idea that
> the overwhelming majority of their DSL users are actually running Linux!
> ;-)
>
> > I know my stuff fairly
> > well in getting a box configured, but how much of a bear is it to configure
> > for DSL vs. Cable?
>
> Negligable difference from my understanding. I consider myself a
> "well informed intermediate newbie" <grin> and my original setup with a
> straight PPPoE connect was no problem.
>
> >  (And is there a "better" DSL ISP for Linux? I'm trying
> > to keep my costs around $50-$60/month, which is what I'm paying for my
> > Cable Modem right now.)
>
> The DirectTV DSL is $50/mo. with Static IP. You do have a $25 shipping
> deposit on the modem, which gets refunded on modem return.
>
> The Earthlink / Mindspring is $50/mo. w/o static IP, $65/mo. with.
> The Modem and install may still be "free".
>
> ATT (Media One) may have dropped from $50 to $40/mo. (in addition to
> your TV package cost, of course). No static IP options at all to my
> understanding. TTBOML Modem and install are still "free".
>
> > Thanks in advance for y'alls help.  :~)
>
> Thanks for the excuse to rant on my DSL B.S. experiences.
> Sorry to the list if it was a redundant to my previous
> notes on such topics, but after the latest uninvited
> complication...
>
> peace
> (after justice)
> aaron
> --
> To unsubscribe: mail majordomo at ale.org with "unsubscribe ale" in message body.

I have ADSL and I am 36,000 feet from the CO.  I have a MINIRAM in my SLC in the
field.  I am on fiber to the SLC from the CO so distance didn't matter.  The
MINIRAM allows or replicates a DSLAM.  A MINIRAM has 8 ADSL ports on a ATM
(Asynchronous Transfer Mode) setup to the ISP (Mindspring - Earthlink).  I am
5,000? feet from the MINIRAM.  My ADSL works fine and quick!

Rob


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