SBC DSL or Comcast Cable Broadband?

[Edwood]

Well, a potential new home will offer only SBC DSL (don't even know if it's close enough to the CO) or Comcast Cable Broadband.

I have never had either one before. I currently have Verizon DSL.

Anyone with experiences with either in Southern California?

-Ed

 

[Edwood]

Yikes. Comcast is so expensive. Their offer is introductory only.

$50+ per month? No thanks.

Man, I hope SBC doesn't suck bad.....

-Ed

 

[mtkversion]

I've used SBC DSL in the Davis, CA area for the past 2 years and it has been rock solid. I'm about 9K from the CO and still get the " max " speed my plan allows. 1500/220 average.

Very little downtime, customer support has been good too. I've never waited longer than ~5 minutes to get in contact with a tech. The price can't be beat either. I started off paying $49 for a one year contract and now pay $29 monthly.

They just upped their email service with 2 gb for the main account and 100 mb for the sub-accounts as well. Nice little addition.

I highly recommend them.

I'd also take a look at www.dslreports.com and type in your area and see what others say ... that's the best way to see if you'll get good service or not.

 

[Orpheus]

never used either, but generally i think cable's better. i pay $60/month for Adelphia's premium service. with dslreports.com i get 3500-4000 down, and 500-600 up average. that's a crap load of bandwith for a home. very satisfied. they used to have more downtime... but so far my internet's never been down for months.

i used to pay $50/month for Altrio's cable service, and it only rated 1500 down and 200 up. rip off compared to Adelphia. well, then they went bankrupt. wonder why.

 

[EightyEight]

I have SBC Yahoo DSL, and i pay 26.95 a month for 1500/128 speed. I have never had any lag spikes so this is perfect for games, because my ping stays under 30. But if you plan on downloading huge files, i'd suggest getting cable.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Yikes. Comcast is so expensive. Their offer is introductory only. $50+ per month? No thanks.

Considering how cable generally gets better bandwidth (and the fact that this would be a business expense for you), perhaps you should just bite the bullet. Or give them a nice haggling session about how you'd just go to DSL if they didn't give you a better price.

 

[bootman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer Considering how cable generally gets better bandwidth (and the fact that this would be a business expense for you), perhaps you should just bite the bullet. Or give them a nice haggling session about how you'd just go to DSL if they didn't give you a better price.

Heh, we don't haggle.
I work for Comcast and built most of the cable modem network here in NJ.
I pay careful attention to bandwidth utilization and plan expansions accordingly.
So you know what I'm going to pick.

Comcast basic plan is 3000/256 for $43/month if you are a cable TV sub.
(currently there is a $20 for 6 months promo for new customers.

)
the price is $58 for non cable subs. (NJ pricing)

We also have a pro plan that's 4300/384 and comes with features like static IP,
(well not really static but really long lease times) and additional business support.
This is $95 month.

Some DSL companies also offers business plans at much higher rates with additional support.

You will have to decide how much bandwidth and/or support you really need to make a wise decision.

If you do decide on DSL, IMO a router is a must just to keep the connection up.
(but a router is a good idea with any broadband solution)

 

[dariusf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bootman Comcast basic plan is 3000/256 for $43/month if you are a cable TV sub. (currently there is a $20 for 6 months promo for new customers. ) the price is $58 for non cable subs. (NJ pricing)

I have Comcast for about two years now and it rocks. Now with the double download speed its even better. Sure you can only really see the deference with major downloads and sure its server/network dependent but the upgrade was free

Normal rate was like $60 when ordered alone or the $43 with cable tv. I do keep on calling them and getting the special rate of $25 (i think) for like 6 months. Just call back at the end of every 6 months

Just called them two days ago and got the $25 + $8 for basic cable package + taxes. Add couple of filters on the inside if you got them and you are ready to rock for a descent price for both

 

[Orpheus]

you guys realize there are other advantages to cable right?:

1. cable is always on. no dialing in.
2. they cannot give you internet without giving you basic TV cable. however, they would like to charge you for it, and will tell you the internet's cheaper if you get both. but just refuse. and you'll see, you still get cable TV for free!

 

[dariusf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orpheus 2. they cannot give you internet without giving you basic TV cable. however, they would like to charge you for it, and will tell you the internet's cheaper if you get both. but just refuse. and you'll see, you still get cable TV for free!

at least in chicago area, comcast will sell you internet service with out cable tv. Purchasing even the basic cable tv plan with internet service will give you a discounted internet rate. So internet service with basic tv plan will actually cost about $8 less then just internet service. I know, it makes allot of sense but thats the pricing they have

 

[Orpheus]

ha ha, okay in your case you should get the cable TV then. heh he.... but yeah, so you know, that's the deal--internet cable cannot be sent without basic analog TV cable.

 

[ch1nkster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dariusf I have Comcast for about two years now and it rocks. Now with the double download speed its even better. Sure you can only really see the deference with major downloads and sure its server/network dependent but the upgrade was free Normal rate was like $60 when ordered alone or the $43 with cable tv. I do keep on calling them and getting the special rate of $25 (i think) for like 6 months. Just call back at the end of every 6 months Just called them two days ago and got the $25 + $8 for basic cable package + taxes. Add couple of filters on the inside if you got them and you are ready to rock for a descent price for both

yeah comcast does give you good offers but i kinda dislike them because i got a letter from them a couple months ago stating that i used up too much bandwidth. they didn't even tell me how much i used! anyway, my dad is a big cheapo so since 2 months ago, i've had sbc dsl at $26 /month. i do miss my super fast 300-500 kbs downloads. when i dl'ed stuff of irc, the fastest time i have ever seen my cable go was like 800 kbs! on dslreports' dsl speed test, i used to get like 3-4 mbs with comcast cable. my dsl right now does like around 1.5-2 mbs on dslreports. normal download speeds are like 200 kbs something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orpheus you guys realize there are other advantages to cable right?: 1. cable is always on. no dialing in. 2. they cannot give you internet without giving you basic TV cable. however, they would like to charge you for it, and will tell you the internet's cheaper if you get both. but just refuse. and you'll see, you still get cable TV for free!

1. dsl dials in but i don't need to do anything. i just turn my modem + router on and wait a few secs and i'm online.
2. bah! comcast's basic cable sucks. i've had it for a month or two and it wasn't all that great. i'm just going to wait till comcast has another promotion for like $19/ month and then cancel my dsl to get comcast.

 

[Edwood]

I would prefer paying less than $30/month for DSL rather than paying $40-56 per month for cable broadband. I need to have a land line anyways for my Fax machine. But I don't need cable. In fact if I can get ATSC signals from the condo, all the better. (not looking too promising, signal test was very spotty, so without rooftop antenna, I'm screwed. I hope the HOA allows a small UHF antenna, they allow Digital Sat antennae)

DSL is always on. Verizon here is NOT PPPOE. So it's always on.

Would the ATM modems from Verizon work on SBC's network? I have the Westell modems.

I don't even know if this place is even close enough to the CO. Keeping my fingers crossed.....

Oh, yeah. We're in Escrow, so when the paperwork clears. I'm moving in.

-Ed

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orpheus ha ha, okay in your case you should get the cable TV then. heh he.... but yeah, so you know, that's the deal--internet cable cannot be sent without basic analog TV cable.

Not in all areas. When I lived in Torrance, we had Time Warner. We had Roadrunner broadband. We ended up cancelling Cable TV and keeping Broadband internet. They increase your monthly charge a bit when you go without bundled TV service.

DSL will be following suit too. Verizon offers what they call "Naked DSL". It's not available here yet, though. No big deal, though, as I still need a land line.


-Ed

 

[Orpheus]

did you try it?--plug it into the TV. it should still work after you cancel it.