No FIOS here. I would have jumped on it if it were. Currently I have Verizon wireless and would love to bundle for some savings. Wifes employer uses everyone but Verizon, so currently we are missing out on discounts galore. If I switch to ATT DSL I can budle local, DSL, and wireless I suppose. I hate to switch wireless as Verizon has been great overall, and ATT never ranks out even close.
DSL vs. Cable question
- Thread starter r-in
- Start date
"make sure you ask the phone company how far you are from the switch."
17,500 feet is the maximum range, about three miles. The actual range is closer to 10 or 12 thousand feet. I had DSL and there were constant problems with dropped connection.
I've been running comcast now for the last five years at 20 MPBS and has been solid for the most part.
17,500 feet is the maximum range, about three miles. The actual range is closer to 10 or 12 thousand feet. I had DSL and there were constant problems with dropped connection.
I've been running comcast now for the last five years at 20 MPBS and has been solid for the most part.
As mentioned - DSL will be more reliable (assuming you are within one mile of the station) but typiclly slower than cable. TWC will be faster but not as reliable.
Depending on what you do you may need the extra bandwidth. You can call TWC, ask for level 3 support and ask them how much your average bandwidth is (usage #'s). They can tell you average as well as peak usage - if your peak usage is over the DSL limits I'd be weary of switching to DSL.
Could you get two DSL lines from two different ISPs for less than TWC? You can bond the two lines (expensive router required) but you'd have better speeds and twice the reliability... Just a thought. Or you could use one line for ONLY trading and one line for everything else.
Depending on what you do you may need the extra bandwidth. You can call TWC, ask for level 3 support and ask them how much your average bandwidth is (usage #'s). They can tell you average as well as peak usage - if your peak usage is over the DSL limits I'd be weary of switching to DSL.
Could you get two DSL lines from two different ISPs for less than TWC? You can bond the two lines (expensive router required) but you'd have better speeds and twice the reliability... Just a thought. Or you could use one line for ONLY trading and one line for everything else.
ok, this is what you have to accept:
1. cable is more reliable and faster than AT&T phone line, there is no debate on that. I am not for any cable company, be it Time Warner or Comcast.
2. AT&T phone line is NOT for trading, not because it is not fast enough, but because it is not reliable. It drops frequently for the simple reason that it is not designed to carry internet traffic.
3. cable company is monopolizing local counties. There is simply no competitor against it in the county where you live. This is the reason that a cable company is blatantly over-charging you: 40-50 bucks a month for connecting a line that the company doesn't have to do anything afterwards. This is the same situation as the local phone company over-charging you 10 years ago when there were no wireless companies competing against the landline company.
Remember how the local phone company ripped you off:
1. connection fee: $95 (outrageous)
2. monthly fee for local phone calls: $38.
3. long distance fee : 15 cents a minute.
4. regulatory fee: $6.
5. 911 training fee: $
6. federeal access fee: $
7. local government fee: $
8. another fee: $
9. more fee: $
10. taxes: $
the local phone company was able to rip you off because it monopolized the area where you lived=it owned the phone lines. Those days are gone! The phone company monopoly was broken by wireless companies and internet-based companies. Thank God for that!
Now, similary, the local cable company is able to rip you off because it monoplizes the area where you live=it owns the cable lines.
Right now, no competitor can beat cable internet in terms of reliability (I got rid of cable TV long time ago. Satellite TV is great).
You left AT&T long time ago for good reasons, it ripped you off. Now, cable company is pushing you, but AT&T is just not an option, it is still as bad as when you left it.
You have no choice but accept your cable company's rip off, for now.
I hope the wireless technology will develop quickly and replace the cable company.
The reliability may depend on where you live and how far you are from the CO (Central Office).
I have both Comcast cable modem and AT&T (formerly SBC (formerly Pacific Bell (formerly AT&T))) DSL. I have both because I want to avoid having no Internet connection during any trading sessions.
Cable and DSL both have their own problems. Neither is 100% reliable. For cable: typically outages during winter storms (I live in Northern CA). When they are out, they are out for hours, sometimes a day. Not acceptable. About 2-3 times a year. For DSL, I experienced temp outages regularly, about once every few days. The DSL modem goes through a reset cycle of some sort. Then it usually recovers itself after 3 to 4 minutes. But if this happens during a crucial moment (Murphy's Law), I can lose hundreds of dollars if the market moves against me (or lost opportunities). I have DSL for over a year now. Have not had any extended outage like cable.
Speed-wise, DSL is acceptable for my application (2-3 computers on DSL running 20-30 TradeStation charts).
I have both Comcast cable modem and AT&T (formerly SBC (formerly Pacific Bell (formerly AT&T))) DSL. I have both because I want to avoid having no Internet connection during any trading sessions.
Cable and DSL both have their own problems. Neither is 100% reliable. For cable: typically outages during winter storms (I live in Northern CA). When they are out, they are out for hours, sometimes a day. Not acceptable. About 2-3 times a year. For DSL, I experienced temp outages regularly, about once every few days. The DSL modem goes through a reset cycle of some sort. Then it usually recovers itself after 3 to 4 minutes. But if this happens during a crucial moment (Murphy's Law), I can lose hundreds of dollars if the market moves against me (or lost opportunities). I have DSL for over a year now. Have not had any extended outage like cable.
Speed-wise, DSL is acceptable for my application (2-3 computers on DSL running 20-30 TradeStation charts).
FIOS is clearly a superior alternative to Cable/DSL if you can get it, but what I really desperately want is 4G WiMAX service, which allows you to access the Internet from just about ANYWHERE. When I was in Japan and Korea, this was already up and running. Once you acquire a taste for the WiMAX, I swear you won't wanna go back to using anything else.
Time Warner is a pile of crap for service, so in that respect no different than ATT. I probably need to talk to people locally to find out how their DSL service has been with ATT. TWC claims I'm getting 7-9mbps, but I doubt it happens very often. Att max, assuming they aren't exagerating is 6 mbps, and I know where my substation is, and I'm probably at the max distance. I checked TWC's online pricing and the jerkwads are actually charging $5 more than what it shows the price online. I'll try calling another day and talking to a different operator also.