Dsl ?

[firstdown]

I was thinking about getting a DSL connection at home and was wondering if anyone has one with direct tv. Is it just as fast as regular DSL connections and beside heavy rains is there any other issues with satilite DSL? Thanks for any help.

[BDBohnzie]

When it comes to home internet:

FiOS > Cable > DSL >> Satellite

Not sure what's available in your area, but I'd check out everything. Satellite DSL can be very expensive for the speeds you would be getting...

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

When it comes to home internet:

FiOS > Cable > DSL >> Satellite

Not sure what's available in your area, but I'd check out everything. Satellite DSL can be very expensive for the speeds you would be getting...

There's also mobile broadband now, with speeds comparable to DSL depending on your area. Pop the card or USB device into your computer or a mobile broadband router and you've got a wireless access point.

Where I'm moving to next month that's the best/only option.

[cpayne5]

Do not get HughesNet if you have any other form of broadband available. You will not be satisfied - guaranteed.

[cpayne5]

Originally Posted by mheisig

There's also mobile broadband now, with speeds comparable to DSL depending on your area. Pop the card or USB device into your computer or a mobile broadband router and you've got a wireless access point.

Where I'm moving to next month that's the best/only option.

This is what I have at home. I subscribe to Sprint Mobile Broadband (EVDO Rev A). My speeds are about 1200/800 with latency in the 90ms range. It works well.

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by cpayne5

This is what I have at home. I subscribe to Sprint Mobile Broadband (EVDO Rev A). My speeds are about 1200/800 with latency in the 90ms range. It works well.

Yeah, I probably wouldn't enter any WoW tournaments or anything with it, but it's perfectly fine for everyday surfing and browsing.

[jamf]

Satellite has horrible latency! Worse than dialup.
I've never met anyone that was happy with Satellite Internet.
The one major flaw is that the satellite is 22,000 miles away in geosynchronous orbit which causes the minimum of a .240ms delay in response. If you are like alot of internet users, The delay will bug the crap out of you.

Lets also not forget any line of sight issues you may have.

Regular DSL is great if you can get it within a close distance to the CO.

[BleedBurgundy]

Satellite is easily the worst bang for the buck. FiOS is far and away the best way to go if you can get it but it's only in select neighborhoods at this point. Cable is great if you're not in a crowded area where everyone is tapping the pipe. Personally, I have DSL right now through Embarq, I get 5 mbs down and I think 750-800 kbs up. Back when I had comcast at my last place, I must have been the only one in the neighborhood willing to pay for it because I was getting ridiculous speeds down, 15-16 mbs. One thing I will say though is that Comcast has some of the worst tech support you will ever see. I don't know how many times I had to call in there and have the following conversation:

me: "your DNS servers are down"
habib: "sir could you please turn off your modem"
me: "your DNS servers are DOWN"
habib: "reboot the computer"
me: "Goodbye..."

One of the nice things about Embarq is that all of their customer service/tech support is US based.

[cpayne5]

Originally Posted by BleedBurgundy

Satellite is easily the worst bang for the buck. FiOS is far and away the best way to go if you can get it but it's only in select neighborhoods at this point. Cable is great if you're not in a crowded area where everyone is tapping the pipe. Personally, I have DSL right now through Embarq, I get 5 mbs down and I think 750-800 kbs up. Back when I had comcast at my last place, I must have been the only one in the neighborhood willing to pay for it because I was getting ridiculous speeds down, 15-16 mbs. One thing I will say though is that Comcast has some of the worst tech support you will ever see. I don't know how many times I had to call in there and have the following conversation:

me: "your DNS servers are down"
habib: "sir could you please turn off your modem"
me: "your DNS servers are DOWN"
habib: "reboot the computer"
me: "Goodbye..."

One of the nice things about Embarq is that all of their customer service/tech support is US based.

Comcast has this thing called PowerBoost. It gives customers (for the first 25 or so MB of a download burst) a boost of speed around 15-20mbps. It really screws with speed tests. I believe they are implementing upload PowerBoost right now as well. Something like 5-10mbps for the first couple MB up.

DSL is nice, but it's lifespan is coming to an end. There's only so much data you can push over 50 year old copper twisted pair. It's greatest limiting factor is loop length -ie, how far you are from your DSL provider's cabinet (be it CO or RT). Some of the newer DSL technologies can push upwards of 20mbps to the customer, but the distance limitations are ridiculous (5k feet or less, usually).

Well engineered cable deployments (read, DOCSIS 3.0) and fiber is the future.

[onlydarksets]

Download speed isn't everything. Also consider features, upload speed, and price.

Features - FiOS locks down all inbound ports, meaning you can't Sling or Orb, or access your home PC as a webserver (e.g., WebGuide for Windows Media Center). Cable tends to leave a broad range of ports open, although some will lock down the email ports. I don't know what DSL does.

Download Speeds - As far as speed goes, there are two bandwidth speeds that are important - upload and download (latency really isn't a factor between fiber/cable/dsl). Download speeds on FiOS are silly - 5Mbs/15Mbs/30Mbs+ depending on how much you want to pay. Cable speeds are equally adequate for nearly anything the average person is going to do (6Mbs/16Mb in my area without PowerBoost, depending on the package). DSL is still fine for most websurfing, (at around 1.5Mbs).

Upload Speeds - Upload speeds, however, really depend on the cable provider. DSL is only 256Kbs, which is little better than dial-up. Comcast in Arlington is only 768Kbs, which is good, but not good enough if you are doing extensive online backups (I backup 150GB, which could take a week the first time with Comcast). However, my in-laws have upload speeds of 2Mbs in VA Beach. FiOS is king in Arlington, with 2Mbs upload speeds.

Price - I've had them all (currently I have FiOS and cable - don't ask), and the best balance of features and speed is Cable. However, it's more expensive ($43/month) than comparable FiOS service ($35/month). DSL is dirt cheap by comparison (~$20/month, or less for really slow downloads).

[firstdown]

Thanks for all the help but now I'm even more confused. What I have now is people PC which is dial up and pretty slow. We have direct TV which I was thinking would be faster but from what I'm reading will only be a little faster at best. I do not use the computer much at home but would like something faster than dial up but I do not want to spend much per month for the extra speed. From what I've read it seem's like I just need to see what is offered in my area. I'm way behind the learning curve on this stuff so I guess a little reserch will help.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Thanks for all the help but now I'm even more confused. What I have now is people PC which is dial up and pretty slow. We have direct TV which I was thinking would be faster but from what I'm reading will only be a little faster at best. I do not use the computer much at home but would like something faster than dial up but I do not want to spend much per month for the extra speed. From what I've read it seem's like I just need to see what is offered in my area. I'm way behind the learning curve on this stuff so I guess a little reserch will help.

A little faster for not much would mean DSL. Everything else is more expensive. DSL is slower than the others but is probably fine for what you want. It will seem like a Ferrari compared to dial up anyways.

[onlydarksets]

Yep - get DSL. If Verizon DSL is available in your area, you should be able to get it for $15/month.

[cpayne5]

Originally Posted by onlydarksets

Features - FiOS locks down all inbound ports, meaning you can't Sling or Orb, or access your home PC as a webserver (e.g., WebGuide for Windows Media Center). Cable tends to leave a broad range of ports open, although some will lock down the email ports. I don't know what DSL does.

This is incorrect. On residential FIOS, ports 80 and sometimes 25 and/or 135 are blocked (depends on region).

[onlydarksets]

Originally Posted by cpayne5

This is incorrect. On residential FIOS, ports 80 and sometimes 25 and/or 135 are blocked (depends on region).

Nope - they block them all in my area. Come over some time and run a port scan. I have. Occasionally there will be a high-range port open, but most of the time it's all shut down.