I don't know too much about this type of thing but I finally decided to check into it. The online speed test is telling me I am only downloading at 2 mbps. Could this be wrong or am I getting shafted here..

 

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Depends... what are you paying for?

I pay for 19 Mbps, and get 8 Mbps on a good afternoon. I'm getting the shaft.

 

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You'll need to note the differences between megabits (Mbps) and megabytes (MBps). 2 megabytes (2 MBps) is equal to about 16 megabits (16 Mbps).

If you have 2 MBps that's okay for cable/DSL.
If you have 2 Mbps that's pretty slow.

False alarm, I just checked through my local isp's speed test and it reported around 6 mbps. Which is what my plan advertizes.

I am running dsl though and paying about $60 CND a month.

The cable provider around here advertises about 14 mbps for about $20 less.

Is cable really that much faster?

 

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Yup.

Yes and no.


They generally have a clause that says ""UP TO"" because your sharing a LINE with EVERYONE else in your neighborhood back to the gateway....the more people that get on, the lower your gonna get.


DSL should be a constant.

Hrm that sounds like quite the gamble. Although I do live in a pretty low end of town, I am not sure I'd be sharing the connection with too many people.

 

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That shared line in the neighborhood is almost never an issue though. And of course DSL speeds may also fluctuate depending on your distance from the CO, which hopefully also isn't as much an issue these days.

Usually when your speeds dip it's because of congestion further up the food chain and those types of slow downs affect a lot more than just the people in the neighborhood and happen with cable or DSL. It's a matter of how well the ISP built it's infrastructure. Some do okay, others not so okay.

But cable as a technology is faster than DSL. Though some DSL providers offer fiber optic connections which is faster than cable.

And both DSL and cable providers are not always accurate in their advertised speeds as discussed in this thread here.
http://vnboards.ign.com/pc_generalhardwaresoftware_tech_support_board/b22497/115316712/p1/?14

You're at the top end for DSL, that is actually an impressive DL rate. DSL is almost a home run connection to the ISP whereas cable you can be grouped with many others which will drag you down during prime time.

The thing with the price that you have to be cautious of is that they may be only talking about the Internet portion and not including the cable portion. If you really want to experiment you can get both services for a month or two (if there are no limitations or fees...), check your cable during prime to see how it does.

Other than that, making a switch is a roll of the dice. You might even want to talk to the DSL provider and see if you can spook them into giving you a better price which then really gives the advantage to the DSL.

I know when everything is going good, Im getting my moneys worth. but on weekends with holidays or during the summer, my speeds drop drastically.


I live in town, to have DSL was going to cost me the same as what I pay now for Cable, at less than half the speed and only 1 IP.