Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic DSL Providers

I would appreciate anyone's thoughts on a good DSL provider. I recently cancelled my service through the phone company due to constant problems and their horrid customer service and am in need of a new and hopefully better provider! I don't know much about computers but have been told that connection speed seems to depend more on your computer than the provider? I THINK my old service said something about 10mps or something like that? Maybe?

Thanks,
Mona

I don't have DSL but have cable through our cable company and am generally pleased with it. I had it with our old cable company too and it was better, but also a much larger company [the smallish town I live in now - the cable company's offices are a converted split level house with a couple big satellite dishes in back]. We have their 'lite' internet and the only time we notice slowdowns or anything is if we're dl'ing video [like youtube].

It does depend on your computer to a certain extent - our old desktop isn't nearly as fast as either laptop [both less than 3 years old], but not completely.

My next door neighbor has ATT [I think] and my in laws and several others I know have sbcglobal. My inlaws have complained that sometimes if the phone rings it kicks them offline for a few seconds [interrupting DLs etc.] but in an unpredictable manner. Otherwise they're both happy with them.
Carol

The problem is that not all providers are available in all areas. The DSL provider must have service in your area. I'd say check the phone book for providers, then look online for reviews. Also ask your neighbors.

I have a cable modem at home, which I love. However, at work I do support for both DSL and Cable services. I can tell you that it's part computer, part service. You can have the fastest service in the world, but if you're running Windows 98 on a 300 mhz computer, things are going to be slow. Alternatively, you could be running Vista on a 2.4 ghz dual-core processor, but have only 128k download speed, and it would still be slow.

The big factors for DSL speed is the distance between you and the local switching station, the quality of the phone lines, and the quality of the equipment. Phone line exposure can also be an issue. I can't count how many customers complain that their service degrades when it's raining. Cable service is also the quality of the equipment, quality of the cable lines, and the number of customers on each node. (I maintain that this is also an issue with DSL, but I'm not quite sure how the lines are run and connected.) So if you're one of very few people on your block using cable internet, you won't be fighting over bandwidth. But if every person on your block has it and the provider hasn't allowed for that, your speeds may be slower than usual.

Oh, when you start talking to the providers themselves, don't always believe what they say about speed. I've heard tales of the phone rep promising that the customer will get great speeds, but then the tech will come out and say that there's no way they can get that where they live. So take what the phone rep says with a grain of salt.

Oh, Carol, if your inlaws have phone line filters, they may need new ones. Bad filters can cause extra line noise, which messes up the DSL.

Thanks for the suggestions, folcs. For some reason, this morning, I was told my service would be disconnected by Tuesday, it's lightening fast at the moment for the first time in a week! I have AT and T or sbc whatever it's called now. We shall see..maybe I'll change me mind.

Mona

Thanks Karen. I'll ask them but I doubt they know what a filter is [I don't ]. Got any more info?

My internet does have issues with rain. Like I said, it's a small local cable company. If there's no rain, it's pretty good, though I do miss the faster video DL's from the regular high speed - it's not worth the extra 20/mo right now.

Carol

Try DSL Reports . They can find local options for you, and they have forums and user reviews and all sorts of stuff. And, despite the name, they also cover cable, VOIP, and other services.

A DSL filter is a little device that you put on the phone line that filters out all of the extra line noise that the phones create. They look like this:




Some have 1 jack for a phone line, and others have 2, which are called splitters.

And don't forget: any line is only as fast as the slowest link. So the fastest connection won't help you at all if the other side is only sending with 56k.

You have to double-check where the service is available, too. Last year I called my dial-up service to convert to DSL and they sent the equipment in good time, including software and complete instructions. My wife tried to install it: no go. I tried to install it at least three times: no go. I called the ISP help desk and spoke to a young lady from somewhere other than Ohio or Wyoming, and while she was checking her database I looked up our zip code on their DSL provider map.

Surprise! They didn't provide DSL service in our zip code at that time. I asked the young lady why we were sold a service they couldn't provide, and she blamed it on an overly enthusiastic college student trying to boost sales. Maybe it was, I don't know. Upshot of it was that we sent the equipment back, got a refund, and went to broadband cable service. It's more expensive here, but it's tons faster and hasn't been down since we got it.

The choice of service depends on so many factors. We just have to do our homework and choose the right one for each of us.