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cable or satellite

kkrafts58kkrafts58 subscriber Posts: 12
edited April 2007 in Marketing
I have a question, Which do you prefer, cable or satellite for your internet service? I have DSL through AT&T right now, (not happy with it lately) but will be making a change later this week.

Comments

  • omupasomupas subscriber Posts: 7
    It depends.  What are you using the service for?  If it is strictly for internet, I prefer cable.  If it`s internet with multiple voip phones, I prefer DSL.  If you`re using voip service, I`ve heard that cable services deprioritize the voip data packets causing quality issues with the voip connections.  I`ve never used satellite service, so I`m not sure how that stacks up.
  • olegoleg subscriber Posts: 13 Bronze Level Member
    I am curious about satellite service as well - has anyone here had any experience with it? 
    The only cable provider in my area is Comcast - not my favorite company to deal with, to put it mildly.  Unfortunately it seems like I am stuck with them as I do not have a "land" phone line in my home, so that rules out DSL. 
    I last looked into satellite access about a year or so back, the only viable option at the time was DIRECWAY/HughesNet.  Considering their prices, access speed, and bandwidth limitations, it was not a good value at all.  Has satellite service improved much in the last year?
    Also, what about wireless internet service providers?
  • SolidGrndSolidGrnd subscriber Posts: 11
    I think it depends on your choice of provider as much as it is about the service itself. I use to be a big cable fan until I had a HORRIBLE (can`t emphasis that enough) experience with my cable provider. I switched to DSL through Verizon and have never been happier. If I had the choice between Verizon`s DSL and a cable provider that was worthy...I would probably switch back to cable...but only because it is more stable.
    The earlier satellite internet connections were spotty...kind of like satellite TV...the littlest thing would shut you down. I haven`t had satellite in a while...except for TV...which seems to have a much more sturdy standing than it use to...I don`t lose my TV connection very often at all...100 ml/hr winds was the last time I saw it out!
    Would love to know how others are fairing with it though...I have been curious since starting to see ads on TV for it again!
  • olegoleg subscriber Posts: 13 Bronze Level Member
    Leah: are you using Verizon wireless service, or standard landline DSL?
  • kkrafts58kkrafts58 subscriber Posts: 12
    I will be using it for T.V. and internet only. Not  phone service. I am finding that in different areas service is faster and easier, even though it is provided by the same company. At my sisters, you click on the internet explorer icon and you`re there, with mine you still have to go through the process of connecting. It`s almost as slow as dial-up.Also, the price of my DSL is going up $7 more per month and if I am going to be paying more, I want faster internet, so I thought I would try either cable or satellite. That`s why I want some feedback. Satisfied or dissatisfied?
  • PokermanPokerman subscriber Posts: 5
    Satellite connections work in what is known as the Ku Band. The wavelength is .98 inches.  When there is an obstruction that exceeds 1/10th the wavelength of the transmitted frequency, attenuation occurs.  Raindrops will exceed this 1/10th of a wavelength and heavy rains will cause the signal to be dropped as will heavy snowfall.  In the world of Ku Band television signals this will be experienced as a frozen picture and if the outage time exceeds the input buffer`s storage capacity a blue screen.
    Satellite connection speeds will be considerably less than cable or dsl.  As much as 10 times slower.  Depending on how you use your internet connection this could be a real detriment but on the other hand....  living wherever you choose has its advantages
    Upload speeds of HughesNet Home are just over twice as fast as dialup`s 54 kbps at 128 kbps and their Professional Service is only 200 kbps.  Remember these are MAX connection speeds and depending upon the number of users this can slow dramatically at any given time.  If you are a company that regularly needs to upload high bandwidth content such as music, video or large spreadsheets you may as well locate your office on the waterfront so you can get some fishing time in while you wait for things to upload.
    Download speeds are 780 kbps and 1,000 kbps which is closer to the speeds you`d see with dsl.  Download times for cable are very dynamic depending on the number of simultaneous users on your particular node but can be as high as10,000 kbps.
    I just recently dropped my cable internet connection in favor of strictly dsl (I subscribed to both as a redundancy measure) One of my associates still has dialup and every time he complains about the eternity it takes to get anything done... I tell him I have a solution... it`s spelled R-E-A-L-T-O-R
    As with anything there are tradeoffs.... dsl is now my choice but if my next home has a well stocked bass pond, few neighbors and a glorious view, I`ll buy a new bass rod when i put in my order for satellite internet.
  • SolidGrndSolidGrnd subscriber Posts: 11
    Leah: are you using Verizon wireless service, or standard landline DSL?
    I have Verizon wireless for my cell...but I use a dryloop for my DSL...don`t have regular phone service...don`t ever use a regular phone. I have been very pleased so far. I just got my stuff to create the wireless in the home...but haven`t hooked it up yet. I didn`t realize Verizon DSL had a wireless option beyond me getting the stuff to create my own wireless!?
  • williamwilliam subscriber Posts: 2
    As a service provider, I have surveyed enough customers to have a decent assessment.  The bottom-line, in my view, is stay away from satellite.  The down link is at best 700 kbps.  The up link is literally 25 kbps.If you were to send an e-mail with a 1 mbps attachment, you could go to lunch and back waiting on the e-mail to send.I have 10 mbps down and 1 mbps up with Charter Communication (cable) for about $70 per month.  But then again I am in the IT industry.  The speeds are available in lower levels and lower pricing. 
  • kkrafts58kkrafts58 subscriber Posts: 12
    O.K. I`ve decided on cable, mainly because too many people are telling me upload and download time on satellite can be slow. I went to Time Warner cable`s website today and placed my order, (I tried calling, but thier wait time by phone was too long) that part was quick and easy and I didn`t have to use my credit card, they will bill me by mail. I did email them to ask them a question about certain channel lineups and just got a general response that didn`t answer my question at all. They will be out to hook me up Tues. 3/27 and I will let you know how it goes from there.
  • kkrafts58kkrafts58 subscriber Posts: 12
    Well, I`ve had my cable for a week now. It`s ok, I thought the internet would be faster than dsl, but on some things it`s as slow or slower. It doesn`t help that I only have a 354 computer with a 19gb  hard drive. I have removed quite a few of my files and copied them to discs and now have about 9gb available.  But overall I`d give it a 7.
  • SolidGrndSolidGrnd subscriber Posts: 11
    My personal opinion, after selling telecom for a while, no one is ever truly satisfied with their internet speed until they go T1 or higher...which is unfortunately, too expensive for the average joe (otherwise I would have it at home).
  • williamwilliam subscriber Posts: 2
    Well, I`ve had my cable for a week now. It`s ok, I thought the internet would be faster than dsl, but on some things it`s as slow or slower. It doesn`t help that I only have a 354 computer with a 19gb  hard drive. I have removed quite a few of my files and copied them to discs and now have about 9gb available.  But overall I`d give it a 7.Go to http://www.speedtest.net and test your circuit.  If it is not rated for what you are paying, call the cable company up and have them service it until it works.I mentioned earlier in the thread I have 10 mbps down and 1 mbps up.  It works close to it the majority of the time.  If you are in a congested area with others on the circuit, your speed can be affected.It is rare to get the maximum.  If the circuit is 80% or better to the rated speed the circuit is healthy.Of course, you can always up the bandwidth further for more money.  My circuit makes T1`s look like turtle`s.  I manage nationwide T1 circuits and they can`t compare to the service Charter offers.
  • shyam12shyam12 subscriber Posts: 0
    hi you also test the speed of your internet at Ip-details.com here they provide you good results.
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