Roadrunner Vs. DSL (vs. Dialup)

AlmostAtheist

Hey Guys,

We have roadrunner and I'm so disappointed in it I could scream. When it works, it really is fast. But it goes down so often that it hardly seems worth the bother. And support is crummy, I talk to a dozen people before anybody decides to do anything, and then the tech comes out in a week or two and just cuts the ends off all the cables, attaches new connectors, tests it, and declares it "fixed". Three weeks later, we're right back where started.

So now I'm thinking about switching to DSL. Slower than cable, but still much faster than dialup, or so I'm told.

What has been your experiences? Will I still get low reliability from DSL? I *love* dialup for its reliability, but Zach homeschools via computer and needs a fast connection for all the junk they have him download. (Mostly flash-based stuff)

Sounds like it's roughly even money either way, so reliability and speed are my main concerns.

Thanks!

Dave

95stormfront

My guess is that there may be something further down the line causing your service to go up and down. I was having the same problems when I first got RR. Everytime one of their monkeys came to my house they tried blaming it on my equipment since I had a whole network set-up with wireless. It got to the point where I told them I only wanted them to confirm a strong signal to my house and I wouldn't even let them come in.

Turns out, after threatening to discontinue service, that there was something "going out" further down the line, especially when it rained. After they fixed that, my service has been stable ever since.

Princess

I had broadband cable for several years. I switched to DSL in August because my local phone company made me a great offer. I liked the cable but it seemed pretty expensive. I paid around $55 a month vs $35 for DSL plus I got a free wireless router and a month free. Cable was going to charge me an extra $5 per computer as well and the DSL allows me to add as many as I want.

The speed is slightly slower...maybe. Totally worth it IMO and I've not had a lick of trouble with it.

Rachel

GermanXJW

Doing dsl at 1MBit/s and loving it...

prophecor

DSL is great, I've been a subscriber in the past to road runner service, its OK, but for about $20.00 less, I get reliable service, I truly can't judge the difference in speed because the DSL is so fast that any wait, if any, is so small that you're likely not to pay it any mind. I pay my phone bill and DSL service all in one sweep.

Quotes

(I know I will get flamed for this by a fellow Nerd who is all about the tiny details, and would love to argue about how many MTUs can dance on the head of a pin, but...)

Between Cable and xDSL, 98% of people won't notice a difference in speed.

The Cable and xDSL providers are always in a marketing war of words over who is "faster", how "many people on line", etc.

In my experience (and I have experienced both) they are both "pretty damn quick" -- compared to dial-up. I honestly doubt a scientific A/B comparison between the two, while simply web surfing, would allow a person to even tell a difference in speed.

Deciding cable vs xDSL, when coming from dialup, is like going from owning a bicycle and worrying about whether you should get the BMW or the Mercedes, cause you want the 'fastest' one.... don't worry about it, just choose the best price and best sales service, since they're both faster than you probably need, and much faster than you are used to.

~Quotes, of the "Information Technology" class

GermanXJW

>whether you should get the BMW or the Mercedes

Thanks for mentioning German cars. :-)

prophecor

Well Said Q

Valis

I have SWB DSL service and recently got a yearly rate that was half my month to month rate. Plus I also have a dial up account I can use when I am not at home for no extra charge, which I really like.

Sincerely,

District Overbeer

one

reliability will depend mainly on the service provider, rather than the technology.

althogh less things can go wrong with dsl

the download throughtput (how much data you get in a given time) is not only determined by the "speed" of your connection

but serveral other factors, such as the website (fast server) you are visiting

AND your ISP ability and willingness to "help" you. The pipe may be wide but the "valve" supplying you at the ISP can be halfway closed.

Finally cable modem has the potential to increase your speed eventually without major problems, at this point dsl is pushing the limits.

Roadrunner Vs. DSL (vs. Dialup)

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