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DSL or Cable Upgrade Questions

rhianna

rhianna

New Member
I live in the United States (just outside of New York City).
I've been on Dial-UP for 10 years with the "same" company (now owned by EarthLink) and I pay $21.95 per month for the Dial-Up, 8 e-mail boxes (I only use two of the eight) and 10 MB of webspace.

I'm just not sure which to pick and how to find the best value for my money.

I've been debating whether I should upgrade to either DSL or Cable (I also have a limited budget to devote to an Internet connection).

Earthlink (my current Dial-Up provider) recently sent me literature saying that I could upgrade to DSL for $14.95 a month for 6 months but when I went to their website (and I did type in the promotional code), I was switched to this deal:

EarthLink DSL (Available)

* Downstream speed of up to 6.0 Mbps
* $19.95/month for the first 3 months
* Monthly Charge: $ 39.95/month thereafter
* Up to 4 times faster than regular DSL! (regular DSL = 1.5 Mbps)

Not only that, but I read that I would have to have one of their technicians to come to my place to install the DSL (an additional charge of $100).

I see this as a classic bait-and-switch.

Any opinions? Do you think this is a good deal or are there better deals available and where could I find a better deal?

Verizon (I live near the telephone company) has a DSL Starter Package $14.95 for 12 months with a modem at no additional charge (what do they mean by that?) there's a line that says: Three installation steps
Connection with speeds up to 768 Kbps

Verizon has another deal at $29.99 per month for 12 months including free wireless networking with Connection speeds up to 3.0 Mbps

Which is the better deal?

All Verizon DSL packages include:
* Choice of Verizon Yahoo! or MSN Premium -- does anyone know what is meant by this?
* 24/7 live technical support
* 10 MB of personal Web space
* 30-day money-back guarantee
* 9 e-mail accounts
* Self-install kit -- how difficult is it to self-install?

Should I get Cable or DSL? I took a look at Optimum Online, their offer is: $29.95/month for the first 6 months when you install it yourself* (I'm afraid of "install it yourself deals -- what exactly do I need to install?) Optimum Online Boost is an additional $14.95/month (I'm nost sure what that is). Optimum is not upfront about how much the monthly fee will be after the first 6 months.
Is there anything else I should keep in mind when selecting a high speed Internet service?

Does anyone else still use Dial-Up? Do you think that $21.95 a month is high for a dial-up service?

Thanks in advance.
 
OUch, Dial up :shutter: I remember those days hahahaha!

I've been with Cable for about 5-8 years now, and am loving it :)

Never will go back and I'm surprised dial-up is still around.

Dunno about USA ISP's but in Canada I'd say SHAW is pretty good
 
rhianna said:
Do you think that $21.95 a month is high for a dial-up service?
Click to expand...
It's the average price, but no doubt compared to dsl or cable it's a crappy price :)

Advice 1: Call your ISP and tell them to honner the 14.99 price you got by mail. Ask for any extra charges.
Advice 2: If they do tell you the tech costs 100$, tell them you'r mentally capable of plugging a box to the power source and connecting the phone and ethernet cables. Then follow the guide below to create the pppoe connection. (if you have winxp)
Advice 3: If they still want you to pay 100$ for installation, ask to speak to a supervisor.

Advice 3 will solve anything. Take this form someone who worked at a DSL isp ;)


PPPOE XP
1) start -> control panel -> switch to classic view -> network connections
2) File -> new connection
3) Next -> connect to the internet -> next -> setup manually -> broadband connection that requires username/password -> next -> type your ISP's name -> next -> type the username/password provided by your ISP -> add a shortcut to the desktop -> Finish


edit:

MSN Premium = browser for newbies. It's internet explorer with a shiny interface giving you acces to email, web, favorites and other crap. We used to sell that thing for 6$/mo. absolutely not worth it unless you'r an old lady that barely knows how to turn on her computer

As for DSL vs Cable, depends. First make sure dsl can actually reach your house. If the phone line travels too great a distance to reach your house from the central office you will not be getting a steady connection. They'll have to lower your speed to stabilize it.
End result = I saw people paying full price for 5mbps internet while they were only capable of doing 1mpbs. In that case I politely advised them to reconsider their membership.

If your house can indeed get the full speed, then it's upto you to do the math. calculate with one has the best speed/price ratio and go from there. But if I'd have to decide, it'd take cable over dsl.
 
Last edited:
:lol:mad:Msn Premium. My friend did support for them, not anymore :p

they can hardly do anything for you even if they want to. The workers are instructed to help as little as possible :)
 
Wojtek about covered it all, the switch is simple at your phone providers end, they just enable your line. After that you put a filter (lil splitter cable) in and then you get both phone and ADSL about $15-20/month is good for having it supplied and you will notice the difference.
 
I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to this thread :beer:
I would especially like to thank Wojtek.

I ordered the EarthLink DSL Downstream speed of up to 6.0 Mbps via their online chat/help screen and it was great to have Wojtek's tips and questions right there for me so I could get the answers I wanted from the ISP plus I requested a transcript of the online chat we had.
I was able to plug the DSL box to the power source and connect the phone and ethernet cables without having to pay a technician :)

DSL is a lot better than dial-up -- thanks to everyone for the advice!
 
DSL would require the telco to change the line, but I'm sure you can hook everything else up, just ask for the do it yourself install.

Edit: See you have it done, good luck.
 
Well in my area (FL, US),

I have RR ( Roadrunner ) same like Earthlink. I have the 7 Mbps/512 Kbps Connection. I pay around $35.99 for first 6 months, now $44.99 !!

In NY area, do you get Optimum ONLINE, the best one out in US. Good Price for the features they offer.
 
utcrazy said:
DSL would require the telco to change the line, but I'm sure you can hook everything else up, just ask for the do it yourself install.

Edit: See you have it done, good luck.
Click to expand...

The line wasn't changed.
I placed a Dual-Jack DSL Filter into the telephone jack near my computer and I installed a DSL Filter on my other line.
 
The line was 'changed'.
They activated the DSL part of it at the central office. Otherwise it wouldnt work.

PPPoE = point to point over ethernet, or something
it's the name of the connection protocol used with DSL.

3 choises on how you can establish a connection:
1) with your computer. Same as dialup, you have to double-click on an icon to establish a connection
2) with a router. the reouter is creating the connection, hence we could say you'r always connected as soon as you open your computer
3) the modem you got from your ISP, it *may* have a firmware inside that can be configured to establish the connection.

If you don't have to double click on a connection icon to go online, and you did not purchase a router, you've got option number 3. In that case, it's as secure as doing it thruh a router. Configurations (and your password) are innaccesible form the outside world.
 
fireshark said:
You should not do PPPoE from the computer, it's not safe. Get a router
Click to expand...

Agree with Wojtek - and what does the not safe part suggest fireshark?

It's a protocol (PPoE - point to point over ethernet - right again Woj ;) ) for data transfer that's all and your stuck with it if that's what your provider requires.

Basically your okay rhianna, have fun with your fast connection :D
 
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