# Which is better, DSL or Broad Band



## John Harrelson (Aug 2, 2006)

We only have about 90 days left of summer and then many of you RVerswill be looking for a nest to winter out in. 

Now we all know that our computer and the internet are right up there along side the beer and television when it comes to priorities..

Here is something I found that may be of interest to many of you who are thinking about getting "High Speed" internet service this coming winter when the RV is put away and the winter boredoms set in...

WOW !! who knew ??...... Which service is better, faster and cheaper ??

check it out..


http://compnetworking.about.com/od/dslvscablemodem/a/dslcablecompare.htm

John


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## TexasClodhopper (Aug 2, 2006)

Re: Which is better, DSL or Broad Band

For most homes, more than likely, there won't be a choice between services.  It is usually high-speed (of some sort) or dialup.


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## hertig (Aug 10, 2006)

Re: Which is better, DSL or Broad Band

At a home, DSL is a good choice if you can get it (depends on how far you are from the 'switching office').  You should be able to get that for $25 a month or less (on top of the normal phone bill, of course).  Cable is also a good choice, although generally more expensive (on the order of $40 of more, not including any video services you get).  If neither of these are available or appropriate, the other options are cell phone (I'm using Verizon right now, has worked great everywhere I've tried it.  I started on Cingular, but they didn't work very well, and played money games with me).  Cell phone service should be about $60 per month.  And the remaining option is satellite.  $200 to $7000 for equipment and about $100 month (perhaps cheaper now) for the service.   And of course, there is dialup if you have lots of time and very little money.


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## Kirk (Aug 13, 2006)

Re: Which is better, DSL or Broad Band

Nice picture, John.


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## s.harrington (Aug 15, 2006)

Re: Which is better, DSL or Broad Band

DSL is a form of broadband, though not the fastest.  For traveling wireless is the best if its free.  Many cellphone companies (verizon, cingular) are offering execellent broadband connections for your computer.  Satellite is another option.  The initial set up is a little pricy but not too bad.  RaySat makes an in motion array system that works very well but is also very spendy.


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## hertig (Aug 15, 2006)

Re: Which is better, DSL or Broad Band

ok, so Verizon worked everywhere except north of Dallas.  Perhaps the antenna I had along would have helped, except I forgot the adapter which goes between the phone and the antenna...


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## hertig (Aug 15, 2006)

Re: Which is better, DSL or Broad Band

ok, so Verizon worked everywhere except north of Dallas.  Perhaps the antenna I had along would have helped, except I forgot the adapter which goes between the phone and the antenna...


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## jandcr (Sep 7, 2006)

Re: Which is better, DSL or Broad Band

Speed is just a question of current technology.  We all know how fast technology moves on and they leapfrog eachother.  Do you really care as long as the speed is fast enough?  We have DSL at home and frankly the download speed is usually limited by the websites and routing - not the DSL connection.  If I have several things to do, I open several IE windows and start them all at once.  My testing has shown that rarely is the DSL connection causing the bottleneck - they all run just as fast individually at the same time as they do on their own.  The problem with some services is that they want to bundle you with their other products.  That can get expensive and restrict your choices.  We have Verizon phone at home with ATT long distance. While verizon provides the actual DSL connection, our ISP is independent (Infinity Internet).  I like this much better than having to use the phone company's ISP service.  The quality of provider's customer service is another high priority.

BTW: We have a laptop and desktop with wireless home network using a single DLS connection through the network.  Again no actual speed difference noticeable when both computers are on the internet at the same time.  The same would probably go for any broadband connection.  On the road we use the laptop with WiFi - most places have it now or will be getting it soon - it's by far the best solution for campgrounds, just the low maintenance alone makes it best., regardless of the low initial cost  We could use DSL or anyother hard wire when available, but never have yet.  You can also get mobile direct satelite internet (bidirectional now) for motorhomes and of course you could use it when at home too.  Look here:

Ground Control
www.groundcontrol.com 
1-800-773-7168 

MobilSat
www.mobilsat.com 
1-757-312-8300 

MotoSAT
www.motosat.com 

Last thing - always remember to have a good security, firewall and virus protection software.  Pay the annual maintnenance fee and have it constantly updated (both software updates and virus definitions).  I recommend don't be cheap here.  Freeware and shareware is fine for some things, but these folks just do not have the resources to be current with all virus deifinitions and protection within hours of a new one hitting the street like the big well funded companies.  It is not worth the small savings.  Also if you use wireless make sure you name your network with a unique name and encrypt for maximum protection.  Never leave it with defualt name and/or unconnected.  Campground and other WiFi internet hotspots may be unprotected, but that is for other reasons and is generally OK.


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## hertig (Sep 7, 2006)

Re: Which is better, DSL or Broad Band

You can set your wireless network to not broadcast your SSID (network name) for even more security.


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