Road Runner vs DSL

[Brutus1]

I currently have RR, but it pains me to pay those dickheads from Time Warner every month. I still say $44 is too much, especially from TW.

What difference would I notice in service if I switched to some type of DSL? Would it be a big difference if I got one of the higher speeds that they offer?

I don't do any online gaming or movie downloading.

Would it be worth it or should I just keep with the dingo's at Time Warner.

Thanks.

 

[Hodge]

Not a lot of downloading? I'd say you wouldn't miss a beat with DSL, but it all depends on what you do. I'm using DSL and have no trouble doing things - gaming, downloading, etc. It starts to be a problem if I try to dowload multiple things at a time, but other than that I have no problems. It also depends on the deal on the DSL package...

 

[Dryden]

Throwing out speed, price, etc -- for arguments sake if all other things are equal, I would take TimeWarner RoadRunner for reliability and support. Unless you do something after the fact (like split your cable line to run more TVs) my experience has been that once TW installs the RR, you can forget about it. Also, in the event that you do experience a problem, you can call TW and probably get it repaired over the course of a 5-10 minute phone call, or get a repair dispatch the same day.

If you have a problem with DSL, even if you subscribe direct from AT&T, you will get forwarded to a call center in Asia, so forget about English speaking Americans you can understand when you need troubleshooting help. This has been the #1 complaint I've heard from others, including several relatives, who wound up switching to TimeWarner. Even the ISP I used to work wound up finding that their own customers were getting forwarded to Asian call centers since AT&T still owned the last mile line while we remailed the bill on the service. It's just AT&T's SOP, and AT&T, of course, once again owns EVERYTHING.

 

[3074326]

I'm going to have to agree with Dryden for the most part. I've used two different DSL services, and Time Warner. While TW has its problems, they've given me the benefit of the doubt a couple times (both were billing problems that should not have ever happened, but they fixed it) and been easy to deal with. I didn't feel like the people wanted to help me, but they did and that's really all that matters to me.

The DSL service people spoke English, but they might as well have spoken a different language because they had to repeat everything at least three times. I had one call last over one hour due to this, and it really should've lasted 20 minutes at most. I've experienced great DSL, and then the same service would be awful minutes later. Maybe I've just had bad luck, but the DSL was very inconsistent.

I would recommend TW unless you don't use the internet too much. But that's just based on my experience.

 

[bucknut11]

Also, in the event that you do experience a problem, you can call TW and probably get it repaired over the course of a 5-10 minute phone call, or get a repair dispatch the same day.

I must've called the wrong TWC support number

I had some problems when my modem died. I was on the phone for a long time and then it took 3 days until they came to fix it.

I like the product and it works very well, I just don't like the price or the service (that I have experienced).

 

[Hodge]

And just for what it's worth, I've not had any problems with either AT&T or Verizon DSL (Yet). So I cannot vouch for their tech support, and I hope to never need to talk to them.

As far as reliability goes, also no problems for me here. DSL is as reliable as the public telephone network, which by most standards is extremely reliable. I would imagine that outside of catastrophe (phone lines down), user error, and/or hardware failure (modem, network card), you should not be experiencing any downtime. These three risks are the same that you accept with cable. (Let me know if I'm leaving anything out here, but I can't really think of anything else substantial right now.)

I'm not in love with my DSL by any means. Believe me, I'd love to have fiber or something else, but DSL is my only real choice where I live - and it serves its purpose well.

 

[BrutusMaximus]

Personally feel that DSL absolutely sucks nuts. It it not near as reliable, and seems to have problems when you get alot of rain and such. Phone lines are apparently more vulnerable to the weather than Cable lines are.

 

[Brutus1]

All the phone lines in my area are underground. Also, I'm about 3/4 mile from the nearest tower. I've read that the farther from the tower, the slower your speed can become. Is that correct?

 

[osugrad21]

If you use Verizon, make sure they are clear that they will send you a $50 wireless router unless you say otherwise...

I got my first bill and about fell out of the chair.

 

[OCBucksFan]

My SBC DSL rocks, 3 megs down, 500K up, 30 bucks a month. The key reason for me was that I use my data line to do quite a bit of telecommuting, and Cox wanted to charge me for their business line in order to support my VPN, which wasn't going to fly. And yeas, the farther you are from a CO will reduce speeds, but 3/4 of a mile shouldn't post too much of an issue. Your phone company will come out and do a test to let you know what you can expect, which works out really well, you may also wind up with a CO location a lot closer than you think.

 

[cincibuck]

We first began with DSL from Fuse and it was fine most of the time. Since I wasn't downloading much it was fast enough. Then came the wicked years of Totally Free Napster and when I compared how long it took me to get five songs through Fuse compared to my nephew using TW cable I was impressed.

Now that music is a dollar a tune I don't download much and DSL has gotten faster, but I've been very pleased by the support and reliability of TW cable. It may take a few minutes, but I always end up with someone in the United States who speaks English much the way I do, as compared to, say, your math professor or the Dell help desk, and they have stayed with me, walked me through the corrections, until everything was right again.

 

[Brutus1]

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Dryden]

All the phone lines in my area are underground. Also, I'm about 3/4 mile from the nearest tower. I've read that the farther from the tower, the slower your speed can become. Is that correct?

The measurement is taken from your nearest vault. The telco industry term is "the last mile" which refers to the final split from the telco backbone at a wiring vault (or designated tower/pole), where everything from that point to your home is probably copper wire. The max distance you can be for "the last mile" is really ~18,000 feet.

But yes, you want to be within one real mile, 5,000 feet max, where the copper is split to get the best speeds.

Also, you might want to research your real distance in cable feet from the vault, and not the overland distance "as the crow flies," which will always be significantly less.

Keep in mind, telco copper wire is point-to-point, while coax cable is shared. Your cable modem peak speed may be degraded by multiple users in your neighborhood being online at the same time, while your DSL speed is probably guaranteed 24/7. On the other hand, coax cable speeds are more uniform regardless of distance, while DSL varies wildly based on atmospheric conditions and the length of the copper wire.

Lastly, cable based Internet services are available through most existing cable outlets already in your home, or can be split easily behind the drywall with a 1:2 75 ohm bi-directional splitter, whereas DSL will require a new internal line outside of the band occupied by your existing POTS (plain old telephone service) lines.