Reply #15: Yes and no

[Xithras]

It all depends on what you're looking for. First, cable tends to be more expensive in many areas, but it does vary so you should always check your local rates (where I live, SBC DSL starts at $24.95 a month, while a cable modem through Comcast will set you back over $40 a month).

The bigger issue, to me, is speed. I have a 3Mbs DSL package that sets me back $36 a month, a speed that Comcast offers for $42 a month. With DSL, however, it's NOT SHARED...it doesn't matter if I jump on it at 3AM, 5PM on a Saturday, or a weekday afternoon, my 3Mbs connection is always on and always running at top speed. With DSL, you pay for BANDWIDTH.

Cable modems, on the other hand, are shared. I have many friends who fell for the whole "Cable modems are faster" argument and are now stuck in contracts that they hate. Sure, cable is theoretically slightly faster than 3Mbs DSL, and theoretically twice as fast as the standard 1.5Mbs DSL, but you are SHARING that bandwidth with all of your neighbors. If you want to actually see that entire 3Mbs, you'll need to jump on at 3AM while your neighbors are sleeping...at peak times, you're real bandwidth will only be a fraction of the advertised speed. With cable, you pay for a CONNECTION.

Then there's the usage issue. Because you're buying bandwith with DSL, most DSL providers don't care what you do with it. There are no firewalls, no blocked ports, and no 90 page list of nonots that you have to deal with. With most DSL providers, there are absolutely no issues with setting up and running your own web server, email server, DNS server, or FTP server. There are no usage or transfer limits and no big brother looking over your shoulder.

Try any of that with a cable modem and see how long it takes them to turn your service off.

Personally, given the choice between a lower cost DSL line with greater freedom and more consistent service, or giving those up for the occasionally seen speed advantage of the cable modem, I'll choose the DSL line any day. Cable, IMO, is only a good choice if you live in an area where DSL isn't available.