3 meg dsl versus faster options question

Guys, no FIOS in my area so my only choices are the Verizon 3.0 meg DSL which I have or faster (not sure, I think 6 gig or higher) Comcast cable. I'm happy enough with the speed of the DSL as far as loading web pages and file downloads but I'm wondering. I have begun watching more and more Netflix of which the video quality isn't too bad but does the 3.0 gig service already max out the Netflix bandwidth pipeline or would things look even better if I had a faster service? The fact that I only pay $30 a month for the DSL is pretty good incentive to keep it plus doesn't Comcast limit your bandwidth so that if you did watch a lot of Netflix video, you could cap it?

DSL vs. cable really depends on your location. For mine, cable is unreliable, especially in the evening when people are watching TV, and DSL tends to give more stable speeds. I have AT&T U-verse now, and I can feel the speed drop when the DVR is recording HD programs, but normally the speed is pretty stable.

3Mbps is 380KB/s, which should be sufficient for a single person. Netflix should have a lot of bandwidth, so it's possible that 6Mbps could make a difference. However, that is assuming that cable speeds are stable in your area.

I know that <5Mbps will not allow HD in Netflix. My Comcast is quick but my router to bluray wireless can vary but usually runs about 18Mbps, when it drops below 5Mbps I lose HD quality.(not all Netflix content is available in HD)

Comcast HSI has a 250GB per month data cap. Like they say, most people don't need to worry about that, but some do. If you do that much, they want you on Business Class, which is unlimited.

$30 for 3Mbps DSL is a good price. You have to decide if its fast enough for you (including upload speed). More speed costs more money. I had Qwest DSL for years, but was limited to .8Mbps up and 1.5 down for about $55. They only recently upgraded to fiber-to-the-node, and offer up to 7Mbps down for about the same money. So I moved to Comcast 12 down/2up, which is about $45/mo since I also have their cable TV. I haven't noticed any consistent problem with the speed or service, which regularly tests at 20 down/2.5 up. It's also common knowledge you can often game Comcast for discounts, especially if you have 2 or 3 of their services. You phone them and discretely mention you're thinking of moving to a competitor! I did this last year and got my $130 bill discounted to about $100 for 6 months. Time to repeat.

YMMV, and I don't use Netflix.

Thought this was interesting, 105 Mbps for $105
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=21384

Do they offer some sort of meter or is their a way to monitor your account so you can keep track of your usage?

louie said:

Comcast HSI has a 250GB per month data cap. Like they say, most people don't need to worry about that, but some do. If you do that much, they want you on Business Class, which is unlimited.

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geepondy said:

Do they offer some sort of meter or is their a way to monitor your account so you can keep track of your usage?

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Yes they do and I just checked mine for the first time, I am at roughly 50% of the cap this month due to streaming HD content and if I stay the course I may exceed it. I contacted Comcast via phone then email to get that arbitrary cap raised, time will tell.
They are not thrilled with people using their cable to view non Comcast content.
They keep improving the speeds but won't raise the cap.

geepondy said:

Do they offer some sort of meter or is their a way to monitor your account so you can keep track of your usage?

Click to expand...

They offer an approximate meter gauge if you use their online account management.

That 105Mbps sounds fast - but I think that's pretty expensive for the ability to hit your cap faster. I don't see what the price would be if you don't have "triple play" and after the 12 month teaser intro.

Was at a Comcast internet house and did one of the DSLreports speedtests where the download speed clocked at 13 Mbps which is much faster then my DSL. I was wondering though, would the comcast "power boost", which I read is a initial speed boost when downloading files affect that reading?