Broadband or DSL? Which is better?

[Aviator_14]

Hi all. I have heard MANY commercials and advertisements about how broadband is faster than DSL or how DSL is better than Broadband. So my question is which one is ACTUALLY faster DSL or Broadband. I have heard both sides on how as more people subscribe to broadband it gets slower and slower. But I also heard that with DSL the further you are away from the provider the slower it goes. I have DSL and I think its pretty fast. One thing is that they are A LOT faster than high-speed dial-up.

[Shoreguy]

Broadband IS DSL. Are you trying to ask which is better, Cable or DSL?
Today, it's more defined by the mix of providors available in your area.
Your local cable company may provide lower cable Upload/Download speeds than your local DSL providor and vice-versa.
Determining which is faster is looking at what you have available from either. Some markets have competing providers, while others have providors that have a monopoly of the local market. Do your research to see which is available, at what pricepoints vs speed.
Cable does get slower because they do share one trunk(depending on how many users are connected to to the feed). However, most cable companies put a guaranteed minimum u/d rate on every user, so no matter how many shares, you will always get that minimum. Compare that minimum(usually seen during evening hours if a home user in an urban environment) with the u/d rate of DSL, and there you'll have your answer to which is faster for you.
Yes, broadband is very much faster than a 56Kbps dialup connection...even at it's slowest.

...and unless you're operating your own home web business, or doing a lot of WAN-type data transfers, I would wager that no one is reaching the maximum available bandwidth they are provided. Therefore, it's all marketing carpola anyways.

[leprechaun_40]

Broadband is a rather loose term that applies to both DSL and Cable.

Cable as a rule is much faster, speeds up around 8mps down, not sure of up. DSL is still over phonelines and is considerably slower, about 5 times slower than cable. Cable and DSL will both slow down during heavy traffic but in most cases, you probably won't notice it much. DSL is limited to a short distance from the central office or other offices. No more than 3 miles. Speed falls off dramatically the farther you get out. Cable doesn't suffer that problem. Cable speeds can vary depending on who your cable company is and what they offer. I suggest you check with them for both up and down speeds and do the same for DSL. I went from dial up to DSL and thought that was great then I got cable, and if I ever have to go back to dial up, I'll kill myself. DSL would be torture enough. :eek:

[Train]

Cable vs. DSL
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2005/cable_vs_dsl.asp

If I remember right anything over 100k is called broadband.

And DSL can be as fast as cable in some areas, but is will really cost you. Like $1500 a month or more.
That is why I have stayed with cable and pay a small premium for faster service.

[bruceb]

DSL at best will give you a 3 MBS Download speed and about 800K
or so of Upload Speed ... If you want really fast, non bottlenecked
speed, check out Verizon FIOS Service if it is in your area. Much faster
than either cable or dsl as it is on a Fiber Optic Cable right into your home.

15MBS Down / 2MBS Up for $49.99 per month

[AllGamer]

Cable are usually Filtered and capped if you plan to use BitTorrent it is a big no no

DLS is all for yourself so they don't care, and it is the best choice for BitTorrent

[cat5e]

DSL or Cable Internet, what should I get? - http://www.ezlan.net/DSL_Cable.html

[Aviator_14]

So I guess cable is better