DSL (Fiber Optic) vs. cable
Top Speed Comparison
If you really want the top performance available, then you better hope you live in an area where you have Fiber Optic lines running to your home.
Performance Comparison Overview
You see the cable companies talking about their internet performance and how it is sooo much faster then DSL.
Here is the real story.
Fiber Optic is waaayyy faster then cable. Let's take a look.
Internet Connection Plans
Download speed: This is the speed you can expect when moving files from the internet to your computer. For example, when you download an mp3 file.
Upload speed: This is the speed you can expect when sending files to the internet from your computer. Examples include sending emails with attachments, sharing files, or building web sites.
Verizon
They offer a FiOS plan with different Download and Upload speeds.
FiOS Plan: 15M / 2M
Comcast
They offer a top end performance plan.
Top Plan: 16M / 768K
Performance Comparison
The download speed difference of 1M when comparing the two options means a file on FiOS takes about 1 second loner.
Upload times are very different, with FiOS being about 3-times as fast.
And one more thing to consider is the cable drawback: as more users in the same neighborhood come online, performance will drop.
Price Comparison
Speed is one thing, but how much you pay for it is another. Lets compare the two choices based on price.
| Costs Per Month | $ |
|---|---|
| DSL FiOS | 49.99 |
| Cable Top | 52.95 |
| Difference | 12.96 |
| Winner | DSL |
Surprising! FiOS is an all around better deal, which costs $3 less a month, with performance that is always there.
Our recommendation: DSL FiOS is the way to go.