Internet Speeds

[fleshman03]

Oh Great Ones,

I have a question regarding internet connections.

Next week, I will be moving to a rural area with less-than-awesome internet services.

So far, my only real options are:

Qwest DSL @ 3Mbps / 768 kbps / No Cap
Cable One @ 10Mbps / 1Mbps / 100 GB Cap

I really hate bandwidth caps, so I'm thinking about going with Qwest. Since it's DSL, I should actually be receiving a sustained speed of around 2.75Mbps.

Now all this is fine, but I'm coming from a 10Mpbs with no cap service. I currently stream HD Netflix and use an airport express to connect my Xbox, iOS devices and three computers. (I'd blow was past the 100GB cap.)

Am I going to have a horrible life with 3Mpbs? For what it's worth, the 3Mpbs is $20 cheaper a month.

What do you all think?

 

[iStudentUK]

How many people in your household? That's the big factor. If it's just you I doubt you'll be on the XBox, streaming video and browsing at the same time! So 3meg could be done.

HD streaming at 3meg isn't that great, but it is do-able with a bit of buffering time. But you may still find yourself going SD out of frustration. However, if you blast through 100GB a month now you would probably have to go SD if you were capped anyway.

I'd vote for 3, but I reserve the right to change my mind in light of new info!

 

[fleshman03]

Thanks for responding!

The household consists of two people. It is rare for us to use the streaming and computers, but happens once in a while. We have a central computer, but that is used mainly as a backup/iTunes hub. (I'm not saying server, since we never stream audio from it. Besides, that's all local traffic.)

There is another option, which is 10Mpbs with no cap. It costs $20 more than DSL.

My thinking is to stick with the 3Mpbs for six months. If I need a faster speed, I'll go to the 10Mbps / no cap.

We both have iPhones on WiFi and I will have an iPad. Although, I doubt those will suck down enough bandwidth to effect streaming.

Do you have any experience with 3Mpbs and streaming? Is it a lot of buffering?

Also - am I correct in thinking DSL is a lot more consistent than cable?

 

[Shawnpk]

I have experience with 3Mbps. If nothing else is running, the buffering time is very small. If other things are running is causes longer buffeting times. If I were you, I'd go with the 10Mbps for $20 more a month with no cap. I'm currently looking for a faster connection because my connection speed is terrible. Then again, I am using AT&T...

And by the way, is 3Mbps the the top of the chart or the bottom? My Internet speed is from 1.5Mbps to 3Mbps but I NEVER get over 1.8 Mbps download.

 

[iStudentUK]

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I don't know much about DSL v Cable, I think we have different lingo in the UK as to me "cable" means super-fast fibre optic!

Streaming SD at 3meg is fine (in fact less would do), HD is possible provided not much else is using the line, you might just need a couple of mins to buffer, but it shouldn't be hours or anything like that!

For two people I'd say 3 meg could be just enough. It's probably worth a try like you say to save $20 a month, but if it's not enough 10meg is what you are using now!

Like Swanpk said, you may find you get less speed than advertised! Have they done a line test to check?