In a world where the internet is the main source of news, entertainment, industry it helps to have a connection that will keep up with it all. And in this day and age where competition is key, it’s becoming harder and harder to choose who should supply you with your internet needs, so I’m here to help. But first let us get some background on the leading technologies.

Background

DSL
Info:
DSL or Digital Subscriber Line is handled through your phone line. Your phone line basically has two lines in it, one for low bandwidth (this is the part you talk to when you call someone), and one for high bandwidth which is what the DSL uses.

Speed:
Your speed will vary on the speed they’re offering, and how far you are from the central office, be sure to ask them how far away you are before you finalize anything.

Hidden Costs and Goodies:
Most DSL companies tie you in with a contract from 12-18 months, it is usually in the fine print and if you try to cancel before your contract is up you will have to pay an early termination fee (last I looked was $149.99). The upside is they will give you a bunch of hardware, like the modem, possibly an Ethernet card, and all the phone filters you need for your house. There are “activation fees” but these are usually waived, I have not met anyone who has actually been charged this fee, but you should still make sure you don’t have to pay one because they cost around $100.

Cable

Info:
Cable is pretty basic, with the supplied modem you connect your computer to your cable line. Cable tends to be faster in the US but this doesn’t mean you should automatically choose cable.

Speed:
Speed varies on how many people have cable in your area, and how many are online at a time. The difference between peak and non peak times (peak being when people come home, non peak being early morning or late night, like street traffic) can drastically change your speed if your cable company does not have the bandwidth to handle everyone. This is becoming better and better though as companies increase their bandwidth.

Hidden Costs and Goodies:
Usually the price they advertise is the cost of the internet if you choose them to be your TV cable provider as well. Also they like to lease you the modems instead of giving them to you free and the price can range anywhere from $2.00-$10.00US. But on the good side they don’t usually trap you in with contracts and there is no worrying about distance from any central office.

How they advertise

Speed:
Before we get down to choosing it’s time to educate you on their marketing, especially with speed. The companies have decided to trick you into believing that they’re offering you more speed than they actually are. I know my local Cable company calls it’s service “3 meg service” because the common nickname for megabyte is meg. Anyways, when you download anything with Internet Explorer, or Netscape, or whatever it is you’re using, the speed is rated in the Byte system, here’s an example of what I mean.

I am downloading at 94.0 Kilobytes per second. The next step up from Kilobytes is Megabytes. The typical mp3 is 3 Megabytes. There are 1024 Kilobytes in 1 megabyte, so if you could download at 1 Megabyte you could finish an mp3 in 3 seconds. Now look at the picture above and notice the letters KB? Those stand for Kilobytes, and MB stands for Megabytes. Now why is this important? Because the companies will use similar synonyms for their advertised speeds. KB = Kilobyte, but Kb = Kilobit / MB = Megabyte, but Mb = Megabit. So they’re not false advertising or anything, they’re just being deceitful. Here are some advertised speeds from my local DSL and Cable companies.

Now they want you to believe you’ll be downloading at 3 Megabytes per second but you’ll be nowhere close. While your computer uses the byte system to store and receive files, these companies are using the Bit system to advertise their speed. And this is how it works:
There are 8 Bits per Byte, 8 Kilobits per Kilobyte, and 8 Megabits per Megabyte. So whatever number they advertise you, divide it by 8 and you’ll get how much their max speed really is. Using the advertisement from the DSL picture above for upload we’ll use the math.

128/8 = 16

So I will actually be able to upload at 16 Kilobytes, not 128. Now lets use the math for the download of the Cable advertisement (3 Megabits is roughly 3,000 bits).

3000/8 = 375

So at my fastest I will only be able to download at 375 Kilobytes, very different from 3 Megabytes don’t you think? If you currently have high speed internet and want to see what speed you have, please go here. Here is the results from the speed test I took at the link provided.

Also even if you call your local high speed providers they won’t even know what they’re talking about. Every single person I have spoken to has used the term Megabyte and Kilobyte to describe their speed. I don’t think they’re doing it intentionally, but the average person wouldn’t know and I doubt these companies give their employees the breakdown I’m giving you so they just use terms they know.

And remember, it is very unlikely you will get the maximum speed they offer. I am on a 3 Megabit plan but as you can see, I’m only getting 2.7 Megabit. It isn’t that they’re trying to screw you out of your money, it’s just a number of things including distance, signal strength, the amount of users online etc etc.

Price:
I doubt any company gives their price flat out. Every company I have seen has an introductory price for anywhere from 1- 6 months at reduced cost and then your price will go up. If you see a price followed by an * or a small number near the end of the sentence or at the beginning it means that there are stipulations, hidden fees, or it’s for the first few months. Some examples:

<- See the small number 2 at the end? click below to see what it means.

Now lets look at this cable company’s advertisement.

Download and Upload
Now let’s focus on the difference between upload and download. Download is the speed at which you can receive. So this would be getting songs for example from the internet. Upload is the speed at which you can send. This would be sending a song when you attach it to an e-mail. So if you send a lot of stuff you should be on the lookout who will give you the highest upload speed as it can make a huge difference in time. Here’s an example of what I mean.
You want to send your friend some songs of a local unlicensed band, lets say 4 songs at 3 MB (Megabytes) each, that is 12MB. Now this is how long it would take to upload those songs overall using the standard upload speeds of vendors (at the maximum speed).

128Kb (Kilobits) or 16KB (Kilobytes) – 12 Minutes 48 seconds
256Kb (Kilobits) or 32KB (Kilobytes) - 5 minutes 34 seconds
384Kb (Kilobits) or 48KB (Kilobytes) – 4 minutes 26 seconds

Now why is this so important? Because download speeds are already pretty fast and the difference between them isn’t all that great, and if you do stuff like gaming then upload speeds are also very important. Because you have to receive and send information from your computer to the server, the faster you can do both, the more of an edge you have against your opponents. Now I said that download speeds were already fast, and let me show you how much of a difference it really makes between providers, and we’ll do it using the scenario we used above.
Your friend wants you to listen to some songs of his local unlicensed bands and has sent them to you in an e-mail and you’re going to download them, they total 12MB. This is how long it would take to download all the songs using the download speeds of vendors (at the maximum speed).

1.5Mb (Megabits) or 187.5KB (Kilobytes) - 1 minute 6 seconds
2.0Mb (Megabits) or 250KB (Kilobytes) – 49 seconds
3.0Mb (Megabits) or 375KB (Kilobytes) – 33 seconds

So as you can see, the difference in time it takes isn’t too relevant for the normal user, so you should be on the lookout to maximize your upload speed as it will provide a bigger boost. And remember those were the maximum speeds, your speeds should be a little slower.

Some Basics to Help You Choose
Cable companies tend to have faster speeds listed at 3 Megabits here in the USA, but you should always check the websites of your vendors as DSL companies are increasing their speeds as well. Make sure to check the small print and Features section of every page they have to find out the listed speed if it isn’t out in plain sight. If you cannot see the speed they’re offering you, e-mail the company and ask them, you don’t want to get yourself in a binding contract with a company that has a slow speed.

You Have Power. Use It.
You as the consumer do have power and can use this power to save money. I’m not saying you should do this as this may cost you to lose your high speed provider. But if your current provider is being unsatisfactory in any way, call them up and threaten to leave. I complained to my DSL company when they were charging me $20 more than all my local Cable and DSL companies and the woman dropped my price down to match my local companies for the rest of my contract term. So usually if you do say that you’re going to leave they will try to compensate you so that you will stay. Now like I said, you should not do this just to try to save a few bucks if it isn’t necessary because your provider might just cut you off and then you will be stuck.