Is this claim true, or not?

[Seth Dimbert]

Hmm... This is exactly the kind of Witnessing and Debate I hoped to avoid.
To sum up the responses I've received so far:

Richard: Pro DSL, unless cable is cheaper.
Michael: Pro cable, because it's faster.
Lowell: Gets a certain speed downstream, but didn't say which kind of
service he uses.

So, we've got a split vote, and no one has yet dealt with the question I
asked (though Richard did, a little). That's not to belittle the input you
guys gave - thanks! - but I want a more technical answer.

You see, if you call a DSL provider, they will tell you that cable slows
down as more and more people in a neighborhood get it. I've heard that for a
long time. TWC counters this, on their website, with the information I
quoted about how "the scalable features of Time Warner Cable's hybrid fiber
coax (HFC) design" yields "nearly-infinite growth capacity."

I'd like to know it, technically, what TWC is claiming makes any sense. Is
it FUD mumbo-jumbo, or is it sound?

I currently use DSL and know that they provide faster service than I'm
getting; I'm as far from the CO as they will allow... Every time I call, the
tech is surprised that I can connect at all. All of the Cable ads (Everest
and TWC) claim higher speeds, so they are attractive. But I want to know if
the clogging is a real issue or not.

PLEASE: let's not let this become a debate of TWC vs. Everest or such
things... Can anyone give me the straight dope?

-SD

On 1/19/03 2:21 PM, "Richard Meeker" <rmeeker at kc.rr.com> wrote:

> You may see more on the download, but the upload capability has a tendency
> to be pretty slow - the equivalent to a 56Kbps to 128Kbps frame relay.  From
> a good fast site, I usually see around 200Kbps.
> 
> DSL has really improved over the past 3 years when compared with cable.
> Unless you absolutely need to goto cable, or cable is cheaper - stick with
> what you have right now.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-kclug at marauder.illiana.net
> [mailto:owner-kclug at marauder.illiana.net]On Behalf Of Seth Dimbert
> Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2003 1:24 PM
> To: KcLUG
> Subject: Is this claim true, or not?
> 
> 
>> From Time Warner (Road Runner)'s website:
> 
> Question:
> Will my cable Internet connection slow down as more users take the service?
> 
> Answer:
> No. Our competitors would like you to think so. Because of the scalable
> features of Time Warner Cable's hybrid fiber coax (HFC) design, we have
> nearly-infinite growth capacity. Today, our high-speed Internet services use
> just 6 megahertz of our 750 megahertz coax plant. In addition, we are only
> using 1600 fibers of the 4800 fiber optic lines we have run throughout
> Kansas City - the rest is "dark," awaiting future needs. Click here for more
> information.
> 
> 
> So? What's the deal? Is it true, or not? I'm currently using DSL and getting
> 162 kbp download and 105 kbp upload. TWC tells me that they will give me
> speeds higher than this. Once and for all, is it true?
> 
> -SD
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>