Cable company Networking Problem

[Stealer]

Hi All,

I would like to get some feedback from you reguarding my sitituation. I moved to a little city outside of Sacramento last week. We moved from Las Vegas where I had finally got my home network just the way I wanted it. Cable modem for internet, Linksys BEFW11S4 wireless 4 port router with switch. My wife's computer connected to the network by ethernet and my lap connecetd by the wireless PCMCIA card.

Anyway after we moved I ordered a cable modem and after they install it I find out that they do NOT allow ANY ROUTERS on their system. Sure enough when I plugged in my router it did not work at all. Well after reading and researching many web pages I found out that I could clone the MAC address and the router would now work without any problems. The only problem is now I REALLY DISLIKE teh local cable co (Did I tell you that they said I could use a plain old hub to share my connection but that they also would charge me an additional $18.95 a month for each additional computer, how crazy is that).

DSL is comimg to my area in a few months and I am considering switching only because I don't want to give this cable company any more business than I have to.

Now for my main question.
Is there any advantage of DSL over cable at all. Cable is running me $34.95 while DSL would cost me $49.95 a month.

Thanks for your input and have YOU ever heard of any cable companies not allowing routers at all?

Thanks again,
STephen

 

[rjs]

I can only speak to Cable vs. DSL. Cable is a "shared" network. Essentially, everyone in your area is on the same network segment. As a result, performance can vary. Speed slows down when there are alot of people on the system.

DSL comes in two flavors - ADSL and SDSL. I believe, but don't quote me, that ADSL can (but doesn't neccesarily) use a shared line technology. SDSL doesn't. ADSL is probably the $49.95 price you quoted. If you use your connection for things other then Web browsing, like connecting to your office, then the slower outbound speed with ADSL may be very noticeable.

Both SDSL and ADSL depend on the local phone company for the physical line which can be a big hassle when troubleshooting problems.

 

[Lundah]

Of course cable is a shared network, EVERY internet connection is a shared connection; the difference is where the connection becomes shared. With cable, it's at the HFC node, DSL it's at a SLC hut or the Telco CO, and for dialup/ISDN, it's at the ISP's POP. The REAL difference is what concentration rate the ISP uses.

As far as cable companys not wanting you to use routers and wanting to charge extra for more PC's; chances are the DSL provider has the same rules. Kind of pointless, since as you found out, there's really no way then can keep you from sharing the connection with the right hardware. As much as you don't like the cable company, I'd say that if you don't have any problems with the connection (slow throughput, lots of downtime, etc), I'd stick with it and save $15/month rather than switching to DSL, ESPECIALLY if it's new to the area; the telco is gonna need some time to shake the bugs out and get the plant in good enough shape to make DSL worth it.

 

[StarTAC]

is it possible for u to advise your cable co. to install a bandwidth manager, so that it effectively manages bandwidth usage for both your Cable area and your connection to the internet... ?... that way, they don't have to charge u an extra $18 for each computer you add on, but rather charge you for more bandwidth you may need...

for instance, u pay them based on the bandwidth u order, say 128Kbps.. they include this policy in their bandwidth managers, located at the central cable nod, and at their NOC... this ensures everyone sharing the cable network uses only what they've paid for, ie 64Kbps, 128Kbps, 512Kbps, 1Mbps, etc...... and also ensures u all have purchased bit rates to the internet.... this is a win-win situation, both for u and the ISP...

good luck...

 

[Stealer]

Somehow I don't think so. They don't ever ever want to talk about routers. It seems like the word router is a dirty word for them. And if I mention a wireless router, Oh My God, talk about freaking out. They seem to think that I am going to share it with my whole neighborhood. Anyway with the help of these kind of fourms I now have my network up and going without any problems. Luckily my router enables me to clone the MAC address. And that solved all the problems. I am sure that even with my network that I don't take up as much bandwidth as most others use with only one computer. I have not even turned on my laptop in the last 4 days or so. My wife has only checked her e-mail on her computer once in the last week (Mostly because she keeps using my computer, Why did I build her a computer in the first place?)
Anyway I really want to thank all who took the time to help me with this very annoying problem.
Thanks again
Stephen

Thanks to all that helped me with this very annoying problem.

Ste