[GLLUG] sbc x comcast

[David D]

My two cents...

Technically there is no reason for a DSL to have a shorter lease time than
CABLE.  On both SBC and Comcast your IP address should stay the same until
there is a disconnect, neither forces a change that I know of.  (My address
from SBC has changed 6 times in the last 12 months, most of them when I
turned off the router/modem for more than a couple hours, My sister Comcast
has changed 4 times and except for a move and power failure her modem/router
have been always on)

When ever I get a chance I ask people who have broadband in the area what
their results are and I also try to test it myself when ever I can.  There
is a speed difference between Comcast and SBC and obviously DSL will have
different maximum speeds depending on distance to CO.  Comcast in the
Lansing area usually runs about 200-250K on average (I have seen up to 380K)
down where Ameritech is closer to 125-175K (Never seen over 250K).
Comcast's routing seems to be a little better, SBC routes everything through
Southfield and then Chicago where Comcast appears to go straight to Chicago
most of the time ( I need to start measuring packet times).  Upload speeds
all appear to be about the same between 30K and 60K, I think SBC is a little
slower but its not all that measureable.

I also have monitoring software on my sisters Comcast line in Lansing and
have recorded 2 unscheduled down events for a total of 16 hours on her line
(note both times the IP address changed which accounts for all 4 changes).
My own connection has had 3 unscheduled down events with SBC for a total of
38 hours, all were corrected by a call or reset of modem (I was out of town
for one of the issues and did not rush to do anything about it).  Both were
monitored off an Sprint T1 in the lansing area that shows 4 hours of
downtime which was not included in the above time or events.  (In case you
were wondering I was monitoring machines on the T1 but in return I have the
stats on the remote machines)

SBC is REALLY cheap right now $15 a month for 'express - 1.5/384' and $25
for 'pro - 3/512' and that is for a year.  I am paying $25 and I have had
SBC for 4 years now.  It started at $39, then $29 and now $25, I just called
every year and asked for the best price for my service, they commented about
the prices for new accounts but gave it to me anyways...  Comcast offers a
$10 a month for 6 months but then it goes up to full price (which I do not
know at this time).

Here at work we have 2 SBC Business DSL lines in the Lansing area.  We had a
hardware failure on a router, otherwise I do not have any downtime listed
for either line over the last 6 months.  Both are 1.5M/384k with 5 static
IP's for $79.00 a month. (I see they have better prices listed, I need to
make a few calls!!)

I personally do not have access to Comcast, but I would not switch if I
could.

DD

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andy Lee" <ALEE at courts.mi.gov>
To: <linux-user at egr.msu.edu>; "Mike Szumlinski" <szumlins at mac.com>
Sent: Monday, June 27, 2005 9:42 AM
Subject: Re: [GLLUG] sbc x comcast


> I've had it for almost 2 years. Most of my problem comes from being a long
way from the CO.
>
> >>> Mike Szumlinski <szumlins at mac.com> 06/27/05 09:29AM >>>
> How long have you had the service?  When my parents first got theirs
> set up a full years ago it actually took a good 4-5 days for it to
> "optimize" itself.  I'm not really sure what exactly the CO was doing
> with the connection, but it made a noticeable difference just sitting
> and waiting.
>
> That said, my cable modems have always felt faster.
>
> -Mike
>
>
>
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