Little Off Topic, DSL Question

[scott015]

sorry for off topic, but you guys seem to know alot and I dont know where else to post this... if its off topic too much, please delete this thread

anyway, at work and at home I have had dial up and im getting sick of it... im on internet so much at work that I need DSL... i tried calling a few places and nobody offers in my area, which REALLY surprises me cuz I live in a city... Arlington Texas... not some hill billy hick town either.... anyway, i found 2 places that offer in my area... DirectTV which is satelite that I dont really want and then Earthlink... they are only $29 for first 6 months, then $49... and they give u 20hours of dial up a month which I can use at home...

so i called and since im a business it was like $139 a month..... and the highest i can connect is 144k... what the heck????

anyone know someone else to call ???

[Vejita-sama]

I don't live in the area so no. But here's some info that might help. You basically have two choices: cable modem or DSL. 99% of the time the cable modem comes with an ISP (internet service provider) and you can not switch to another one. The cost of the cable modem includes both the line and the ISP, (so even if you wanted another ISP it would cost extra).

DSL lines are run by the local phone company. You have to pay the phone company for the line, and THEN pay an extra charge for an ISP. Often the phone company will run an ISP themselves (why lose the profits) but it's still extra.

For either cable modem or DSL you should be able to connect 24/7 365 unlimited.

Cable modems are sold as one line. DSL is sold at different line speeds. Normally 256k, 512, 768, 1024k. You have to pay more for the faster line speeds. However, unless you hosting/have a lot of traffic 256k (the cheapest basic rate) is fine.

The average rate for cable modem of DSL seems to be ~$50/mo + fees/modem rental/etc. As you found out there are often 'first 3-6mo' specials.

So the short answer is, yeah I would keep looking. But maybe because your a business they have to charge extra.

[housepig]

check out www.dslreports.com - they should have some user reviews and info for dsl hookups in your area.

[Paul_W]

Hello Scott,

I use a cable modem and keep a home office as you do. Don't bring up the fact that you will use the service for business use and you'll be fine. They assume that your business will put high demands on their network and sometimes don't understand the concept of a "home based business".

Whether you use DSL or cable is a matter of choice. Pick the one that is cheaper and gives you a reasonable bandwidth. The speed of a DSL line is directly related to your physical distance from the telephone companies switching office. The further you are, the slower your connection. Cable will provide the same bandwidth without regard to your physical location.

Satelite connection has a few quirks. Avoid it unless you have no other options.

[Solarjetman]

They assume that your business will put high demands on their network

Plus, they may be giving you a static IP address. That is very expensive for an ISP to do and thus they charge much more. More often than not, home based businesses do not need a static address, and even less home users do.

[Vejita-sama]

You can buy a static address for $5/mo extra with comcast.net (at least here in Seattle). But yeah you don't need one. There are free web hosting servers out there, many that do not have popups or ads. You can buy a domain name, host at a free server, and have all traffic directed there automatically.

This is how we setup the webpage for where I train BJJ (martial art). We bought a nice normally sounding domain name 'www.mabjj.com' then setup the website on geocities.

The added bonus is that we're not using any real bandwith for our ISP (it's all on geocities). Down side is the stupid geocities popup. I think web1000 has banner free web hosting thou.

[txpharoah]

Arlington has several DSL/cable providers.
For cable, you've got Charter and a few others (Time Warner? or TCI?).
For DSL, look at TXU, SBC, Verizon.
What is that city these days? 150,000?
Right between Dallas and Ft. Worth, it has plenty of services.

[Mirror_Image]

My ADSL provider (a local ISP) leases me a block of 5 Static IP addresses for only $10 per month (for all 5, not each) - a /29 subnet. For that tiny stack of chump change, why anyone would want to mess with NAT is beyond me.

[Piccoro]

I have cable 1.5megabit/sec dl,bout 200kbit/sec upload. 35$ month+5 basic cable (they give me extended cable though...weird). 40$ total.
Router separate pcs behind cablemodem unless you want more IPs.
I bought my cablemodem by myself and dont pay rental from them.
My IP is dynamic but for 5$/month i can make it static. Mediacom btw

Maybe some of the companies there will let you have that kind of flexability.

[dafoe]

I was paying $60 a month for cable through Adelphia because I had Direct TV and didn't qualify for thier "discount". Like I'm going to record analog cable to DVD So instead of having $45 of my money every month, they would rather have none.

Anyway, I got sick of paying through the nose, So I got DSL through Verizon at $35 a month. Furthermore, I was constantly getting knocked off with the cable. Somedays, every 20 minutes I would have to restart my PC

The DSL is just as fast (if not faster) and I have yet to be disconnected. Verizon is a national company isn't it?

P.S. The service through Direct TV requires a 12 month contract- before even seeing the sevice. At $60 a month, you are commiting $720 to a service that might be horrible.

[Solarjetman]

My ADSL provider (a local ISP) leases me a block of 5 Static IP addresses for only $10 per month (for all 5, not each) - a /29 subnet. For that tiny stack of chump change, why anyone would want to mess with NAT is beyond me.

Huh, I guess my sense of value for a static IP is a little off then. I never really looked into it because I do not require it. I don't run any servers.

As for why run NAT, it does add another level of security to your network by making it harder for outside hackers to initiate contact.

And a /29 subnet would yeild 6, not 5 hosts. I think your ISP is cheatin' ya'