DSL vs. Fiber Optic internet

[cnico88]

So I have Qwest DSL with 7MB/sec and I am pretty happy with it. However Qwest is rolling out Fiber Optic internet with 7MB/sec as well and the price is the same. My question is which one is faster and should I upgrade?

Here are some things that I heard about each (don't know if it's true)

DSL is better during traffic hours because there is an individual line from the telephone company to your modem and Fiber optic there is a hub for a whole neighborhood which causes slow downs.

Fiber optic is better because the response time is faster even though the speeds are the same in terms of down/up.

Is this true and which should I pick because price and speeds are exactly the same>? Thanks!

 

[Prototype]

i think fiber dont know y but i think it is better

the cables are smaller

 

[peterhuang913]

i think fiber dont know y but i think it is better

the cables are smaller

And are made of glass...

 

[KSoD]

And are made of glass...

Not necessarily. They could be plastic as well. Not all cables are glass.

Go with the fibre. It is a dedicated line and you will get no cross talk like you do with DSL. Just a stright line for you and you only.

 

[peterhuang913]

Yep, go with fiber.

 

[cnico88]

I don't think anyone answered my question yet: Does fiber optic improve response time and does it slow down in the evenings when everybody gets on it? I am very happy with my DSL because I get constant speeds throughout the day but I could definitely use some decrease in response time.

 

[peterhuang913]

It improves response and shouldn't slow down.

 

[KSoD]

I don't think anyone answered my question yet: Does fiber optic improve response time and does it slow down in the evenings when everybody gets on it? I am very happy with my DSL because I get constant speeds throughout the day but I could definitely use some decrease in response time.

Yes i did answer your question. Fibre is a dedicated line to you. DSL is not. Hence all my comments about cross talk. A dedcated line for just you is going to have less interference than a DSL line.

The hwole internet slows down at peak times. It isnt jsut for you. Everybody gets slower speeds when ISO DNS servers and everything get taxed for a influx of users. Can not stop that. But you will get better speeds than you would on DSL.

 

[Oreo]

Mak. Fiber optics are very likely to be glass which are laid down. Plastic doesn't have as good properties when it comes to keeping refracted light inside a a cylindrical shape.

However, if the cable snaps it is hard for workers to pinpoint were it is broken. As they cannot visbley check for light coming out the line, as they use IR light - because it is a smaller wavelength and carries more information. So if it breaks, you could be out of internet for days, weeks, possibley months. Fortunately it is uncommon.

 

[KSoD]

I am not talking about the Fibre used to get the data underground. I know that is glass. I am talking about some of the fibre cables used in housholds for ToS link connections. Not all of them are glass and they have perfect signal.