It’s acknowledged as entirely misleading, yet it might contain some validity.
It’s acknowledged as entirely misleading, yet it might contain some validity.
I checked Centurylink Speeds and pricing in my area. The representative I spoke with claimed their 100 Mbps DSL plan matched Cox Communications' 500 Mbps service. While I understand it might be exaggerated, I wanted to see if the comparison held any merit.
They usually state "up to 500Mbps" rather than guaranteeing the full 500Mbps. If it includes "up to," it doesn't constitute misleading claims legally.
It wasn't really a badmouth; they were attempting to match their speeds against the city's cable monopoly.
I believe they were referencing peak usage periods. During those times, everyone wants to stream or watch TV simultaneously, which can slow down your connection. I thought they meant that during high traffic, my speed wouldn't be affected as much.
It's the classic debate between cable and DSL. In short, cable uses a shared network, so if no one else is using it, you get the full advertised speed—though during busy times like streaming Netflix, it can slow down significantly. DSL provides a dedicated connection, keeping you at your full 100 Mbps regardless of others. Because cable is shared, it tends to experience more outages. If you're fine with a slower 100 Mbps most of the time, DSL might suit you; if you crave maximum speed during low usage and accept some drawbacks, cable is the better choice.
Not always focused on DSL. Cable networks are busy but rarely mean everyone is streaming at once. You won’t typically encounter a 400:1 over-subscription rate on a cable line, more often around 50 to 100 times that. The same applies to DSL—full 100Mbps isn’t guaranteed from the provider’s backhaul, it’s more like a dedicated connection in theory but limited by distance and infrastructure. Unless you’re on a metro network or a business line, you’re usually oversubscribed. DSL also means your signal quality drops with distance, so the farther you are from the DSLAM, the slower you’ll get and the more you might run into problems compared to newer coax solutions.