[mark9939]

Hello, I've had cable for about a year, but DSL is now available in my area. Qwest is trying to sell me MSN 8 with it, but I don't WANT MSN. My question is, is DSL just like cable in the sence that I can hook it up form a modem right into my network w/ no extra ISP software liek MSN or AOL? Thanks in advance, -M.

[Camelot]

You do need an ISP at some level. Think of DSL being to your internet connection what your phone line is to your telephone... you can have a line to your house but without a phone company on the other end to handle your local and long distance calls you won't go anywhere. You do have an ISP with your cable connection - it just happens to be the cable company.

If you had DSL without an ISP, you wouldn't be able to get any email (there's no domain for the mail), etc. Technically you could operate your own domain and handle it all yourself, but that's a lot of work and few people opt for it.

The good thing is that you should be able to choose your ISP and are not restricted to MSN or AOL. Since Qwest are now providing DSL service in your area, any DSL-based ISP should be able to provide you service over their lines.

Check http://www.dslreports.com/ for an analysis of different ISPs in your area. Any of them should be able to provide service over the Qwest line.

[Rainy Day]

I might add that your instincts are good in that you want to avoid MSN and AOL as ISP's. I recently switched to Qwest DSL from cable. I found an ISP which specializes in DSL, and offers more for less $$$ than the MSN Qwest was trying to foist on me. It's a good idea to shop around. If you poke around on the Qwest DSL web site, you can find a list of "alternative ISP's." That's how i found the one i'm using.

Camelot: "If you had DSL without an ISP, you wouldn't be able to get any email (there's no domain for the mail), etc." Is this really possible? Don't you need an ISP to connect your DSL line to the InterNet backbone and provide you with an IP address? That was my understanding of their role, even if you run your own servers and don't use an ISP for that.

[mark9939]

Ok, thanks for the responses so far. Another ?:

Can I just turn on my Mac/PC, open Safari/Explorer and get the internet?

What does the ISP do for me other than just giving me an IP? Do I need it for anything more? Thanks, -M

[Rainy Day]

Can I just turn on my Mac/PC, open Safari/Explorer and get the internet?

Yep. The InterNet is always on your EtherNet (or wireless) 24/7. Well, some ISP's will actually give you a PPP connection, and that's not actually on 24/7, but negotiation usually goes pretty quickly.

What does the ISP do for me other than just giving me an IP? Do I need it for anything more?

Most likely they'll provide you with eMail and news group access as well. They'll probably offer you some web server space too, if you want to put up a personal web page. It's all pretty much the same service ISP's provide to dial-up folks, except that your modem is replaced by a much faster, generally always on DSL connection (one which doesn't tie up a phone line).

Other considerations when shopping around for ISP's: Some will limit your bandwidth, meaning the amount of bytes you can move through them each month. If you do a lot of downloading, that could be a problem. Some don't want you to run a server. Some will offer static IP's, but if you don't plan to run a server, that may not matter too much to you.

[one]

Had both (Mindspring/Earthlink DSL, @Home/ATTBI cable. Bottom line: forget DSL - cable is better!

[Rainy Day]

Comparing DSL and cable is a bit like comparing the proverbial "apples and oranges." They are different critters, and each have their advantages and disadvantages. Which one is better depends on a number of independent variables. There is no one size fits all answer.

With DSL, you generally have a choice of ISP's, each offering a wide selection of services, performance and value for the money. With cable, generally you don't have a choice of ISP's (your cable company usually is your ISP; what they offer is what you get). Also, cable companies tend to frown on customers running servers on their lines, and usually prohibit it in their contracts (and often will disconnect your service if you hang a server on their line.)

Cable broadband is a shared pipe from your door. DSL is a dedicated pipe all the way to your ISP. With cable, if all your neighbors are online with streaming video downloads, your bandwidth suffers. You have the same problem with DSL only if your ISP has an underpowered connection to the InterNet.

In general, in my area, cable generally offers more bandwidth than DSL for the same amount of money, except during primetime (for InterNet usage, that is), when the bandwidth drops noticeably. You might experience the same thing with DSL, but only if you have a poorer quality ISP. But DSL can be cheaper for an entry level service, which is a slower speed connection, but may be all you need, depending on your InterNet usage.

Oh, and one other difference: DSL speed is a function of the distance to your central telephone switch; the farther away you are, the fewer options you have. DSL is generally limited to just a few miles. Cable tends to support much longer distances.

And one of these days you may be able to get broadband from your power company over your power lines. They're doing it already in parts of Europe, and pilot programs have begun in the US.

[ghporter]

Let me add a little (clarity|cloudiness; I don't know which ) to this discussion.

I've been a Southwestern Bell DSL subscriber for a couple of years now, and my ISP has always been Southwestern Bell (ok SBC, but that's just nitpicking). A while back SBC and Yahoo! formed a partnership, one of the features of which was pretty important to me: Yahoo! is going to take over the ISP duties from SBC. SBC will continue to install and maintain the connections, but email, newsgroups, etc. will be handled by Yahoo! What's the difference? SBC doesn't have to deal with the administration of all the little details of mail and so on. Yahoo! doesn't have to worry about what connection provider(or providers) to deal with, as they have a locked in partner.

The literature that I've received (a LOT of literature) points out that nothing will change except WHO handles my email, news, etc. In addition, Yahoo! is giving premium options to SBC customers that make the switch, which says that this is a great deal for both SBC and Yahoo! It's not yet clear that it's a great deal for customers, but the problems that customers encounter in migrating (as we know, 'switching' has a different meaning) are getting ironed out fairly quickly. I have yet to migrate, but I may do so this week, as I have some time to devote to messing with things...

[Scotttheking]

See if you can get speakeasy as your ISP.
They cost a bit more, but they are wonderful.
I'm switching to them once I get cash.

Right now I use qwest business services for my DSL. They are still morons, but it's not MSN.