[Traypaul]

Hi peeps,
I know that CABLE is faster then DSL, but I wanted to know which is a better company to go to with. I would rather go with DSL, since it is more stable. What is your opinions.

[BUGBULLY]

I have had both, I prefer Century Link. Except for one time last week, I have always had a connection with Century link. With cox at least once a month or more, their service was down.

[von949]

Cox does go out every now and then but it is super turbo lightning quick. Cant complain about that.

[Traypaul]

But Cox is much more expensive. We are trying to keep costs down as I am going to be the only one employed as of now.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by Traypaul

But Cox is much more expensive. We are trying to keep costs down as I am going to be the only one employed as of now.

Then why did you ask? Do you want to be talked out of your decision, or talked into Cox? I have Cox, and I'd go crazy with anything else now. But I've been wanting to ask the same thing. Is Century Link like a dial up? I hate that. What about Clear and PureMobile? Are those different than Century Link? Do you have to dial them and wait for that awful dialing noise to get a connection, or is that gone now?

[MediocreButArrogant]

If all you care about is price, Pure DSL from Centurylink is $30/month for the first year ($60 after the first year, but you may be able to continue at the promotional price). You will typically get between 5Mbps and 10Mbps, depending on whether the equipment has been upgraded in your neighborhood. I was told that you cannot keep your Centurylink phone service if you get Pure DSL - they told me I could not keep my home phone if I switched from my existing service to the "Pure" branded service (even though all that would change is the name of the product I buy).

I currently have a phone and DSL bundle from Centurylink, but will be switching to Cox when my one year commitment is up next month. 10Mbps service from Cox is only $46/month (promotional price is $30 for first three months). IIRC, when I priced Internet service and phone from Cox a year ago it was significantly higher than the $55 I was paying to Centurylink (it's now $65, as they took away the bundle discount when I switched long distance carriers, as their long distance was a required part of the bundle), but I priced it during a visit to a Cox store last week when my DSL was down all morning, and I can get basic phone and 10Mbps service from Cox for $66/month. That's a no-brainer, as I can only get 5Mbps DSL due to lack of equipment upgrades in my neighborhood (Lakes), and it's only a dollar more a month than I'm paying now. Cox would actually be $4 a month cheaper if I wasn't getting a $5 discount from Centurytel for the one-year commitment I'm still under for DSL.

I was under the impression that Cox has fewer outages than Centurylink. It seems every day I experience two or three outages that last between 30 seconds and a minute or two. Also, my VOIP application (Cisco IP Communicator) seems to garble the audio frequently on Centurylink DSL, but it's rock solid on SBC DSL when I'm at home in CA.

[Traypaul]

Buzz, sorry about the question. I am just wanting to get the best service for the best price. I do not want to go for the premium just yet, but I do not want snail slow internet either. I am just wanting to see who is the better company to deal with.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Is there something in particular you're worried about, like installation, billing, or repairs?

[Traypaul]

I have heard some bad things about cable internet and also about Cox, mostly about their monopoly on services and the spottiness of cable internet. I really hope they are not like COMCAST, which we have out here. I am surprised that Verizon does not have landlines out here. I dont need the cable TV, because our DirectTV is coming with us (Still have a year left on contract). Have no concerns about installation, done many myself, but its mostly coverage for me. I guess I will have to call both places and see what they offer.

[swagger]

I have both Cox cable & Centurylink DSL. We typically run our VoIP lines over the DSL, and use the cable for everything else.

I can tell you that without question, at least at our house, Cox is more reliable. I currently have the phones going through the cable connection because we've been having problems with the DSL line being stable for the last week or so. Little 5-10 second outages here and there go unnoticed by most people, but when it interrupts your telephone calls, it's VERY noticeable.

There are a lot of factors that have to be considered when determining which service to go with, if your concern is reliability. Call Centurylink and find out how far your location is from the POP - the closer you are, the faster and more reliable your service will be. For cable, it's not really a factor. Since your primary concern seems to be price, however, I'd say go with whatever's cheapest that will get you by until you can afford the level of service you desire.

As for which company "is better to deal with," flip a coin. They'll both turn you up, then send you a bill each month. As long as you pay the bill, they'll keep your connection on.