I've had DSL service for the past two years, and it has frustrated the snot out of me. My neighborhood was built in 1968 and the wiring is really old. The fastest service that Qwest could offer via DSL is 1.5 MBPS, and I never saw that. Many times it took 20+ seconds for this forum to load, and that was after I'd click two or three times on a link. Other times, the DSL service would crawl at incredibly slow speeds. On a number of occasions, I'd spend 10 minutes trying to load a site which tests connection speed - and when it finally connected, it showed acceptable download readings of as high as 1.3 MBPS, with uploads around .3 MBPS.. But what about the 10 minutes I spent trying to connect?
In short, I wasn't getting what I was paying for. Repeated calls to Qwest always showed that service was within the promised limits...and then it went downhill again when I wasn't on the phone with Qwest. I changed to Comcast cable modem service, and it's so much faster that I even notice it on the wireless network in my home.
I just ran a speed test on the laptop I'm using via a wireless router - download speed shows 5.5 MBPS, upload is 2.8 MBPS. Both are around 4x as fast as the previous service I had. I know that cable can load up more than DSL, but there's a LOT of room for it to slow down with multiple users in the area before it approaches the pitiful service I've been getting.
I also moved my telephone service to Comcast because they currently include it at no extra charge, and that deal lasts for a year. That will save me 50-60 bucks a month. Of course, I'll need to keep my eyes open and probably have to dicker with Comcast when that period expires (lest they nail me with new charges), but I'm willing to do that.