Review of Comcast High Speed vs Qwest DSL
Compared with Comcast high speed the download and upload rates of DSL are drastically slower. You don't notice it as much in web page loading but you do when downloading music, games, movies, patches, updates, etc. However it was easy for me to simply time large downloads during the night or at points when I was willing to wait. My only annoyance was when I was updating my mp3 player from Napster and was waiting on the MP3's to download before a bike ride. Poor planning on my part but it took twice as long as with Comcast.
Before making the commitment to Comcast I tested download speed with Qwest and Comcast active at my apartment at the same time. Both times I tested were on the same computer with a wired connection with a test to the same location. Comcast got down speeds around 20Mbs and up at 4Mbs. Qwest was consistently 4Mbs down and less than 1Mbs up. This is obviously a gigantic difference in speed. The higher speed lines from Qwest are unavailable in my area, the plan I have is the 7Mbs. My Comcast plan is the normal one with powerboost.
In more practical testing I tried a download from ati.com which I always get great speeds from. The rate with Comcast was a steady 1MB/s with burst sometimes reaching over 2MB/s. That's MB/s with a capital B meaning Byte instead of bit. I used Internet Explorer for the download which measures bandwidth in Bytes per second. I then tested the same file with Qwest and got a steady download rate of 500KB/s with a burst up to 1MB/s.
Despite the difference in speed Qwest has superior service and is much less expensive. Without special deals Comcast is $70 per month just for the internet. Qwest is $45. Suddenly learning patience and planning downloads at night isn't such a big problem. Add tot hat they offer DirecTV for another $40 per month with a better channel lineup and you have a winner. Except the service at DirecTV is absolutely horrible. SO for a time I even had a combination of Comcast TV and Qwest DSL. It wasn't the best way to spend my money but I was getting what I wanted.
With that said I called Comcast and got a deal. I told them what I could get with Qwest and they basically matched it. Internet + TV for $80 a month and I get HBO (that I never watch). All in all I was very satisfied with Qwest and if it weren't for the deal Comcast gave me I would still be with them. Especially if DirecTV had better customer service.
You can also find some actual test results on my previous blog post.
http://www.mikesaysmeh.com/index.php/2009/10/comcast-vs-qwest-speed-test/
Comcast vs Qwest Speed Test
I switched over to Qwest DSL a few months ago because Comcast kept dropping my connection. I'd been so satisfied with Qwest's reliability that I kept them when I moved as well. Especially since I was moving to a highrise building. I figured the line would be saturated. But since DirectTV has the worst customer service ever and I still have Comcast cable I decided to give high speed another shot. I called them up and asked for a deal to match qwest. $80 a month with Science channel HD + high speed. I got it, Digital Preferred + High Speed for $80 a month. I got the modem and new channels the same day. Hooked everything up and ran some speedtests.
Comcast with Linksys WRT54G v8 Router - Speed of the beast!
My first test wasn't very impressive but it was running through my router. A Linksys WRT54G v8. I thought the router might be the issue so I tried it without the router.
Speed test without router, PC direct through modem
Wow, much better. I only get 5mbs tops on Qwest. So I knew the router was a problem. I gave it the latest firmware update and reset it to factory defaults.
Speed test after upgrading firmware and resetting to factory defaults
Yay, because I really need a router and didn't want to have to buy one. How does this compare with Qwest?
Qwest speed test
Honestly, DSL is slower than cable but there are some pros. You get your own dedicated line so no other user can affect your connection. The customer service with Qwest is amazing. I've used billing and technical support and they are great, even the people over in India. With that said I won't be switching back. the deal I am getting with Comcast is too good and the speed is fantastic. Unless Comcast royally screws up again and my connection starts dropping I'll stick with them long term.
All of my tests were using hard wired connections and to the same location each time. The Qwest modem/router combo I have is the Motorola Netopia 3347. Modem with Comcast is the Scientific Atlanta DPC2100. Router I use with Comcast high speed is a Linksys WRT54G v8. I have Comcast with power boost and Qwest 7mbs packages.
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