Someone want to explain to me what these DSL speeds mean?

[xvszero]

I'm looking into DSL for my parents house (yes they are still on 56k) and frankly I don't actually understand what this stuff means.

384-1500/128-384Kbps Basic Web User Starting At... $25.95
1500/384Kbps Standard Web User Starting At... $31.95
3000/384Kbps High Speed, Low Price! Starting At... $36.95
6000/768Kbps Highest Speed, Low Price! Starting At... $40.95

I'm guessing the numbers are download and upload speeds, but which is which? And why does the basic package have a range while the others just have a single number, is the basic one gimped somehow?

[Declan1991]

Well the second number is the download speed, I'd say it's 128kB/s at peak times, and 384 kB/s at other times, but I'm not certain. Is that really all the information that they give?

As a recommendation, 128kb/s should be perfectly sufficient unless you use the internet an awful lot, and download a lot, but check the download limits as well (I don't think many American companies limit download, but they certainly do elsewhere).

[xvszero]

Well there are a lot of people in the house (6 adults,) and I think once we get DSL there will be a lot of people online at the same time. And a few of us are the type who do massive downloads a lot (well, or would, if we weren't stuck on 56k at the moment.)

But we're all also cheap as hell so we would probably just get the cheapest one and hope for the best, unless there is a significant change in moving up a tier or two.

128kb/s is only twice as fast as 56k though, right?! Doesn't seem like a huge improvement, then again our 56k never actually runs at 56k... more like 28k.

I think the site offers more details. We're kind of limited on our choices of who to buy through as my mom is the type who boycotts like... 90% of companies for various reasons.

[Declan1991]

Not really, one is kiloBIT and the other is kiloBYTE. 56k is effectively 6 or 7 kB/s.

[Fang]

It's download/upload speed, the slower one is always the upload.

At home I have 4000/1000Kbps (4 Mbit/s / 1Mbit/s)
A practical test only gives me 2640/340Kbs, this will vary during the day.
This speed is sufficient for 2 surfing users and 2 online gamers.

There are ISP's that offer 20 Mbit/s, but my infrastructure will only support 6 Mbit/s.
Find out what the maximum is for your location. This value can be different for your neighbor! Some ISP's have such a test on their website.

Go for the 'Highest Speed' if feasible. Watch out for introductory offers; often half the price you will be paying in 3 months time!

[xvszero]

The problem is everyone in my house (besides me) is living paycheck to paycheck, so it we went for the more expensive ones I'd have to foot the difference alone. And well... the only reason I'm not living paycheck to paycheck is I moved back in with my parents to save up money... so I'm trying to be a tightwad with my money too, otherwise it defeats the purpose of moving back home.

I think we'll just go with the cheap one, if nothing else it's gotta be a lot better than 56k... RIGHT?

[Shorts]

xvszero, is cable or verizon offered in your area?

Heres some examples,

I personally Have iO (From Cablevision), its $29.95 a month (goes up after 6 but if you cancel they'll generally continue the deal. Same if you use them for cable as well, thats what we do, cable, phone, and internet with them).

My speeds at home are ~13mbsp download and ~2mbsp upload.

Comcast also has something comparable. Verizon DSL is free for the first month then 19.99 a month afterwards (9.99 if you use them as your phone company). With that you get 1mbsp download and 384mbps upload.

Finally have to say shop around and see what you phone company or cable company offer if you have either. And yes, in the end anything you get will be better then dialup... way better, so don't worry about paying the cheapest, yet would say look for best price\performance.