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Cable Shapes Up

In recent years it seemed as if cable Internet would relinquish its market lead to DSL because, as PC World has previously reported, cable providers were known for their terrible customer service.

But lately cable companies have cleaned up their act. Through the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, cable companies have come to an agreement on what good customer service is. They've improved the time it takes to resolve problems, and they're starting to reap the benefits of this change, says IDC's Harris. And significantly, cable is still more widely available than DSL and usually costs less per month, especially when providers offer package deals for TV and Internet.

In addition, most cable systems in the United States can now deliver two-way high-speed access (in the early days of cable-based Internet service, many cable connections delivered data downstream only, so you had to use a dial-up modem to send e-mail, for example). And slowdowns caused by too many users on a cable node at once (exaggerated for comic effect in some DSL ads) haven't materialized, largely because cable providers now monitor bandwidth usage and can quickly allocate new resources to keep performance high.

Cable's Happy Campers

More than twice as many cable users as DSL users completed our survey, which mirrors the national ratio of cable to DSL subscribers.

Bruce Reichert, who uses Cablevision's Optimum Online Internet service in Huntington, New York, is quick to rate the company's service as second to none.

Two years ago, Reichert bought the $130 Optimum Online self-installation package. It contained everything he needed to set himself up.

"They took my cable TV information at the store and had my service up before I even got home," says Reichert. Now customers can buy the modem in a store and sign up for the service online.

Our survey confirms that tech-savvy users who have the option to install the hardware themselves like the convenience and the setup-cost savings. In fact, 39 percent of cable users and 76 percent of DSL subscribers in our survey did so. Broadband service started up much more quickly for cable users than for DSL subscribers, however. Self-installation should mean that your service kicks in sooner, but our survey bore that out only for cable users: 75 percent of cable respondents (and 85 percent of Cablevision users) said their service was installed within two weeks, whereas just 23 percent of national DSL users and 32 percent of regional DSL users said the same. Phone companies must verify that potential DSL subscribers' phone lines are suitable for service, which adds to the wait.

If you can choose between cable and DSL, take a good look at cable first. If you already pay for cable TV, ask about a package discount. Nearly all cable providers allow self-installation, which can reduce installation fees by more than half. And make sure you can buy your cable modem. (Typically, these cost around $200.) AT&T subscribers, for example, can buy a modem for $199 or rent one for $10 per month--which adds up to $240 over two years and pushes the service fee as high as $56 per month.

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