Qwest DSL – Qwest High Speed Internet
As one of the nation’s largest telecommunication providers, Qwest offers a number of services for consumers, including landline phone options and high speed Internet services. Although the company has recently launched a fiber optics network for high speed Internet in some of its fourteen markets, the most common package available for consumers is Qwest DSL high speed Internet.
The Difference between Qwest DSL & Qwest Fiber Optics
A couple of key differences separate these two services offered by Qwest. The first is availability. Because of the high cost of switching over to fiber optics, companies like Qwest must implement these services more slowly. The roll out of this service has only recently begun in a few key cities, such as Phoenix. In many of the fourteen states where Qwest operates, only limited and sometimes no areas have this service available. Qwest DSL, however, is available in most of their markets.
Second, the biggest difference between the two choices is the connection. The fiber optics lines are more reliable, easier to maintain, and faster than the copper wiring used by Qwest DSL. However, all of those benefits come at a significantly higher price. The price difference between the highest fiber optic plan and the slowest DSL plan is approximately $40 per month – that’s a huge difference.
If speed is important to you and your budget is flexible, the fiber optics service is a great choice if it’s available. However, the DSL services are also going to provide fast access to the Internet, especially when compared to dial-up.
The Difference between DSL & Cable
Another difference you want to understand before making a commitment to Qwest is why DSL is preferable to cable as a source of your high speed Internet services.
The answer is more reliable speeds. Although cable high speed Internet can promise higher maximum speeds, the way their system works, that maximum speed is rarely obtained and most consumers end up suffering from sluggish speeds that only get slower. The reason is that cable does not use an independent connection for each user. As a result, multiple people share the same line and their use of the Internet affects the speeds of each person on that line. Many people who were early adopters of cable Internet quickly saw their speeds start to slow as more people jumped on the bandwagon and on their lines.
With DSL, however, that’s not going to be a problem. You’ll be connected to the Central Office through a dedicated line. The only issue that affects your speed (at least that would be controllable by Qwest) is your proximity to the Central Office. The closer you are the faster your speeds.
Another difference is that cable Internet services only offer one speed, usually. With DSL, you have options and can choose the fastest speed available that you can afford.
The Speed of Qwest DSL
Back in the early days of the Internet, most people accessed their favorite web sites and checked their email using dial-up. Those old 56 K modems simply cannot compete with the speeds available with DSL.
Here are some speed comparisons to show why switching to Qwest’s high speed Internet makes so much sense. These common online activities will demonstrate just how much faster the service is.
First, let’s talk about the legal downloading music. Assuming the average size of a song file is 4 MB, here’s how both DSL plans stack up to old school dial up services:
• DSL Platinum (up to 7 Mbps) – 6 seconds
• DSL Silver (up to 1.5 Mbps) – 26 seconds
• Dial-up (up to 56 Kb) – 9.5 minutes
For a single four to five minute long song, you could spend almost ten minutes downloading it onto your computer with a dial-up connection. That’s compared to a very fast six seconds for the top DSL plan.
Here’s another comparison. Maybe you want to download a game from the Internet so you can play while you’re unwinding or while you’re procrastinating. Here’s how that process would stack up:
• DSL Platinum (up to 7 Mbps) – 28 seconds
• DSL Silver (up to 1.5 Mbps) – 2 minutes
• Dial-up (up to 56 Kb) – almost 48 minutes
Downloading a 20 MB game from the Internet would take nearly an hour with dial-up compared to just half of a minute with the highest speed platinum. In the time it took to download that single game with dial-up, you could have downloaded it 96 times with DSL Platinum.
The speed advantage offered by DSL over dial-up is obvious. Direct comparisons with cable are more difficult because of the inconsistency of their speeds, however.
DSL Packages
Qwest, like most of the major telecommunication players, offers reduced prices for their services if you are already a customer or if you purchase more than one service through them. In the case of their DSL services, you can save a lot on your monthly service if you already use their phone service.
If you purchase the Silver DSL plan, for example, you could pay as little as $15 per month if you have a qualifying home phone package. Otherwise, you’ll end up paying nearly $40. If you opt for the Platinum DSL service, you could pay anywhere from $25 to $48 per month depending on the other services you have through Qwest.
In comparison, most dial-up phone service costs about $15 to $20. Qwest’s fiber optic service can cost anywhere from $35 to $70 – the price depends on your current services and which plan you decide to purchase.
The Bottom Line
The difference in speed and the similarity in price between Qwest’s high speed Internet and dial-up should make the switch seem easy to make. If you’re debating between cable and Qwest’s DSL, just keep in mind that a fast speed on paper does not mean you’ll enjoying the entertainment faster with cable. Finally, if you want to spend the extra money and get the boost of speed provided by the fiber optic high speed Internet, you should. But there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the speed of DSL.
