Comcast, Earthlink and Home Network - Opinions Needed

Beach-Comber wrote:
1) Can I use these same three computers with the Comcast internet service?

Yes.

2) Do I keep the Linksys router or get an Airport, or something else?

Comcast should have an option where they will give you a wireless router. That would be easiest and would allow you to keep both connections for a while. If you are happy with Comcast you could always switch to your old Linksys or get an Airport.

3) Can I keep the Earthlink DSL connection for a month or so, while I also have the Comcast service just to make sure everything is working and I do not have to go without internet access? (my at-home business is highly internet dependent.)

You can keep both for as long as you want.

I've gone back and forth between DSL and Cable a few time due to several moves. Cable will be much faster than DSL for uploads. With DSL, you have X speed up or X speed down, not both. While you are uploading a large file, your web browsing is like molasses. This shouldn't happen with Cable. However, you may not notice any other speed improvement. If you have been on DSL for this long, your DSL is probably pretty good. Your Cable speed could be no faster or even remarkably slower. Another reason to keep both for a while. Your Cable speed will go up and down during the day because you share the bandwidth while DSL is (more or less) always the same speed.

Cable can be more stable than DSL. DSL seems to randomly go down for no reason and then randomly start working again. It will usually start working again on its own before you could manage to call in, talk to a human who speaks your language, go through the pointless troubleshooting steps, and get a repair person out. I have had a Cable modem stay up for years. On the other hand, if your Cable does go down, it will stay down until you call in, go through the same old hassles, and they send a truck out to troubleshoot between the hours of 8-6 next Thursday. When the Cable Guy arrives at 6:30, you will be charged at least $49 if they determine that the problem is with your equipment instead of theirs. You may want to consider renting a cable modem from them.

Cable modem ISPs are more likely to block P2P traffic and standard e-mail ports. You may need to do some reconfiguration for e-mail.

Definitely keep both for a while and try it out. Your mileage will definitely vary. Your particular connection is different from any other in the world, so there is no way to tell which one will work best for you.

you can do all of what you want; although you best research the price differential between what you currently have and what you are about to get.