Internet service: Cable vs. DSL vs. dial-up

If you spend much time online, you're probably using a broadband Internet connection to your home or you are thinking seriously about getting one. Broadband offers near-instantaneous connections and swifter downloads than slower, albeit cheaper, dial-up Internet service.
But if broadband service is becoming almost a utility, it isn't yet as predictable and uniform in performance as that term suggests. In a survey of nearly 26,000 Consumer Reports subscribers--our largest-ever survey on Internet service providers (ISPs) and the first to rate broadband--we found differences in satisfaction with broadband service.

Here are the highlights of our findings:

There's no best broadband type. Availability of broadband is growing, with virtually all cable-TV companies now offering broadband Internet service and telephone companies wiring more neighborhoods for digital subscriber line (DSL) service. The highest-scoring cable and DSL providers offered comparable, fairly high levels of satisfaction--while the least satisfactory of each received equally ho-hum Ratings overall.

But the two provider types differed in what made their best ISPs score so high. Subscribers to the better-rated cable-broadband providers were more satisfied than most DSL subscribers with the speed of their service, and with its reliability and tech support. But subscribers to the least pricey of the DSL providers were far more satisfied with their monthly bills (around $30) than were subscribers to cable broadband, who paid about $35 to $45 a month.

There's no question as to the worst provider in our survey. It's DirecWay, the satellite-TV broadband provider, which offers relatively low satisfaction at a very high price--$600 and up for equipment and installation, and $57 a month thereafter for service.

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