ADSL vs. Broadband

[muyongshi]

I am curious about everyone's experience with the actual speed of these two services in China. I have broadband and am considering switching to ADSL but don't want to if it is not going to be faster.

I know in the states that ADSL is generally faster in real life tests as you do not share the bandwith with your neighborhood but what about here? Any input would help, but specifically people's actual observation as the numbers that service providers give I will likely take with a grain of salt (a very large grain).

Thanks

[Rincewind]

In British English, ASDL is broadband.

[muyongshi]

Well whatever the terms are here is what I am talking about. Right now I have an ethernet cable that comes out of my wall that is linked to a router downstairs that goes to the server. And what I am thinking about getting is a high speed (what we call DSL) modem that would connect through the phone line not directly through the router.

One of the technicians for China Telecom told me to switch to the modem because I would at least have less problems with the router.

I know that ADSL is a form of broadband but I am translating the way China Telecom says it. The offer DSL and 宽带 (which is literally broadband). Unfortunately their form of “宽带” is not like our very common other form which is cable broadband. So I don't know how else to describe it.

[PinYin55]

DSL and Broadband (Cable) are in fact 2 very different things.

Cable is much faster. The only time it is SLOWER than DSL is if other people around you are connected to the same cable line, which in turn shares your connection.

There is no standard of which will be faster in China. It depends on your very immediate location (or, building). I would just try to access how many people in your area use it. Also try to use some online speed tests. Compare the speeds with the max speeds of DSL, since those will generally not change much.

If you have a problem with your connection being unstable, DSL will solve the problem. Your connection isnt shared, and it will be consistent.

However, technically speaking, Boradband is a pretty good bit faster.

Thats all I really know to tell you. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[gato]

Right now I have an ethernet cable that comes out of my wall that is linked to a router downstairs that goes to the server.

Whose server? Are you saying that you are connected to your school's server right now? That server would have to have its own connection to the internet somehow, which may be DSL or some other method like T1.

One of the technicians for China Telecom told me to switch to the modem because I would at least have less problems with the router.

What kind of problems are you experiencing?

[Rincewind]

ADSL can be run on a contended basis just as other methods can. Once it hits the exchange your bundled in with all your neighbours and have to share the bandwith just the same.

ADSL is dependant on a number of factors. The physical distance between you and the exchange will affect your speed. So to will the quallity of the cable and any junctions in the cable. Anything that could cause noise on the line will reduce the speed you can achieve.

[hazyrum]

I have a similar situation. I'm in Beijing and have some sort of free internet connection offered by my building [ethernet comes out of wall] Looking to get an ADSL line so I can use Skype. What is typical pricing/major companies that sell internet around here? Thanks!

[imron]

I'm in Beijing, and my old apartment had the ethernet cable, and my new apartment has ADSL. The ADSL has definately been faster for me. For example, with a typicaly youtube video, previously I'd just pause it and wait for it to download and then watch it when it was finished because the download speed could never keep up with the playback speed, causing constant interruptions. In my new place (with the ADSL) the download speed is faster than the playback speed so I can just watch things straight through.

There are a whole bunch of factors that could be affecting this, so you might not see the same results, but my connection now is definately faster.

[muyongshi]

Thanks Imron that does help a bit.

What is typical pricing/major companies that sell internet around here? Thanks!

The only real good provider out where I am is China Telecom. There is one called China netcom but what they offer is nothing compared to China Telecom. I know telecom has a 1mb and a 2 mb service and if I am remembering correctly the are respectively 960 and 1100 左右 for a year service.

[ipsi()]

Hmm... When I was in China, I found the internet service to be quite crap compared to what I was used to in New Zealand. Especially the speeds. 1MB is quite poor, and 2MB would be the lowest I could get in New Zealand with the Cable provider. The only upside was unlimited downloads.

Apparently Cable is offered, and is much, much better than the ADSL, but my girlfriend's family don't live in an area covered by it.

[Shadowdh]

if I may thread jack slightly... why would my connection be active (ie read connected) but be unable to connect to sites? I am using the uni's internet, standard ethernet (I believe) from the wall into the laptop... every so often (sometimes more often others not so) it just wont connect with the sites but will show a connection in the status window... if I do a repair it works fine till the next time... any thoughts?? (if I should start a new thread just let me know) cheers

[cdn_in_bj]

I am using the uni's internet, standard ethernet (I believe) from the wall into the laptop... every so often (sometimes more often others not so) it just wont connect with the sites but will show a connection in the status window... if I do a repair it works fine till the next time... any thoughts??

Are you running Windows? If so, I've experienced this before and the only way to get it working again was to disable and then reenable the network connection in Windows.

[shanghaikai]

As others have said, cable internet is significantly faster than ADSL, but you're sharing that connection with other users around you. If there are more users who are using more bandwidth, you'll suffer slower speeds. If there are less, it's pretty fast. In China, cable internet usually means an ethernet port in a wall you hook your computer or personal router to via a cat-5 cable. Elsewhere, you may actually have a cable modem that connects to a coaxial cable and port in the wall. That modem is then connected via cat-5 ethernet cable to your computer or personal router.

ADSL is generally considered a dedicated line, meaning you don't share it with anyone and you get to have all that bandwidth to yourself, but it is significantly less bandwidth than cable internet (but still much more than dial-up). ADSL usually involves you connecting a phone line to a DSL modem that then connects to your computer or personal router through a cat-5 ethernet cable.

Both have their pros and cons. I currently pay about 130/month for my cable internet connection through China Telecom here in Shanghai.

if I may thread jack slightly... why would my connection be active (ie read connected) but be unable to connect to sites? I am using the uni's internet, standard ethernet (I believe) from the wall into the laptop... every so often (sometimes more often others not so) it just wont connect with the sites but will show a connection in the status window... if I do a repair it works fine till the next time... any thoughts?? (if I should start a new thread just let me know) cheers

You're connected to a router that is then connected to the internet. A router allows more than one person to share the same internet connection. For whatever reason, your connection through the router to the internet was interrupted. Your computer will still show that you are connected to the network (router) but it does not mean you'll be connected to the internet. That's why it says you're connected but you can't get to any websites. Sometimes "repairing" (rebooting) your network adapter will fix the hiccup. Other times the router may have lost connection with the internet and you have to wait for that to get fixed (sometimes as easy as just rebooting the router).

[roddy]

If anyone's interested you can test your Internet speed here, link was posted by mikelove some time ago. I hit about 1200Kbps maximum on my Dalian 2M broadband, which is less than it should be but still way more than I need. When I was on 1M it would hit about 800Kbps. I can't remember offhand what I pay for this, something around the 120Y mark I think, inclusive of phone.

I'd query the value of the 2M service if you are mainly worried about overseas sites though - opting for an overseas server on the above test cuts speeds by a factor of ten.

[shanghaikai]

I got some pretty varied results from trying that website, roddy. As high as 1100 on the download and as low as mid-300s.

By the way, I dig the signature. I had a notebook with that line printed also.

[muyongshi]

I also had some very varied results (still on my "broadband" connection). I had as low as a 56k modem speed when connecting to Taiwan and not much higher when connecting to the US. Beijing was about a 1m and Chengdu was about 1.5. Of course I checked at a low usage time so I plan on trying later tonight which is when the connection usually is very slow.

[roddy]

Actually the truly useful measure of Internet speed is: How fast do TV shows download? My 2MB line maxes out at about 240Kbs.

[gato]

My 2MB line maxes out at about 240Kbs.

A small correction: 240 KB/s. Big B for bytes. Small b for bits (8 bits = 1 byte).

Edit: Unless you intended to say 240 Kbits/s.

240 KB/s is the maximum download speed I get on my ADSL.

[Shadowdh]

I only got 160 odd Kbps, but when using p2p frequently get over 180KBps (note the change of b to B) and once I even got over 1 MBps for about 3 seconds... also FEI (for everyones information) the issue with the broadband here has been resolved. It was a problem known to the tech guys here and they seem to have done rather well in fixing it...

[Wairen]

I just went out to the electronics market and tried to purchase a cable modem, but was just met with blank stares. Shopkeepers were only packin' ADSL, and kept enthusiastically shoving boxes of ADSL modems into my face, then squinting when I explained that I wanted a different type before passing me on to someone else. I finally found one person who understood what I was talking about. Unfortunately, the joy of vindication was short-lived as he immediately informed me that China didn't yet have the infrastructure.

Well, there's certainly something that looks like a broadband connection taking up part of my wall, staring me down like an empty eye socket, mocking me for signing up for a year's worth of broadband access... so what gives?

I'm in Sichuan, the tech capital of China, right? Shouldn't Computer World, on the Computer street, in the Computer City, have a cable modem? What on Earth do I have to do to find one? Or am I just completely mistaken?