I'm considering high-speed access for trading, but am fortunate enough to be able to choose between cable and ADSL. I know that although cable is a higher volume pipe, I'm concerned about quality issues and need opinions on the general state of these services to help make a decision. Some of what I've read at websites such as http://www.dslreports.com/ indicates lots of problems with hook up of DSL, not to mention stability issues with it. A relevant detail may be that I am only 1700' from the CO of the Telocity DSL which may benefit the DSL option significantly. The available ADSL is a 640/90 at $50 a month, and the cable service would be Adelphia at an advertised speed of 3Mps/128K for $35 a month.
I have used dedicated T-4, and now use rr cable @ home and feel cable is very fast and reliable, possibly faster than T-4 in a trading office when you figure 20 guys in the office are sharing the same pipe. hope this helps , i am very pleased with cable.
I use Cable. In fact bandwitdh is only higher on paper and depends on time of day. This is because Cable, as you know, is shared among subscribers. The more subscribers the less bandwitdh. However, trading does not take that much bandwitdh per seat. I have several apps [3] per seat sucking realtime data as much as they can. And it leaves plenty of room for web browsing, and even voice ip phone etc... It also depends on the cable provider. Because they all use different technologies. I am lucky mine is using the latest and I live in the countryside so bandwitdh competition is acceptable. But again, the trading apps do not take that much anyway. Of course you must multiply this by the number of seats. Cable is always on, there is no login time or dial up. Anyway, I hope you consider a backup. Always have an alternative route to the internet. I use a simple and stupid 33.6 modem which is automatically used by my proxy server in case the cable goes down [it happened once a month ago]. This backup should be with another ISP too. There is no point in a backup if the ISP is the problem. The backup is so rarely used, that I don't pay for it, it is a free internet provider. That's enough because the bandwidth requirement is so little, enough to get out if everything turns sour.
Some brokers will offer SDSL for FREE if you trade at least 50 times a month. You should compare ADSL and SDSL and cable. SDSL is better if you need to be connected all the time.
I have been using 2 seperate connections on 2 identical but non-networked computers: 128K ISDN and @Home cable. ISDN is very stable. @Home frequently makes me miserable. It is very fast when it is working correctly. But the company does not seem to care that it often does not work correctly. Calling tech support is a joke, you are "phone routed" through at least ten (yes, 10) decisions, and a recorded listing of all of their current problem areas (there are always several),...etc. etc. When you do get to speak with someone they automatically blame any problem on your computer or the "internet problems" I just became aware that DSL is now available in my area so, unless I am warned against doing so, I will soon be dumping @Home and trying DSL @Home has compelling marketing, they make it look good to prospective buyers. But the service, at least in my case, is not dependable enough for trading.
To anyone considering DSL... DSL service can vary greatly from location to location. If you are considering using DSL for trading over the internet, it's important to have a good backup service.
I have moved to Sacramento and now I have a choice DSL or @HOME cable modem. I am told by the locals that DSL suck in this area !! So I will give a try to ATT and see.
I have AT&T and I am getting sick of it. Sometimes it is off for 5 minutes at a time, sometimes 20, sometimes an hour, sometimes all day! When it works it is fine... But it is HIGHLY unreliable. I live in an area with pretty much every option available to me. (I live in Silicon Valley) What would be the best choice for me to switch to for superb reliablity? Balanced with a reasonable cost ( less than 200 a month)?
I've ordered DSL. From some previous posts it seems as if 640Kb/96Kb will be enough - that's $39.99 per month. I don't want to skimp here - for a simple trader using 2 or 3 quote windows and tickers, plus some charting S/W all on 2 monitors, will I get any benefit by upgrading to, say, 1.5MB/384Kb which is $79.95 per month? Other options I have are : 1.5Mb/128K - $59.95 per month ( maybe this is preferable?) 384Kb/384Kb - $69.95 per month