Choose between DSL and cable by comparing the plans that can actually be ordered at your address. The connection type tells you how service reaches the property; the offer's upload capacity, download capacity, total cost and installation terms tell you whether it fits your household.

What is the difference between DSL and cable?

The FCC's technology categories place asymmetric and symmetric DSL under copper wire. Cable internet falls under coaxial cable or hybrid fiber-coaxial service. A network can use fiber along part of its route and still deliver cable service to the premises.

These categories do not establish the speed or price of a specific offer. Ask the company to identify the service technology and plan at your full street address, including the unit. An existing telephone or cable outlet is not an order confirmation.

Compare the two written offers

Download: Record the plan's stated typical download speed and match it to the things your household does at the same time.
Upload: Record upload speed separately. Include video meetings, sending large files and cloud backups in the comparison.
Complete cost: Ask for the monthly total, required equipment, installation charges and the price after any promotion.
Conditions: Check data allowances, contract length, cancellation terms and any services required to obtain the quoted price.
Start date: Obtain the activation or installation commitment for this property.

Request each offer's Broadband Facts label and written terms. The consumer-label rules provide the framework for providers' plan disclosures. Keep an unanswered item marked as unknown until the provider explains it; do not fill a gap with a typical figure from another company's plan.

Do you need a phone or television bundle?

A phone subscription and a phone line are different questions. DSL uses copper wiring to reach the property; cable uses coaxial cable or a hybrid fiber-coaxial network. Ask which physical connection the installation needs, then separately ask whether the quoted plan requires voice service. If the sales quote includes a phone or television bundle, ask for the standalone internet price too.

Compare the total amount you would pay for services you intend to keep. A discount on one line of the bill does not answer whether the whole package costs less. Save the promotion's end date and the cancellation terms for each service in the bundle.

Will switching solve the problem you have?

Separate a plan-capacity problem from a problem at one device or location. If calls fail only in a distant room, first compare that connection with a supported wired connection near the router. If slow uploads affect your work wherever you connect, compare the offered upload figures and discuss the problem with the provider.

Use the household speed worksheet to record simultaneous tasks. That gives both sales representatives the same requirements. It also makes it easier to reject an upsell that does not address the problem you described.

Make the change with a clear handoff

Before cancelling the old service, confirm the new start date and ask which equipment can be reused, which must be replaced and which must be returned. Obtain the quoted charges for that sequence. If both offers meet your needs, compare their full cost and terms; if one cannot meet an essential requirement, do not treat a lower headline price as equivalent service.

Our internet provider directory can help you research candidates. There is no address-independent winner in this worksheet: the decision depends on the available offers and the requirements you recorded.