Yesterday Jason DeRusha (The Good Question guy from Channel 4 News) asked:  Does Location Determine Internet Speed?

I was hoping he might take the broadband view of discrepancies in throughout the state based on location, which was mentioned – but his focus was really on cable versus DSL.

Here is the answer he got from Comcast…

“We are able to provide speeds at 1.5 mbps (megabits per second) to over 100 mbps,” she said, depending on the speed level people sign up for.
Schubert said the speed of the Internet can vary based on how many people are online, and the speed of different sites can vary, but the speed of

Comcast’s pipe is constant.

Although the article points our that there are some caveats pops up on the Comcast website…

Comcast acknowledges on its website that “every user’s experience is potentially affected by neighbors’ Internet usage.”

The article goes on to explain that there are potential issues with DSL as well…

DSL travels through your regular phone lines, so you’re not sharing it with your neighbors. But you are directly connected to the internet, so you are affected by everyone logging on. on CenturyLink’s website, they write: “Based on our experience, CenturyLink customers may encounter congestion, if at all, during the hours of peak usage – between 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm local time. During peak hours, the majority of residential customers are attempting to use the Internet simultaneously, giving rise to a greater potential for congestion.”

DSL also has the technological limitation of the wire carrying the signal: is it copper wire or fiber? How far is it from the central office? Distance matters in DSL, not in Cable.