Wanted to go with the triple play for phone / net / cable but due to their underground line being bad and the ground being frozen under 4 feet of snow it's gonna be a while before they can get to it.

So...do I go DSL and Sat for tv? Do I go AT&T for all three or mix it up with DirectTV? Other options?

DSL is a little slower than cable

But Sat is so much better than Comcast

but I hate dsl and the weather issues of Dtv.

VoIP at the minimum. AT&T CallVantage might work.

Qwest land line phone costs $18, Vonage is $27 and both those prices include all fees and taxes. The VOIP hardware cost about $100 (CISCO PAP-1?).

I have a phone that works during power outages, I get to have two phones, Vonage unlimited long distance and something with dependable 911 service.

DirecTV beats the HD pants off of cable around here.

Cable internet access ($42 a month) is the fastest internet access here and we have a flat rate (you don't get a price break for having cable TV anymore).

I had DSL years ago, it was OK. At that time it was too slow for VOIP and Internet access at the same time but it is probably fast enough now...depends on how far you are from the Central Office (CO)...the little building or big box with the DSLAM in it. The phone voice quality while using the Internet was fine, no one could tell.<ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSLAM">What is a DSLAM?</a></li></ul>

No way I'm gonna wait for Comcast to decide they can dig. Might be March before the snow is gone and the ground thawed. By Monday night we should be over the 6 foot mark as another big storm is forecast.

The POP (Point if Presence) is where the Qwest-Comcast-whoever lines stops and the You, Mr. Homeowner network starts.

My stuff is setup so all I have to do is switch modems, plug the modem into my firewall and I am good to go.

The picture below is lousy but the box in front of the computer power supply is my cable modem. I have a phone line in the immediate vicinity too so switching bewteeen DSL and cable is painless.

Make sense??

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/12414/p1030001.jpg">

Used to be $10 more without cable TV and the extra cost for not using their modem ($8??) has been dropped too. We do have good DSL and FIOS in the greater Seattle area.

all our lines come to a central panel in the basement. Cable, Sat, phone...so that's where I planned on setting up the modem and the wifi (airport X) base station (although that's still up for debate). We also have Cat 5 throughout the house so there are many options.

I'd be my choice

and you know I am a D* nut

the hall, etc. When I told the owners they had CAT5 cable throughout the house and that was probably why they had so many phone jacks they said "Huh? Our son did the networking. He can build a PC."

I just set them up with wireless.