T1 connections are signifcantly slower than cable when it's at its best, and much more expensive (several hundred a month). The difference is, T1 has a contsant, unchanging speed, and whereas cable will have a fast downstream speed but a slooowww upstream speed, T1 has the same speed upstream and downstream. I have cable internet and, tho I am paying a ton of money for it, I seem to have a very reliable connection and get 4 Mbps consistently. My parents have DSL and it is slower, but definitely more reliable. T1s and Fiber, for now, are really only practical for business applications. My parents' DSL, however, is faster than my T1 connection at work. They average 1.8 Mbps. Just FYI.

-Nicholas