AT&T U-verse vs. Comcast Internet Speeds

AT&T; offers U-verse high speed Internet access plans in five different download speeds. The slowest of these is the Pro plan, which downloads information at a rate of 3 Mbps. This is an appropriate speed for emailing, social networking, downloading music and sharing photos. The next step up is the Elite plan, with a download speed of up to 6 Mbps. With this connection, you can do anything you can do on the Pro plan, as well as Internet gaming and online conferencing.

U-Verse's Max plan delivers download speeds of up to 12 Mbps. This is suitable for watching online television and movies on sites such as Hulu and Netflix as well as for emailing and uploading large files. The Max Plus plan allows you to download files at a rate of 18 Mbps, which is suitable for downloading large video files and streaming video. U-verse's fastest plan is the Max Turbo plan, which sprints along at 24 Mbps and is excellent for video conferencing.

Comcast's XFINITY high speed Internet is offered in a choice of two service plans. The slower of the two is the Performance plan, which offers download speeds of up to 15 Mbps when used with PowerBoost -- an extra jam of power that can be engaged as needed. The Performance plan is suitable for basic Internet activities such as emailing and light surfing, sharing photos, downloading files, online television and light Internet gaming.

The faster of XFINITY's two service plans is the Blast plan, which downloads data at 20 Mbps with PowerBoost. This is ideal for downloading large files, playing online games without lag time and streaming video. Additionally, the Blast plan is fast enough to allow multiple computers to surf the Internet on the same connection.