Direct TV claims that the satellite does not go out when it rains, like it used to when I had it, more than 7 years ago. I've never been happy with the picture quality of cable in HD. I'm hoping DTV is better. I also hope that my dsl is not significantly slower than cable internet. My neighborhood is fiber optic, which was a big deal at the time but now, because of that, I can't get the fastest dsl att has available. I am told they are working on upgrades that will change that but it's been the same story for a year or two.