The last cable provider I had provided me with 1.5 Mbps service, but because the speed of the connection took a consistent nosedive (probably due to Node-Saturation?) every evening I switched to DSL. Well, go figure, the DSL service in my area is pretty terrible as well.

So--and I can't believe I'm contemplating this--I'm thinking about switching back to my previous Cable provider. I was thinking about opting for the 7 Mbps service instead of the 1.5 Mpbs service, but I'm not sure if this will make any difference. I have a couple of questions that would inform my choice on the matter:

Do different speeds share the same node?

Would node-saturation cause a higher speed to drop to the same Mbps as a lower speed?

Are the different tiers of service routed through different channels or something? And therefore don't affect each other?

Any help would be appreciated.