I personally use cable, my main reason was it was much cheaper, nearly half the cost of DSL. Plus, cable is generally faster, although unlike with DSL, the speeds can vary. But, where I live, not many people use cable and therefore I average about 1mb/s for both uploads and downloads.
One other thing I want to mention, you said $114 is a good price for the router. Is this a wireless router? Because if it isn't, then you got ripped off. A wired router should cost you no more than $80, and even that is high. But as for netgear, I personally don't like them. I've used Linksys, D-Link, and Netgear and the one I've had most success with is Linksys. They are easy to set up and easy to configure. If you are using wireless, then $114 is about right, but if I were you I'd either get a wireless router that is 802.11g or 802.11a, 02.11g sounds better for your purpose though. Both of those standards allow for 54mb/s connections rather than the 11mb/s allowed by 802.11b. 802.11g has a longer range than 802.11a, which is why I say that might be better for you, I use that so that I can have my laptop anywhere within about 150feet of the router and still be able to connect to the network. An 802.11g router should cost you about $130, but then you also need a wireless network card which will cost about another $60. Other than what I've said, unless you have some specific questions you need answered, your best bet would probably be to look at review sites.
www.broadbandreports.com has excellent comparisons of all broadband services, as well as a forum where people who use a specific company can report their experiences.
