I don't know exactly what "at what speeds does routine surfing max out" translates to, Harv, but my DSL service (Verizon) gives me an actual c. 6.5Mbps d/l speed, and I find that more that adequate for my needs, which do not included downloading movies, pictures, or large amounts of data.
The biggest d/l's I've ever had to deal with have been OS X Combos, which take a bit longer than I'd prefer (20-25 minutes), but they're nowhere near frequent or long enough to even get me thinking about cable. (Even an Internet Restore, should I ever have to deal with one, would take little more than an hour.)
