Tuesday, September 13, 2005
DSL or Cable?
Mark F. Nida, CPCC asks, "What is the difference between DSL and cable connections? And which one is best?"
I'll start with the bottom line to the second question: In my experience, they are pretty much equivalent, so go by price and availability. There is a difference though, so let's dig into it.
Both DSL and cable connections provide high speed access to the internet, much faster by far than dialup. Dialup download speeds average about 4,500 Bytes per second, where DSL can provide up to 150,000 Bytes per second and cable between 150,000 and 750,000 Bytes per second.
From those numbers, your first impression might be that cable delivers much better downloading speed than DSL does. But there are several factors to consider. The main difference is in the way the connection is shared with your neighbors.
When you get a DSL connection, you are getting a dedicated connection. The download speed stays the same no matter what time of day you are accessing the internet.
With cable you are getting a connection that is shared with other cable internet users in your neighborhood. What often happens in the peak online hours of 5PM to 10PM, the download speed drops dramatically for all users in the neighborhood. Typically it will be slower than DSL.
However, not everyone can get a DSL connection. The key is how far you are from the nearest central telephone office. The nearer you are, the faster the connection. You can usually count on full speed if you are within 1 mile of the nearest central office. If you are farther than 3.5 miles, the speed will probably be too slow.
So which is best really depends on several factors, such as your distance from the central office and how many cable internet users there in your neighborhood. The phone company will tell you how far you are and may even tell you what speed to expect. I doubt that you will be able to find out how many cable internet users there are, and besides, that changes over time.
Of course, one of the most important factors is one that I haven't mentioned yet: price. Clearly, this will play a big role in your decision. Expect to pay from $15 to $50 per month for DSL or cable. Don't hesitate to shop around.
My advice is this: If you can get both DSL and cable in your neighborhood at a similar price, and you are near a central office, get DSL. Otherwise, shop by price and availability.
Last modified on Tue, 13 Sep 2005 21:47:36 GMT
Copyright ©2006 Thomas Beutel. All content on this website, unless otherwise noted,
is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Using a theme similar to "desktop, version 0.5". Check the Blosxom site for the latest copy.