AMO looks into Cable vs DSL Broadband
  01/04/2001 8:28:00am Albuquerque, Nm
  Dustin D. Brand; Owner AMO

  Although Dial-Up internet access will continue to dominate the total internet subscriber base (now 85%), even at 75% by the year 2004, broadband is here to stay. Right now there are 2 major broadband options for internet users worldwide; CABLE Modems and DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) Modems. We'll weigh the 2 options below by cost, service, and of course speed.

  Cable Modems or Cable Internet Access is brought to you by your Cable Television Provider. Major names include Comcast, Cox, and others under the @Home label. Cable providers have been doing their best to build their private internet networks to service their cable tv users for several years now. In fact, the pending merger with AOL and Time-Warner is hinged on this technology. Cable modems work by splitting the TV signal and the Data Signal into 2 lines, 1 is your Cable TV, and the other is for the Cable Modem or internet access. Further, the Cable Modem works with your computer like you're on a private network, or Local Area Network (LAN), thus there are security issues since other Cable Modem Users from your Cable Provider are also on this LAN.
  Cable Modems work much like a Corporate Network does where every computer on the network also shares the bandwidth available to the Network. Cable potentially however, since most is Fiber Optic, has the potential to grow tremendously without the need for new equipment on the CPE (Consumer Premises Equipment). Cable Providers can simply add more bandwidth to their Network and make it available to everyone on the network. Cable Modems generally offer between 1.5 MegaBits (not MegaBytes - 8 Bits for every 1 Byte) and 3 Mbits download speed vs a very limited 128 Kilobits - 368 Kilobits upload speed. The upload speed is limited because this is mainly needed for Web Servers, not Consumers, thus the Cable Providers put a limit on this and in turn allocate more download speed which is used mainly to surf the web and download files.
  Cable Modems run generally $50 a month (US Dollars) without Cable TV Service and $40 a month with Cable TV Service. Compared to the "Business Class" Cable Modem Commercial Service, this $40-50/month is a great deal for the home user who just wants more speed, but doesn't need to do much uploading. Commercial Cable Modem Service for the buisness offers more Upload speed (which is needed to send web pages and files), but costs about 10 times as much.

  DSL Modems come in many many flavors.
  DSL is also available in most areas since it uses the existing Phone lines, much like the Cable Modems use the existing Cable TV Lines though the data is split from the TV. A DSL Line is a special Phone line because it's digital and thus operates at a higher frequency allowing for faster data transfer rates. ADSL or Asymmetric (meaning different rates for upload and download) is the most common DSL Flavor right now. ADSL can be used on the same phone line as your voice phone line and you can talk on the phone and use the internet at the same time with ADSL since they filter the data from the voice with a splitter or filter. DSL is a direct connection to the internet like a Dial-Up modem is, but offers nearly 100 times the speed. ADSL generally comes in 368KiloBits download and 128KiloBits upload for about $30 a month and 1.5MegaBits Download / 768Kilobits Upload for about $80 a month. DSL is technically faster because it isn't a LAN or shared pipeline, and you generally have less Service Losses and a higher quality connection though you pay for it. DSL also comes in a business class SDSL or Symmetric meaning same speed to upload and download. SDSL generally runs about $150-500 a month for a comparable T1 or 1.5MegaBits a second. Since any DSL goes straight into your phone companies central office and thus the internet backbone, you generally have less hops, lower latency meaning better use of the speed or bandwith available to you.

  Both Cable Modems and DSL are looking to fiber optics for speed enhancements, and we're sure to see both technologies go head to head even harder in the next few years. Right Now there are approximately 2 Million Cable Modem Users World Wide and there are about 1.3 Million DSL Users World Wide. Projections for 2004 show Cable Modems still leading, and combined with DSL a total of 20 Million users worldwide using either Cable or DSL.

  Right now in Albuquerque, NM Citynet of MD is running "dark fiber" in the sewers. Fiber is capable of carrying increasing amounts of data each year, and potentially will replace Cable or DSL eventually. The Long Distance system of the United States run mostly on Fiber Optics and the entire city of Houston, Texas (USA) uses fiber.


  No matter what technology you use as your internet connection, be sure to use Never Offline(SM).

  Covad Communications (DSL)
  DSL Networks
  Comcast Cable