|
Easy Web Page Watcher Watches Web Pages For You
Too many days I found myself constantly checking the same financial news web pages for any news about the companies I was currently invested in. Between clicking on these web pages and constantly clicking on other financial web pages to obtain stock...
Equipment Options For VOIP Communication
The marriage of computer and telephone technology goes by the funny name of VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). But the cost savings are no laughing matter.
The Simplest Solution -- Headphones
Attach a headset to your computer’s sound card...
VoIP A Global Telecommunications Revolution
It's being advertised as the biggest thing to hit the telecommunications market since the invention of the cellular telephone, but what is VOIP, how does it work and is it really that revolutionary?
VOIP is an acronym for Voice Over Internet...
What Is High Speed Internet Service?
The days of slow internet connections are gradually coming to an end. Internet users are increasingly finding sources for "high speed" internet access which makes loading pages and performing downloads much faster. What is high speed internet...
WiFi Range: What are the Limits?
Because of the fact that the WiFi networking standard uses very
high frequency (2.4 GHz) radio signals to transmit data, its
access range is usually quite limited. How limited, of course,
depends on the type of WiFi hardware being used.
A...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
m0nde
What exactly are the differences between Cable and DSL Internet services?
First let's define our terms.
Bandwidth vs. Latency:
Bandwidth & Throughput Digital bandwidth or throughput is a measurement of the amount of data that can be transferred over a digital line over a specific amount of time.
Latency Latency is the time it takes to deliver a packet of data from one place to another. This includes the time it takes for an electrical or optical signal to travel a certain physical distance (propagation delay) and the time it takes to process these signals along the way (processing delay).
So bandwidth is a measure of frequency or a rate of service delivery while latency is a measure of time or signal delay.
Technology Comparision.
Cable service uses signals transmitted through the same coax cable that cable television uses. DSL uses normal phone lines to send digital signals to a DSL modem.
Coaxial cable has a far greater capacity than RJ-11 phone cable. But, the coaxial cable coming into your home is shared with many people outside your house and provides many services. Cable modems have higher bandwidth though the connection is shared among cable users in your service area and even with your digital cable box. As a result the performance is quite similar to DSL. Generally, cable modems can achieve better peak throughput, but this high bandwidth is not consistant and depends, again, on load, affected by time of day and other factors. DSL service usually provides a more constant, consistant feed, with lower latency. The distance to your exchange or "switch" is the main factor that determines DSL quality of service. Look for the green (in Toronto) phone exchange box in your neighbourhood and note how far your home is from that box.
Service Comparison. One of the advantages of DSL over cable modems is that the line to
the exchange or "switch" is not shared. Though ISPs trying to sell DSL services will tout this as a major advantage, slow cable modem speeds have very little to do with this and have much more to do with the fact that cable service is shared among many users and services.
ISPs tend to enforce a bandwidth cap on both DSL and cable modem services.
The first cap is on data transferred per service period (usually per month). From my experience, DSL data transfer caps are more rigidly controlled than cable services. Your data cap may be as little as 1 gigabyte per month or, in the case of most cable modem services, unlimited.
Both cable and DSL services have a cap on bandwidth. Your service provider may promise you a certain downstream limit and a certain upstream limit. This means that you will generally be able to sustain a certain bit rate while downloading or receiving data and a different bit rate while uploading information.
In general, because of the far greater capacity of coaxial cable and the fact that only a certain number of lines exist connecting you to your switch, cable modems, if uncapped would provide advantages in bandwidth over DSL modems. In the real world, this is not the case. Both DSL and Cable companies limit bandwidths at both the modem level and at the service provider.
Shop Around. If you are shopping around for a service or thinking of changing services, the best advice I have for you is to ask other users about their service. One of the best web sites I've seen for sharing this data is broadbandreports.com. This site provides user-submitted reviews of their broadband service and charts day-to-day service fluctuations. Speed tests and other tools for optimizing your connection are available as well.
About the Author
Sid Choudhuri is an IT consultant in Toronto, Canada. Sid runs ScALR Network Solutions. http://www.scalr.com
|
|
|
|
|
Broadband Internet access - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Broadband Internet access became a rapidly developing market in many areas in the early 2000s; one study found that broadband Internet usage in the United ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
  |
UK Broadband Internet Access |
Listings of UK broadband internet access providers and their prices, links to provider guides and reviews. |
paler.com |
  |
PC World - Buying Guides - Broadband Internet |
Buyers' Guide to Broadband Internet Contents ... For the majority of those looking to upgrade to broadband Internet for the business or home, it's all about ... |
www.pcworld.idg.com.au |
  |
Broadband Internet Access Service Providers - High Speed Cable and ... |
Discount offers for broadband high speed, cable and DSL Internet access service providers from Broadbandinfo.com. Additionally we provide free online high ... |
www.broadbandinfo.com |
  |
Telewest - Broadband Internet - Digital TV - Phone - Cable ISP ... |
. ... Jump to the Homepage [Accesskey '1']; Jump to Navigation menu [Accesskey 'n']; Jump to Main Content [Accesskey 'c']; Jump to Contact Us [Accesskey ... |
www.telewest.co.uk |
  |
FCC Broadband Internet Access Page |
List of resources from Federal Communications Commission regarding broadband Internet and access issues. |
www.fcc.gov |
  |
BT.com: Broadband Internet, mobile and fixed telecommunications ... |
National telecommunications provider. Details on products and services, plus user area. |
www.bt.com |
  |
Primus > Home - Australia's leading Broadband Internet, Telephone ... |
Primus / iPrimus - Australia's leading Broadband Internet, Telephone, Mobile, VoIP and Dial Up provider. |
www.iprimus.com.au |
  |
Virgin.net ISP - Broadband Internet access, news and entertainment |
Virgin.net, the UK's innovative Internet service provider. All you need for broadband and dial-up access, entertainment, information and news. |
www.virgin.net |
  |
1 24% of rural Americans have high-speed internet connections at ... |
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML |
Your browser may not have a PDF reader available. Google recommends visiting our text version of this document. |
  |
ADSL Plans - ADSL Modems - ADSL Broadband Internet - Telstra BigPond |
Choose from BigPond broadband ADSL plans by speed and usage to suit your needs. View BigPond broadband ADSL modem options for your broadband ADSL internet ... |
www.bigpond.com |
  |
ntl.com | broadband internet, telephone packages, cable tv |
Broadband cable internet access from ntl, get high speed cable internet access at affordable prices. |
www.home.ntl.com |
  |
Westnet - Broadband Internet, ADSL, Dialup, Web Hosting, Domain ... |
Westnet provides a range of Broadband Internet, ADSL, Dialup, Web Hosting and Phone services Australia wide. Connect with Australia’s Number 1 ISP for ... |
www.westnet.com.au |
  |
Broadband Internet : Find Broadband Internet Access Providers with ... |
Find Broadband Internet Service Provider. TheBroadbandGuide.com is a comprehensive directory of Broadband Internet Provider. |
www.thebroadbandguide.com |
  |
Internode - Broadband ADSL Internet Access |
Internode - Broadband Internet Access and other Internet services. ... Internode Broadband ADSL is the broadband Internet solution you have been looking for ... |
www.internode.on.net |
  |
CHOICE - Setting up broadband internet |
Setting up broadband internet. How to get ADSL broadband, step by step Online 02/04. Contents. Setting up broadband internet · Availability and choice ... |
www.choice.com.au |
  |
Wireless Broadband Internet Service Provider: High Speed Wireless ISP |
Clearwire is a wireless broadband internet service provider (high speed wireless ISP) providing high speed wireless broadband internet access in Abilene TX, ... |
www.clearwire.com |
  |
SurfCity Networks Broadband Internet |
SurfCity Networks Broadband Verizon DSL High Speed Internet and Web Hosting. |
www.surfcity.com |
  |
ISP - Wireless Broadband Internet Provider, iBurst, ADSL Broadband ... |
Australian ISP providing business dialup, high-speed broadband, network access and datacentre services. |
www.chilli.net.au |
  |
NTL - Broadband Internet - Digital TV - Phone - Cable ISP ... |
Digital Television Network. |
www.ntl.com |
  |