Re-posted from Jan. 2008
I’ve been wanting to write about the difference between DSL and Cable for Internet access for awhile. This post is a general overview of the differences between the two. In particular, I want to discuss the potential differences in speed.
First, I want to acknowledge that I prefer DSL but I am not against Cable. In fact, there are many locations where only one or the other is available. I generally make the statement that cable and DSL are similar but there are some differences.
It is useful to understand the difference in architecture between the two technologies. DSL is a private service which is delivered over a traditional phone line. The maximum speed of DSL service is determined by the distance of the endpoint from the phone company’s central office or remote terminal. It is also affected by the quality of the copper wire. The good thing about DSL is that once you have service established, it tends to provide VERY consistent bandwidth.
Cable is sort of a community service which is delivered over the same network as cable television. By community service I mean that everybody in the same “neighborhood” are sharing the same bandwitdth. The bandwidth may start at a higher speed but depending on the usage of your nieghbors, the availability to you may be greater or lesser at any given time. So it’s true to say that cable will give you a higher maximum speed but it also tends to give you a slower minimum speed.
Ask anyone who has used cable Internet service and they will tell you that the performance fluctuates throughout the day. Normally the speed takes a hit at around 3:00 PM when the kids come home from school and between 7 and 10 PM when most people do their Internet browsing. With cable, you will get your fastest speeds at 3:00 AM when most people are sleeping. In case you were wondering, yes….businesses and residents share the same bandwidth. You don’t think the cable company has run an entirely separate network of cable just for businesses do you?
Once you reach the Central Office of the phone company or the cable company, you are then routed to “The Internet”. At this point, you are technically “sharing” your bandwidth with everyone served from that central office including T-1 customers. My experience is that any bottlenecks occur between your business and the central office. So, when you see a commercial about how DSL is slow and Cable is blazing fast, you will now understand that they aren’t technically lying…….but they aren’t being truthful either.
So that brings me back to the title of this post. I don’t know which car is faster but I do know that if you are on the highway with a bunch of other cars your maximum speed will be affected. But if you have your own private highway to your destination, you will get there faster even if your car is slower. And that’s what we really care about when we are talking about driving OR browsing isn’t it?
PS – now you understand why you don’t want to rely on cable to provide you with access for VoIP.
First, I want to acknowledge that I prefer DSL but I am not against Cable. In fact, there are many locations where only one or the other is available. I generally make the statement that cable and DSL are similar but there are some differences.
It is useful to understand the difference in architecture between the two technologies. DSL is a private service which is delivered over a traditional phone line. The maximum speed of DSL service is determined by the distance of the endpoint from the phone company’s central office or remote terminal. It is also affected by the quality of the copper wire. The good thing about DSL is that once you have service established, it tends to provide VERY consistent bandwidth.
Cable is sort of a community service which is delivered over the same network as cable television. By community service I mean that everybody in the same “neighborhood” are sharing the same bandwitdth. The bandwidth may start at a higher speed but depending on the usage of your nieghbors, the availability to you may be greater or lesser at any given time. So it’s true to say that cable will give you a higher maximum speed but it also tends to give you a slower minimum speed.
Ask anyone who has used cable Internet service and they will tell you that the performance fluctuates throughout the day. Normally the speed takes a hit at around 3:00 PM when the kids come home from school and between 7 and 10 PM when most people do their Internet browsing. With cable, you will get your fastest speeds at 3:00 AM when most people are sleeping. In case you were wondering, yes….businesses and residents share the same bandwidth. You don’t think the cable company has run an entirely separate network of cable just for businesses do you?
Once you reach the Central Office of the phone company or the cable company, you are then routed to “The Internet”. At this point, you are technically “sharing” your bandwidth with everyone served from that central office including T-1 customers. My experience is that any bottlenecks occur between your business and the central office. So, when you see a commercial about how DSL is slow and Cable is blazing fast, you will now understand that they aren’t technically lying…….but they aren’t being truthful either.
So that brings me back to the title of this post. I don’t know which car is faster but I do know that if you are on the highway with a bunch of other cars your maximum speed will be affected. But if you have your own private highway to your destination, you will get there faster even if your car is slower. And that’s what we really care about when we are talking about driving OR browsing isn’t it?
PS – now you understand why you don’t want to rely on cable to provide you with access for VoIP.