How does DSL compare to cable modems?
Cable modems offer services over a shared cable. Tens and possibly hundreds of users may be connected to this local cable line. The more users on the network, the more your speed is compromised. With DSL technology, you have dedicated service over an existing telephone line. DSL ensures that you don’t have to share your access connection with others, so your speed is never compromised due to other DSL users.
DSL provides a dedicated service over a single telephone line; cable modems offer a dedicated service over a shared media. While cable modems have greater downstream bandwidth capabilities, that bandwidth is shared among all users on a line, and will therefore vary, perhaps dramatically, as more users in a neighborhood get online at the same time. Cable modem upstream traffic will in many cases be slower than DSL, either because the particular cable modem is slower, or because of rate reductions caused by increased upstream bandwidth use. The big difference between DSL and cable modems, however, is the number of lines available to each. There are no more than 12 million homes passed today that can support two-way cable modem transmissions, and while the figure also grows steadily, it will not catch up with telephone lines for many years. Additionally, many of the older cable networks are not capable of offering a return channel; consequently, such networks will need significant upgradi
