cable high speed internet vs dsl ??

Is Cable Broadband available in your area?

I don't know where in the US you are, but I know that many of the more remoter communities do not have access to cable broadband and DSL is often the only alternative, (apart from the much slower dial-up).

If cable broadband 'is' available where you live, has the cable broadband company laid cable access lines specifically in your street/road? If not, then they may be reluctant to provide that infrastructure for one lone prospective customer.

If the answer to both is Yes, then generally cable is faster than DSL. Information here;
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/dslvscablemodem/a/speedcompare.htm

CNET's own "guide to choosing the right broadband connection" may be useful as well.

If you do choose cable, then the providing company will do all the work. They will provide the access line from the street junction box to your home, and also provide the modem itself. They may also, as a service, connect the modem to your computer and set the computer up for you.

If you want more than one device connected to the broadband internet connection, then you will probably need a wireless router as well. The router sits between the modem and the computer devices and shares the connection between all the devices.

Hope that helps, and good luck.

Mark

The fastest DSL I can get from AT&T is 3Mb/sec. From Comcast, I get between 12Mb/s to 20Mb/s or above that sometimes...while the speed on cable broadband around here is more volatile than DSL, I've never seen it below about 12Mb/s, so there you go. Much faster than DSL, and the bundled price that I get from Comcast is competitive with the price of 6Mb/s second DSL (if I could get that). I download some large applications and DVD-size stuff, and it is much faster using cable broadband than it ever was using DSL. So I've very happy not using DSL. On the other hand, if you have lots of money, you can get the stability of DSL at a faster speeds, but I'm talking at least $80 a month for that, which I'm not willing to pay.

Cable, even on its lowest tiers of service, is not only MUCH faster than DSL, it tends to get better service from the vendor when you need repairs. For many phone companies (like Verizon in the Washintgon, D.C., area), DSL is still offered but is basically orphaned by the provider, which would prefer that you install FiOS. DSL, which at best is inherently less reliable than cable, does go out sometimes. When it does, you may have to wait several days, even WEEKS, before you see a repairman. Cable service, on the other hand, tends to get a quicker response.

Cable is the second fastest internet broadband media, fiber optic being the quickest and DSL the slowest. I had Comcast for years but it became to expensive. It ran at 18 MBS downlink and up to 5 MBS uplink. The DSL that I switched to runs at almost 1.5 MBS and 400 KBS respectively. A huge difference if you are downloading music of movies but not that much change when just surfing. WIth a router, with multiple users on at the same time you will notice a definate lag in loading web pages while on DSL. DSL is cheaper, alost one third the cost of the cable. Essentially the hookups are the same, a modem with an ethernet port that you plug into with your PC or router.

Yes, cable is usually faster and more consistent than ADSL/DSL. I had cable in the UK from NTL, now Virgin Media. The infrastructure was fibre optic to the street cabinet and coax from the cabinet to the house. VM now offer 200 Mb/sec download (can't remember the upload) and are trialing 400 Mb/sec. ADSL from BT is generally 24 Mb/sec over copper and (I think) 80 Mb/sec over the new fibre optic network they are laying. All these speeds "up to", of course!

The difference between ADSL and DSL is that ADSL has a slower upload than download, hence the "A" as in Asymmetric. DSL, in the UK at least, is symmetric, i.e. same upload and download. Oh and the other difference is cost, DSL is hugely expensive by comparison!

Most consumer broadband is ADSL. BT offer a home service, multiplexed at 50 users to the line and a business service, multiplexed at 30 users to the line. This multiplexing is responsible for much of the variability of speed on ADSL. For instance, when the kids get home from school and start their homework (right!0 or facebook or twitter or games, the service takes a real nosedive!

Cable multiplexes but doesn't work the same way. The service (again in the UK at least) is much more stable and depends largely on the load on VM's servers, rather than the lines. VM add a server to the configuration when the usage consistently exceeds 70%.

Be aware that a DSL modem is not compatible with a cable modem. Your supplier should provide a modem, possibly a modem/router if you are lucky and if the former, you would need t add a router, wired or wireless as you prefer.

You should see no difference in the way that the computer operates, except that cable should be faster.

Don't know how the US works, so your mileage may vary..