cable modem

The term cable Internet access (or simply cable) refers to the delivery of Internet service over this infrastructure. The proliferation of cable modems, along with DSL technology, has ushered in the age of broadband Internet access in developed countries. Bandwidth of residential cable modem service typically range from 3 Megabits per second (Mbit/s) up to 15 Mbit/s or more. The upstream bandwidth on residential cable modem service usually ranges from 384 Kilobits per second (kbit/s) to 2 Mbit/s or more. There are few attempts to offer different service tiers beyond the traditional 'home' and 'business' designations. In comparison, DSL tends to offer less speed and more variance between service packages and prices. Service quality is also far more dependent on your location in relation to the telephone company's nearest central office or Remote Terminal. There are two traditional disadvantages to cable internet: 1. Users in a neighborhood share the available bandwidth provided by a single coaxial cable line. Therefore, connection speed can vary depending on how many people are using the service at the same time, although in most areas, this has been eliminated due to redundant and fiber networks. From a technical point of view, all networks, including DSL services, are sharing a fixed amount of bandwidth between a multitude of users — but because cable networks tend to be spread over larger areas than DSL services, more care must be taken to ensure good network performance. This has become much less of an issue in recent years. 2. Many cable Internet providers are reluctant to offer cable modem access without tying it to a cable television subscription. They do this by charging higher rates, say $40/month for cable modem only access, than if one bundles it with a cable TV plan where it might be $30/month for cable modem service plus $20/month for cable TV service. This has ramifications similar to those of the lack of naked DSL.