DSL and Cable Comparison

You might stumble between two options: to choose DSL or Cable for Internet connectivity. Dial up is already considered “ancient” for today high-pace information era. Lots of advertisements mention the goods of both option, but which one is the best for you and your money?

Three points must be taken into consideration when comparing cable Internet connection with DSL: customer satisfaction, security and the most important one – speed.

Basically, cable modem is faster than DSL as they offer more bandwidth means speedier connection. However it depends on how many people who accessing the Internet at the same time in your area. When the cable is shared by lots of people, then the speed will drop. VDSL is another form of DSL which speed is on par with cable modem. Depending on congestion caused by lots of users, both cable and DSL can vary in speed per minute.

A survey done in 2004 by J.D Power showed that DSL scores more in term of customer satisfaction ratings rather than cable. This survey is based on tech support, business image, value and billing. Verizon and Earthlink which are DSL Internet service provider was two top companies rated in the consumer survey.

DSL is slightly more secure as cable modem is based on cable line sharing to provide Internet service in an entire area. Nevertheless, cable modems are easier to install rather than DSL. Security problem which occurs for cable-based Internet users is solved by putting up firewall program.