A Comparison of DSL and Cable Internet

Over the past decade, the Internet has been able to weave itself into the fabric of our daily lives to the point that it has become nearly indispensable. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are addicted to it, checking our social media notifications almost every minute and watching the latest viral videos every day. We use it at work to do our research and at home to look for new recipes, get weather updates, read the news, stream movies, and many more. It is important to subscribe to a fast and reliable service provider.

Technologies

For residential customers, the choice is usually between DSL and cable Internet. Digital Subscriber Line or DSL uses the established infrastructure of phone companies to send and receive data. The copper wires are already widespread so the technology is highly accessible to even fairly remote places as long as there is a phone line to the area. Cable, on the other hand, is a fairly new but promising technology. It requires the use of cable TV connections to send online data packets. The infrastructure is not as wide or as established but the technology itself is more advanced in many ways.

Speed

When choosing a service provider, speed is often the number one consideration. This makes sense since faster connections mean greater productivity. Nobody wants to stare at the screen waiting for videos to load. People want things to come to them at the click of a button. In this regard, cable Internet is the clear winner. DSL providers can only manage speeds in the single digits when quoting megabits per second. Cable providers, on the other hand, can offer connections that are ten times as fast or even more. Certain areas can avail of up to 1 terabit per second which is lightning-quick.

Value

The adage that you get what you pay for applies here as well. Cable will be more expensive because of the technologies involved to make it work and the greater bandwidth provided to each customer. DSL will be cheaper since it is easier to deploy but the speeds are less than satisfying, especially for today's demanding applications. Streaming HD movies with a slow connection will only result in frustration. Online gaming at a turtle pace will not enable players to move ahead very far. Therefore, one must look at the overall value of the package instead of just the sticker price. Click here for more details.

Verdict

In the final analysis, cable Internet is definitely the better choice. Customers who have switched from DSL to cable experienced a world of difference and swore never to go back to their old provider. Imagine downloads that used to take the entire day now finishing in just a few hours. Those tasks that took hours to complete are now over in mere minutes. The increase in productivity alone makes the switch a great investment. The monthly rates are now coming down and are not all that far from the competition. In fact, they are far superior in terms of overall value.