DSL
vs.
Cable

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Choozza will then find the best product for you.

DSL

2
Speed
2
Security
2
Reliability
2
Network Structure
2
Low Cost

Cable

DSL

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) or xDSL, is a set of technologies that is used to transmit digital data over regular telephone network. With DSL a user can surf the Internet and make a phone call or send a fax at the same time, using the same phone line.

Cable

Cable relayed Internet uses the cables that cable TV uses, but this does not mean that the user has to subscribe to a cable TV service. The use of the cable modem does not affect the TV reception.

Speed

The speed of residential DSL services varies between 128kbps (kilobits per second) to 26Mbps (Megabit per second). Note however that the 26Mbps is not common and is actually the real top speed, available only in Japan. Most DSL variations reach well under 10 Mbps. And most home users get anywhere between 1.5 and 6 Mbps.
The actual maximum speed available for a specific phone line depends on the DSL technology implemented, the line quality and other factors.
Most home users are connected with ADSL, which is a flavor of DSL where upload speed is usually much lower than download speed. In SDSL (another flavor of the DSL technology) - upload and download speeds are equal. The DSL speed a user signs up for can not always be reached, and the actual speed a specific phone line gets is affected by the quality of the phone lines in the neighborhood and the distance between the home and the phone company's hub. DSL is very sensitive to distance, and the closer you are to the hub - the better the connection is going to be.
On the other hand, DSL connection is unique. This means that, unlike cable, it is not affected by the number of users online in your neighborhood. The speed you get may not be good, but at least it will be consistent and will not get worse. To top it all, ISPs (Internet Service Providers) usually place speed caps on your Internet lines, so the users don't get the full speed. In all fairness, cable ISPs do it as well.
Cable Internet has higher speeds than DSL. The speeds are often in the neighborhood of 30Mbps. Even though, most cable ISPs offer service for much lower speeds and, like DSL providers, they enforce speed caps to limit bandwidth used by the subscribers. The speed a cable modem provides is affected by the number of concurrent users in your neighborhood, as the network structure is different. Cable Internet services share the bandwidth between all subscribers in the same area. When many of your neighbors use the Internet at the same time as you � your speed will be affected. Cable Internet services, like DSL services, are usually offered with an upload speed that's much lower than the download speed.

Security

DSL uses dedicated cabling, unlike cable Internet which uses shared cabling. This means that subscribers are not on the same local area network (LAN). In the past, this was considered a security advantage for DSL, but this was not completely true even then, and is not relevant at all nowadays.
Cable Internet services share cable lines between users in a neighborhood. This makes all uses in that neighborhood members of the same LAN (local area network). In the past, some cable subscribers discovered that the structure of the network lets them view their neighbors' computers and files. The problem was of small scale, and is eliminated today by having security features integrated into the cable modem itself. The security features include basic firewall capabilities and DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification), which is a protocol that offers good security over the cables network.

Reliability

The DSL service is only as reliable as your phone line. Service is sensitive to interruptions by bad weather, and the subscriber must be close enough to the telephone hub.
Service is sensitive to interruptions by bad weather and reliability can be an issue.

Network Structure

The DSL network is using the phone network. Phone networks are non-sharing (at least not on purpose) and the speeds are not affected by this structure.
With Cable networks, all the subscribers in your part of the network receive every packet that you do. The cables, and the Internet connections, are shared between all those users. This affects the speeds (as discussed in the speed section).

Low Cost

DSL is traditionally cheaper than cable. Sometimes at up to 30%.
Cable is traditionally more expensive than DSL.

DSL

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Cable

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DSL

Average rating: 5 / 5
based on 363 customer reviews
Feel factor: 10


Reliable, easy to use modem - recommended

(Score 5/5)

I bought this modem about a month and a half ago and thus far it's been very reliable and easy to use (especially in comparison to my cable provider comcast - yuk yuk!) It was easy to install (though I'm somewhat computer savvy - not an expert though, so if you can install your own printer or wireless routher with instructions you should be fine) and has given me no problems thus far. One word of caution - there is an off button on this device that is not particularly easy to see and is easily pushed by accident. I did this and sent my own internet offline for days to the point where I got a service call from comcast, only to look like a total tool. So be aware and save yourself the moment of looking like a complete jackass.

Posted on: 2010-09-11
By Amy Siegman



comcast cable modem

(Score 4/5)

wanted to save $5 a month on comcast modem fees . Looked online new one was around $60. bought a used one from Amazon for $35. doing great

Posted on: 2010-09-09
By Dheeraj Khanna



Superb Product

(Score 5/5)

Great product! Does exactly what it is advertised to do. No problems experienced at all.

Posted on: 2010-09-06
By Student



Surfboard Modem

(Score 5/5)

When Comcast increased the modem lease price to $7 a month I decided it was time to get my own modem. When the Motorola Surfboard Modem SB5101 arrived I unpluged my old modem and plugged it in. I called Comcast to register the new modem. It has worked perfectly ever since.

Posted on: 2010-09-06
By GB



Motorola Cable Modem SB5101

(Score 5/5)

I am not an expert on cable modems and I have only had this product for about one month, so I can't comment on the technical features of the product compared to other cable modems on the market. I purchased this modem because my ISP did not provide a free modem with the installation of new internet service and I did not want to rent for $5/month, figuring that I'd pay off this one in less than a year of rental of their modem. The technician who installed the internet service plugged this modem in and it functioned flawlessly right out of the box with no setup required. My ISP does not use static IP, but rather the address is different each time I log on, so I can say that this modem functions with no problems under those conditions. My download speed is rated by the ISP at 1MB/sec and I have had no problems with speed or other issues when connected directly to my Apple MacBook Pro. I have not yet installed the wireless router (Airport Extreme), but I don't expect problems there either. All in all, the product appears to be easy to use and I have had no surprises or technical issues at this point, one month into it's life. If you have to purchase your own cable modem, this would probably do the job for you. I should caution that if your download speed is very high, you might want to buy Motorola Surfboard SB5101 Cable Modem this on a trial basis to make sure it will handle the very fast speeds.

Posted on: 2010-09-04
By M. Dorin

Cable

Average rating: 5 / 5
based on 840 customer reviews
Feel factor: 2


Stopped working in a month

(Score 1/5)

Stopped working within a month was using tomato firmware
this is extremely dissapointing
when it was working had to do some regular resets as it would hang

Posted on: 2010-09-24
By Nagasubramanian Krishnan



Perfect DD-WRT router

(Score 5/5)

I bought this router for the sole perpous of leeching internet off of my neighbors WiFi. Previously to this router I had a Linksys 150 N router for the same reason. They were both perfect candidates for DD-WRT, an open source linux firmware for most Linksys routers. This makes the 30$ router into a 200$+ monster. Repeater, Bridge, Client... anything wireless and wired it will do.

Posted on: 2010-09-20
By Trapdoor



Failed after 2 years & 4 months

(Score 3/5)

The LAN part worked great until the unit failed. The WLAN never achieved speeds even close to the claimed 54 Mbps. The receiving end computer's wireless adapter card reported a 54 Mbps connection rate but the internet download rate was only 1.5 Mbps to 4 Mbps (typically 2 Mbps). The LAN internet download rate, with Time Warner, is 15 to 30 Mbps. Both LAN & WLAN upload rates are 1 Mbps.

Paid $68.95 and shipping was free. Purchased on 04-04-2008 directly from Amazon.



Posted on: 2010-09-20
By GoodToBeBob
Helpful index: 100%



Wireless does not work after 8 months

(Score 3/5)

Generally, it worked well. I bought it because I saw it got good overall reviews from Amazon, and it supported Linux.

After 8 months, the wireless stopped working -- my laptop could not even connect to the router through wireless. The router is still within warranty. But since I installed tomato firmware, the custom service told me it voided the warranty.

Posted on: 2010-09-19
By linus



Tried and True

(Score 5/5)

I've had this router for 1 month now. No dropped connections or below-standard performance.

I had a few issues setting it up out of the box - mostly the result of my impatience. But my suggestions are:

1) Before anything else, upgrade the firmware. The one it came with was from 2007 and didn't want to work with my system.

2) Avoid using the enclosed setup CD. It was also very old and froze at the same point in the installation. I don't think it liked Windows 7. Just connect all your devices (router, computer, modem) and go to [...] to configure your router using the online setup.

This is a great product that is really reliable.

Posted on: 2010-09-19
By BustedDread

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