What really is the difference between Cable Broadband and ADSL?

Answer 1

Basic difference:
DSL is over an existing (or new) phone line
Cable is over Coaxial Cable No Phone line needed
DSL has a physical limit from it's distribution points after whcih the signal degrades enough for the FASTEST DSL to not be reliable.
Cable has no such limitation in real-world usage.
Cable uses a shared netwrok whcih can account for traffic slowdowns in some cases, but this is not a RULE.

Speed differences:
Cable has higher upper lmiits then DSL And the speed fluctuates.
DSL should be more consistent and FLAT. Yet can still be FAST.

It depends on your area. That's the bottom line.
For some DSL works great, for others it's CABLE.
Cable tends to be more costly.

Answer 2

I have had both cable broadband and ADSL, the cable was very unreliable and down a lot, it also was extremely slow during peak hours when everybody and their brother was online at the same time. I have had ADSL for a little over a year now and it has performed a lot better and the speed is constant. It has only been down once in the year I've had it. I highly recommend it.

Answer 3

Cable
The first thing to consider is that not every town or district has the ability to receive cable as the cabling has to be physically laid there. Check with your local cable provider to see if you can get it in your area. If you aren't in a serviced area, you can't get cable broadband until the company lays the cables.

Secondly, wherever you live as long as you can receive cable, you can receive cable broadband (unlike ADSL). There is no need to worry about how far you live from the telephone exchange or any other municipal building for that matter.

The main drawback to cable is its invasive nature; unless you have a cable connection in your home (some buildings already have this) or you have already had cable TV installed, you'll need to have a cable run into your house to connect up your PS2 and TV. While the end result isn't too noticeable - it's just another socket in a wall - getting it installed can be a pain. Of course, if you already have cable TV this may be the simplest option for you as you'll just add it to your existing package. Often, the supplier will supply you with a cable modem and cables to connect up to your PS2 and/or computer as part of the set-up cost, but this varies, so do check first.

ADSL
ADSL is a broadband connection that comes down your phone line, so is less invasive than cable as you are likely to already have the wires in place (your phone line). But as with cable your first question should be "Can I get it in my area?" Without going into too much technical detail, your house needs to be within a short distance of the telephone exchange (about 5km), and your phone line must also pass other technical tests (such as line loss, to see if it is of suitable quality). If your phone line is suitable you can get ADSL, if it's not you cannot. It's as simple as that.

Competition is also something to be aware of. There are more ISPs (Internet Service Providers) offering broadband via ADSL than there are cable suppliers. For you, this means an increased choice in services and prices. Search around for the deal that is right for you. Of course, these all eventually use your phone line supplied to you by whichever phone company you are with.

Answer 4

ADSL is faster than cable broadband.

Number of users does not affect ur connection rate in ADSL. In Cable all users share the same line and data rate depnds on the number of users.

data rates in ADSL depends on the length of ur Last Mile Connection. In cable usually distance does not affect to that extent, because u will usually have a amplifier near ur home.

rest are mainly technical differences...
for high usage, ADSL is the better choice.
for low usage but all time connctivity, cable is usually more economic.

Answer 5

Adsl uses the phone line and has a dedicated link to the telephone central office. It has a distance limit of 3 miles or so.

Cable connects through your cable system and shares the bandwith of the cable with other users.

They can both be very fast, but cable can slow down somewhat during periods of heavy usage

Answer 6

Cable is a more reliable connection because it runs underground. Telephone services in remote area's are strung via telegraph poles and birds, wind, trees can affect the lines and therefore the connection. Also the telephone quality is affected if you make a call while on-line.

Disadvantage with cable is that there are many homes connected to one cabinet box on the road side, although cable offer faster speeds, your neighbours using the service at the same time can affect your speeds. Cable telephone and TV not affected in any way!

Answer 7

Broadband refers to a form of telecommunication that allows large amounts of information to be transmitted to your home computer from the outside world, e.g. from the Internet. Broadband transfers data at least 10 times faster than standard dial-up, because it provides wide band of frequencies to transfer data at the same time…in other words a much fatter pipe to push data through.



Cable Internet uses the pay TV cable network to bring you broadband Internet access. Two examples of cable Internet services are Telstra's Bigpond Broadband which uses the Foxtel cable and Optus@Home which uses the Optus television cable.

Answer 8

i think the first answer is very correct , and to add adsl uses one line , but cable uses 2-4 lines , means more capacity per each line

Answer 9

One is faster,when you have broardband that is cable.