ADSL is what ISDN should have been. ADSL comes from the phone company and as long as you are close to the main phone switch you will be downloading at a very fast speed. Cable modem can be faster and in some cases the only choice. ADSL can be better because they don’t allow network browsing and other ISP’s can give you services even though the phone company pulls the cable. With Cable modem you are only talking to one ISP and if they change the rules you are stuck. If you want to run your own web server or if you want phone type reliability ADSL is the only way to go. If you want simple hook up and go or if you are in an area that doesn’t support ADSL, cable modem is the way to go. People are talking about how Cable Modem is a shared medium. All internet connectivity is shared. On Cable Modem if the cable company over sells there bandwidth you will have speed problems. With ADSL you connect to single pipe to your ISP and they can over sell just like anyone else. One thing is for sure every time a bad storm comes through I always lose my cable but I have never lost my phone service. Cable Modem uses the same cable feed to bring you Internet. ADSL is more reliable but neither is prefect.
Thursday, October 21, 1999