Broadband Facts for Consumers
The cable modem (CM) or digital subscriber line (DSL) modem is a high-speed data device that provides access to the Internet via a local service provider such as a cable operator (Comcast, Time Warner) or a telephone provider (Verizon, Bell Canada).
Competitive broadband services (CM, DSL, and Satellite) are good for the consumer. Competition in any industry promotes lower prices and higher service levels, and lets multiple customers get connected to each other no matter what technology is being used.
Both cable and DSL modems are “always on” devices, eliminating the need for dialing or waiting for connections. There’s no scratchy-sounding handshake, like dialup services have.
The CM is capable of providing up to 30 Mbps (1 million bits per second) and the DSL modem up to 10 Mbps raw speed, but most high-speed modems are providing consumers 5 Mbps or less in download speeds.
Cable and DSL modems enable multimedia services for content available over the Internet, like movie trailers, Internet radio, voice over IP, and so on. These types of services are just starting to happen now and will continue to grow.
DOCSIS is the standard in the cable industry for cable modem technology. There’s only one DOCSIS, but there are several versions that are all backward-compatible and interoperable.
There are dozens of varieties of DSL modem. These varieties are specific to the local Bell company infrastructures and are interoperable.
Cable modems may be purchased and owned by consumers. There are many makes and models of cable modems to choose from. Some can support more than one computer with integrated switches. Others provide firewall protection, virtual private network (VPN) support, and wireless access.
The price of a cable modem has fallen from $5,000 in 1993, to $500 in 1996, to $40 in 2003.
Wireless access technologies (802.16 and 802.20) and satellite are also working to “fill in the gaps” where CM and DSL service is not readily available, like low-density areas or in mobile applications. But CM and DSL will continue to be the broadband access technologies of choice for some time to come.