Comparison Of Data Transfer Rates Between Dsl And Cable
Of all technologies used to access the internet from home
, DSL and cable are the fastest. It is little surprise that they are also the most popular and becoming more so each year as consumers continue to upgrade from their dial-up modems. With that in mind, it's worth noting that the throughput rate between the two services is often misunderstood. Fans of each technology are quick to claim the top speed. The issue is more complex than most people realize.In this article, we'll compare the data transfer rates between both technologies. We'll begin by considering the top throughputs under ideal circumstances, and then explore the reality experienced by most consumers.
The Idealistic Perspective
If you were to compare the data transfer speeds for both types of broadband services under ideal conditions, you would find that a cable connection is much faster. The pipe can support a datastream with the packets traveling at up to 30 megabytes per second. By contrast, the pipe for Digital Subscriber Line can only support up to 8 megabytes per second.One side note: VDSL (or, very-high bit rate DSL) can support up to 30 Mbps, but internet service providers rarely offer it to residential customers.
The Reality Of Broadband Throughput
Now, let's examine the throughput capacity for both broadband services in a "real world" environment. Cable providers offer a connection to the internet to a network of users. The entire network connects online through the same infrastructure. Because the infrastructure copes with capacity limits, each new customer reduces the data transfer rate for every other customer. An infrastructure that is severely overloaded can cause the speed to plummet for everyone.
On the other hand, the speed with which data travels through a DSL pipe is influenced by the distance between your home and the provider's central office. Longer distances reduce the speed. Copper phone lines can also have an effect (though usually minor) on the throughput of Digital Subscriber Line service.
What Are Caps?
Another influence on the data transfer rates of both technologies is the presence of caps. These are bandwidth ceilings that providers often place on their customers' lines in order to limit the maximum speed with which they can upload and download packets. This is done for a few reasons. Providers may fear an overloaded network and place caps to avoid a complete outage. They might also place caps to homogenize the throughput for the entire subscriber base. Some providers also place caps in order to support a tiered pricing structure with varying connection speeds.
So, which broadband service is faster: DSL or cable? It depends on the area in which you live, the number of customers on the network (in the case of cable), your distance from the hub (for DSL), and caps. That said, there are a number of websites online that you can use to test your provider's datastream rate.
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