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When it comes to comparing cable modem and
DSL Internet technologies, both have their pros and cons. DSL service
can be added incrementally in an area. This means that the service
provider can literally start up with a handful of clients and upgrade
the bandwidth to coincide with the growth in subscriber numbers. DSL
is also backward compatible with analog voice and makes good use of
the existing local loop. This means that very little needs to be done
to use the cable service simultaneously with normal phone service.
However, DSL suffers from distance limitations. Most DSL service
offerings currently require the customer to be within 18,000 feet of
the provider's Central Office (CO) location. Additionally, the longer
and older loops present problems, and the best form of voice support
is still being debated. Also, the upstream (upload) speed is usually
considerably lower than the downstream (download) speed.
In contrast, cable modem technology presents plenty of relatively inexpensive bandwidth. In fact, the downstream and upstream Internet channels are seen as just another premium TV channel by the system. This is a major advantage, especially when hosting a web server or a FTP server, which involves upload-intensive Internet tasks. The use of fiber (hybrid-fiber-coax or HFC) greatly addresses some of the service shortcomings that are initially encountered with this technology. Unfortunately, the cabling infrastructure that is needed to support cable modem technology has been slow to be upgraded thus most homes in the United States cannot use this technology. Upgrading is a big investment, particularly for small providers. The advantages and disadvantages of these two Internet
technologies are summarized in Figures
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and 
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