View Full Version : Cable VS ADSL
carlitos
28-02-2007, 16:44
I thought with cable when it advertised a speed that was the speed you got ie if it was to 2mb you would get the full 2mb speed without fail (this is what I was told by Virgin media anyway).
But after reading the forum it seems people are complaining that they dont get the full speed they are promised or are paying for.
So whats the difference between Cable and ADSL, because ADSL advertise a speed but you rarely get the maximum, I thought Cable was different and you where guaranteed full speed all the time? If not there seems to be very little advantage of cable broadband.
King Of Fools
28-02-2007, 17:16
On ASDL the maximum speed is set by the distance from your phone exchange. So you may have an up-to 8Meg ASDL connection but only be able to get 2Meg maximum where you live.
On cable the maximum speed is the same where ever you live. If you have a 10Meg connection you will be able to get 10Meg maximum where you live.
On either system the you may not be able to achieve the maximum speed based on how many other people are using broadband at the same time and whet they are doing. So you will normally find that you actual speeds achieved are slightly lower than the theoretical maximum.
carlitos
28-02-2007, 19:29
On ASDL the maximum speed is set by the distance from your phone exchange. So you may have an up-to 8Meg ASDL connection but only be able to get 2Meg maximum where you live.
On cable the maximum speed is the same where ever you live. If you have a 10Meg connection you will be able to get 10Meg maximum where you live.
On either system the you may not be able to achieve the maximum speed based on how many other people are using broadband at the same time and whet they are doing. So you will normally find that you actual speeds achieved are slightly lower than the theoretical maximum.
So why then have people here said they ae not getting anywhere near there maximum speed. I was told by virgin that your speed is not be affected by how many people use it ie it is the same speed 24/7
MovedGoalPosts
28-02-2007, 21:13
On Cable your speed of the service is likely to be close to the stated level. However the speed that the cable can runs at is only part of the story.
At various points of the network all signals being sent or received, by all users in an area, will be funnelled together through the network UBRs (router and other connectivity kit). Each of these are pinch points for the signals and will only offer a finite level of traffic capacity (bandwith) at a time. If the amount of signals and traffic going though the pinch points exceeds capacity, the effects of contention step in, rahter like a traffic queue at a road junction. Ultimately it's this slowing up effect of contention that can affect cable user's percieved speed of service, just as much as anyone on ADSL.
if theres hardly any1 uses a particular isp like aol then get aol if u wanna get full whatever meg you got :P
if theres hardly any1 uses a particular isp like aol then get aol if u wanna get full whatever meg you got :P
Not the case, on wholesale ADSL there are two crunch points, the VP out of the exchange, which BT cannot size too large else they risk the regulator slapping them, and the interconnect between BT and the ISP.
What Rob says isn't entirely accurate and a simplification but it's close enough and definitely gets the idea across.
LLU DSL doesn't have the same issues that BT Wholesale ADSL does, in that ISPs these days tend to have 1000Mbit pipes from exchanges, and at least 100Mbit which is much larger than current cable tech permits cable to offer to any particular area. On LLU congestion is very very unusual and there's no real reason for it to happen.
As per my usual comments on these things, if you can get LLU ADSL from a decent supplier and are not miles from the exchange you will probably find that offers better value and performance. If you are either too far from the exchange or don't have a decent LLU supplier available to you then cable is probably the better option.
That's about it really. :)
homealone
28-02-2007, 22:46
Not the case, on wholesale ADSL there are two crunch points, the VP out of the exchange, which BT cannot size too large else they risk the regulator slapping them, and the interconnect between BT and the ISP.
What Rob says isn't entirely accurate and a simplification but it's close enough and definitely gets the idea across.
LLU DSL doesn't have the same issues that BT Wholesale ADSL does, in that ISPs these days tend to have 1000Mbit pipes from exchanges, and at least 100Mbit which is much larger than current cable tech permits cable to offer to any particular area. On LLU congestion is very very unusual and there's no real reason for it to happen.
As per my usual comments on these things, if you can get LLU ADSL from a decent supplier and are not miles from the exchange you will probably find that offers better value and performance. If you are either too far from the exchange or don't have a decent LLU supplier available to you then cable is probably the better option.
That's about it really. :)
I thought that was a very good summary :)
Google and Wikipedia are good sources.
whats LLU ? :(
It means Local Loop Unbundling, this is when the wires that are fed from your local BT exchange that are fed to your home are able to be used by another provider, hope that makes sense :)
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