The internet has gotten a lot faster than when the first nodes started many years ago. Some people do not even remember a life without the internet, and that’s not a bad thing. Internet speeds are argued about by a lot of people, and advertisers spend a lot of money taking jabs at other companies in regards to what is better, cable or DSL. Meanwhile consumers that use both services complain about each one individually, no one really winning over the other. However, it appears that in regards to reliability and standards, DSL deserves a much closer look right now.
The standard connections today have shifted from what the old standards were. Do you recall speeds of 56kbps? That used to be so fast, but we have moved forward to something way better than that. There are two major rules of thought in regards to internet service, and that’s to go with either cable or DSL. The most popular of the two is Cable, but it’s also the least secure of the two and while it claims it’s the fastest, it only remains fast when few users are subscribed. Because cable internet is a shared connection, the more people that sign up the slower it gets, not only that, the more prone to hacking, slip ups, and general downtime increases.
DSL is the second most common form of internet connection today. It’s also referred to as Fast Access service. Since DSL transmits through existing telephone lines, the network it uses is private rather than shared. That means that connectivity is more reliable and when something goes wrong there aren’t other people on the line to worry about. The speed and download times will not fluctuate with more people signing up to the service, and secondly since it’s more private, there’s less of a likelihood that intruders will invade your privacy while surfing the internet. DSL really allows the user to be connected to the ISP and use a telephone at the same time, because information and voice travel on different frequencies.
DSL is often times less expensive than other internet service providers. While cable companies really want to promote their services as superior, they seem to lack luster once you sign up. Not only that, it has been noted that cable service providers often fail to treat their customers with good overall service, leaving many to switch to alternative methods of getting internet access.
While no service is as slow as the first modems running at 14.4 kbps, there haven’t been many strides to faster connection times, with many timing out at the T3 level for the home consumer to use safely. There are downsides to every connection, but there are plenty of upsides as well. People will argue back and forth which one is better, but overall, only a personal experience can trump any track record of reviews. For many, DSL is a healthy alternative to cable or satellite internet, and reliability is point #1 in reference to those claims.
