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For most of us, the choice will be between Cable and DSL.  Locally, the cable television provider is Comcast or Time Warner.  The DSL service provider is going to be Qwest Communications, or Sprint.   The following comparison is from Webopedia at:  http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2005/cable_vs_dsl.asp.

Cable vs. DSL

Unless you live or work in a remote or very rural area, you probably have the option of giving up (if you haven't already) that slow dial-up modem and investing in a broadband Internet connection. If high-speed Internet services are available, your choice is between DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) or cable modem services. Both DSL and cable modems are common home networking broadband connection technologies — but which option is better?

What Is a DSL Internet Connection?

DSL uses a sophisticated modulation scheme to pack data onto copper wires. DSL is sometimes referred to as a last-mile technology because it is used only for connections from a telephone switching station to a home or office, not used between switching stations. DSL is also called an always on connection because it uses existing 2-wire copper telephone line connected to the premise and will not tie up your phone as a dial-up connection does. There is no need to dial in to your ISP as DSL is always on. The two main categories of DSL for home subscribers are called ADSL and SDSL.

• ADSL: ADSL is the most commonly deployed types of DSL in North America. Short for asymmetric digital subscriber line ADSL supports data rates of from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data (known as the downstream rate) and from 16 to 640 Kbps when sending data (known as the upstream rate). ADSL requires a special ADSL modem.

• SDSL: SDSL is still more common in Europe. Short for symmetric digital subscriber line, a technology that allows more data to be sent over existing copper telephone lines (POTS). SDSL supports data rates up to 3 Mbps. SDSL works by sending digital pulses in the high-frequency area of telephone wires and can not operate simultaneously with voice connections over the same wires. SDSL requires a special SDSL modem. SDSL is called symmetric because it supports the same data rates for upstream and downstream traffic.

• xDSL:  Two other types of DSL technologies are High-data-rate DSL (HDSL) and Very high DSL (VDSL). VDSL offers fast data rates over relatively short distances - the shorter the distance, the faster the connection rate. Collectively, all types of DSL are referred to as xDSL.

What Is a Cable Internet Connection?

Through the use of a cable modem you can have a broadband Internet connection that is designed to operate over cable TV lines. Cable Internet works by using TV channel space for data transmission, with certain channels used for downstream transmission, and other channels for upstream transmission.  Because the coaxial cable used by cable TV provides much greater bandwidth than telephone lines, a cable modem can be used to achieve extremely fast access to the Web. This, combined with the fact that millions of homes are already wired for cable TV, has made cable Internet service something cable TV companies have really jumped onboard with.

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