Cable Performance
An individual cable modem
subscriber may experience access speeds from 500 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps or more --
depending on the network architecture and traffic load -- blazing
performance compared to dial-up alternatives. However, when surfing the Web,
performance can be affected by Internet backbone congestion.
In addition to speed, cable
modems offer another key benefit: constant connectivity. Because cable
modems use connectionless technology, much like in an office LAN, a
subscriber's PC is always online with the network. That means there's no
need to dial-in to begin a session, so users do not have to worry about
receiving busy signals. Additionally, going online does not tie up their
telephone line.
A range of vendors are now
offering cable modems, including 3Com, Cisco Systems, Com21, Ericsson,
Motorola, Samsung, Terayon, Thomson Multimedia, Toshiba, and Zoom
Telephonics. |
