It wasn't long ago that users who wanted to get online had to contend with glacial dial-up modems and agonizing download speeds.  Many such connections were so slow that you could literally watch pages of text appear one by one over the course of several minutes.   Today's blazing broadband options put such performance to shame, and the result is an unprecedented number of American homes wired for high-speed Internet.  If you live in a metropolitan area and find yourself wondering which type of broadband to choose, it may be worth sorting out the differences between popular options such as DSL and cable modem.  

Let's start with DSL.  Digital Subscriber Line technology is based on one of America's oldest infrastructures: the telephone.  Most varieties of DSL split your phone line into two separate "bands," allow voice and data to carry over the same line simultaneously.   Little pieces of hardware known as DSL filters block the broadband data stream, so that you can plug your phone into any filtered line and speak as you normally would, with flawless voice quality.  Most urban and suburban phone lines can be retrofitted for this kind of connection, though some older homes and apartment buildings may have trouble handling the bump in speed.

And what about that speed?  Although most DSL internet accounts operate at around 1500 kilobytes per second (kbs), more expensive versions may come at four times as fast.   It's not unusual to see local ISPs and phone companies offering two tiers of service, depending on what users can afford.  Should one prove unsatisfactory, you can usually switch up or down without anyone visiting your home – the changes are all performed digitally at the company headquarters.   DSL requires little in the way of hardware purchases – most services come with a modem, though you may need to spend a bit more if you want Wi-Fi as well.

Cable makes use of an entirely separate infrastructure: the cable television grid.  The most forward-looking cable giants of the last few decades intentionally installed more bandwidth than they were able to use at the time – the idea being that one day, that connection would be used for a host of data applications, from HDTV to broadband telephone and cable Internet.   Today this promise has been fulfilled in the form of cable modem broadband, which is becoming increasingly popular in American households.  The way it works is quite simple: your cable company gives you a modem that separates Internet signals from television ones.   Plug in any computer or router and you have free-flowing broadband in the home.

Cable modem is generally considered faster than DSL – often on the order of six times or more.  Users who download rich media files such as music and video frequently tend to favor cable modem because it cuts down on wait times and allows for more dynamic online activity.   Gamers as well like cable for its responsiveness and low "latency," favoring the kind of quick reflexes that distinguish online play.  Cable offers one more advantage you will not get from DSL – you don't need a phone line to use the service.   As increasing numbers of homeowners rely solely on their cell phones, cable is proving popular because it allows them to cut off Ma Bell altogether.

This war is hardly over, however.  Cable modem still costs more than DSL, and the phone companies are developing a number of new technologies that may portend more benchmark leapfrogging in the future.   Satellite Internet has arisen as a substantive challenge to both technologies as well, so you will most likely see a number of favorable price cuts and service boosts from all sides in the coming years.   Needless to say, competition such as this can only yield dividends for the consumer, so it may be wise to look around for a new ISP every few years to see if something better may be waiting.

Broadband is here to stay, and experts predict the time will come when cable, television and phone service merge into a single data stream.  If you want to stay on the cutting edge of convergence such as this and do not relish the thought of overpaying to get online, do yourself a favor and research all the options in your area before you buy.   Introductory rates and special sales tend to crop up every few weeks, so don't be afraid to ask customer service reps about the best way to save money on high-speed Internet for your home.