High Speed Internet Access - DSL and Cable Modem

If you are going to be viewing a lot of internet photography sites, or if you are creating your own and expect to be uploading a significant number of large image files, you may want to look at options for High Speed Internet Access.

Today that comes in three basic flavors, DSL, cable modem and satellite.

DSL - Digital Subscriber Line

DSL service is provided down the regular copper lines which connect to your telephone. For technical reasons you have to be fairly close to a central telephone switching office (within about 18,000ft or about 3 miles), so not everyone with a telephone can receive DSL service, though most people in metropolitan areas and suburbs can. If you live in Wyoming and your nearest neighbor is a 15 minute drive away, you are very unlikely to be able to get DSL service!

DSL speeds can vary a lot depending on the quality of the connection, how close you are to the switching office, and whether the DSL provider caps the speed, but typically downloads might be at 1000 kbps (kilobits per second), which is about 20x as fast as a good dialup. Upload speeds are slower, but average around 300 kbps, which is about 10x faster than a 56K dialup (which is only 33K for uploads).

DSL is a dedicated service, meaning you are the only one using the link. The upload and download speeds should remain fairly constant, day and night, and not be affected by what your neighbors are doing - which isn't the case for cable modems.

Rates for DSL service start around $30/month - but watch out for "extras", usually there's some fine print to the effect that "Pricing shown does not include any applicable sales tax, federal, state, or locally mandated surcharges, fees, user’s fees, taxes or universal service fees". These don't usually amount to much though. A couple of dollars at most.

Cable Modems

Cable modems use existing cable TV systems to provide high speed internet access. They are a shared resource, meaning that everyone using the cable system adds to the bandwidth loading, so they tend to run faster in the middle of the night than around 7pm in the evening!

Cable modem internet access typically runs faster than DSL (though that's not always the case and can depend on the cable system loading), plus it's usually around $10-$20 per month more expensive.

Not all cable systems offer internet access (be warned, some have high speed DOWNLOAD, but require you to use a 56K dialup line for upload!!), and not everyone has local cable access. So if you can't get DSL or cable modem and you feel the need for speed, what can you do? That's where satellite comes in.

Satellite Internet Access

With satellite internet access you send and receive signals from a small dish (1-2ft diameter) to an orbiting satellite. You can do this from almost anywhere (certainly anywhere within the US), even from your RV on the road! The disadvantages of satellite service are cost and speed. It's slower than DSL or cable, and it's more expensive. You also have to buy the equipment needed, which costs around $600.

Typical download speeds are around 600 kbps (12x faster than 56K dialup) and typical upload speeds are around 100 kbps (about 3x faster than dialup).

Clearly satellite high speed internet access is the choice of last resort!

Here's a table that summarizes the options for internet access. The number are approximate of course.

Typical Cost Typical Download Typical Upload

DSL $30-$35/m 1000kbps 300kpbs

Cable Modem $45-55/m 2000kpps 500kbps

Satellite $60/m + $600 600kbps 100kpbs

Dialup $10-$20/m 45kbps 30kbps

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