UNDERSTANDING CABLE TV INTERNET CONNECTION

CABLE TV INTERNET CONNECTION

Cable TV Internet Connection is a high speed Internet connection service provided through existing Cable TV lines. You can watch TV in a normal manner and at the same time access the Internet. It is one of the most widely growing services in homes because of its affordability and ease of use. The cable TV lines use the coaxial cable which transfers data at much higher speed than common telephone lines. Its speed usually ranges from 256 Kbps to 1 Mbps

In order to access this service, a cable modem is used which is provided by a Cable TV operator. A cable modem typically has two connections, one for the Internet service and other for the Cable TV signals. These modems are specially designed so that data transmission doesn’t interfere with TV signals, making it possible to use both the services simultaneously.

Cable TV Internet connections share a set amount of bandwidth with a group of customers. So the data transfer speed available to a user depends upon how many customers are using the Internet at the same time. Data transfer speeds can be extremely fast when only a few customers are online but it reduces drastically as the number of customers online increases.

Cable TV Internet Services are far more available in residential communities than in business organizations.

Advantages of Cable TV Internet Connection:

1. Data transfer speed is very fast.
2. It provides continuous and instantaneous connectivity i.e. connection is always ON.
3. There is no internet login required and the user never gets busy signals as in case of dialup connection.

Disadvantages of Cable TV Internet Connection:

1. As the connection may be shared by multiple customers this may slow down the connection to the Internet during peak time.)
2. Only available in areas with Cable TV connections
3. Customers are not able to telecommunicate host websites, use video teleconferencing and many other bandwidth eating applications.
4. It is inexpensive as compared to other types of connections though.
5. Its initial cost may be high
6. Customers sharing the same cable network with other customers poses certain security risks such as unauthorized monitoring and hacking, denial of service etc.

SATELLITE INTERNET CONNECTION

Satellite Internet Connection offers yet another option for accessing the Internet. It is the most expensive alternative for getting a high speed connection to the Internet. These connections are aimed for those remote areas where other Internet connections such as dial-up. ISDN, DSL cannot be used.

Satellite Internet connection can either be a one way connection or a two way connection. In one way connection, you can only download data but in order to upload the data you need a dialup access through an ISP over telephone line. However, in a two way connection, downloads and uploads are done by the satellite without a need of dialup connection.

In order to use this connection, you need a satellite dish, a coaxial cable and communication software. In addition, we may also need a phone line and a dial-up Internet connection if the user has to upload also.

The download speed for these connections varies from 400 Kbps to 6 Mbps and the upload speed is limited upto a maximum of 128 Kbps.

Advantages of Satellite Internet Connection:

1. This connection is available almost everywhere even in small villages where Cable TV connection is not possible.
2. Bandwidth is not shared as in case of Cable Internet Connection.
3. It is easy to reinstall as the dish can be easily removed and reinstalled unlike Cable TV connection where cables generally go to waste.

Disadvantages of Satellite Internet Connection:

1. It is more expensive to set up than other high speed Internet Connections
2. Provides high speed downloading as compared to uploading
3. In case of one way connection, you cannot communicate on the phone when you are uploading

WIRELESS INTERNET CONNECTION

With the recent advancement in wireless technology, the high speed Internet access is not limited to the desktop but it is now accessible on laptops, PDA’s, mobiles also, Wireless Internet is the broadband Internet connection that use the radio frequency bands to connect to the Internet instead of using a telephone line or a cable network. This type of connection provides a very high speed, usually more than 10 Mbps and costs considerably less than the equivalent other wired versions. Its speeds range from 256 Kbps to 10 Mbps. It is possible to use this type of connection to transmit data over long distances. This type of connection is used by business travelers and persons who are away from home as long as they are within the network’s coverage area.

(wi-fi): A number of ISP’s have placed 802.11b (wi-fi) network standards in public places such as hostels, coffee shops, airports, convention centers. These networks provide easy access to the Internet for anyone with a compatible device (e.g. Laptop or PDA).

Bluetooth: It is also used for Internet access although it doesn’t have the potential of wi-fi due to its limited distance. It was primarily promoted as it eliminated the need for cables between devices such as keyboard, computers, cellular phones, PDA’s etc. The current standard allows upto 8 devices to be connected to it.

Advantages of Wireless Internet Connection :

1. It is an extremely fast connection.
2. It provides greater mobility and covers a very long distance.
3. It provides an always on connection.

Disadvantages of Wireless Internet Connection:

1. It has limited availability wi-fi connection is usually available in public areas like airports,railways stations etc. Bluetooth connection is available in areas where mobile companies have network coverage.
2. Depending upon the signal quality, its speed varies
3. Initial cost of setup is very high.