Broadband Cable

• Cable companies introduced Internet access on their cable infrastructure 20 years ago.

  • It was this existing cable infrastructure at the time that allowed cable companies to become ISPs.
• Today broadband cable is available almost anywhere in metro areas and surrounding suburban areas.
• Broadband cable operates on a specification called Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS), through the use of a DOCSIS moden, sometimes referred to as a cable modem.
• It can typically deliver 300 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload speeds.
• A cable modem communicates over coax lines that are run to your house or business and lead back to a fiber-optic node.
• The fiber-optic node is a device in your area that converts coax communications to a fiber-optic line that ultimately leads back to the head end.
• The head end is the cable company's router and distribution of its Internet connection.
• One disadvantage is the shared coax line that leads back to the fiber node.

  • Congestion and interference on this shared coax line can degrade services and speed for everyone in your service area.