I want to know the difference between cable and dsl internet , how do you order them and how are they set up

Question

Ive never had a high speed connection before and need it in the fall for college. Any one who could explain how it works ,is it a modem i need or does it plug into an electrical outlet or phone line. Plus how do i order it and do I need a service person to come or could i do it myself.

Answer 1

Cable, as the name implies, uses your TV cable as a pipe for the Internet.

DSL uses your phone line.

Both require a modem, but completely different types. Generally cable is more reliable and faster. DSL is distance dependent; that is, you have to be within a certain distance of a phone terminal box or the main location of the company. Speed and reliability fall off rapidly the farther away you are from a terminal.

There's usually not much difference in cost. Most companies offer a deal if your combine services, say cable TV and Internet.

If you already have cable service or telephone service, you can generally install things yourself. It's pretty much plug-and-play. There aren't a whole lot of settings necessary.

Neither one uses an electrical outlet except to plug in the modem.

Answer 2

Both are high-speed.

Cable Internet gives you access to the Internet via your cable TV company. Most likely Time Warner or whatever the cable monopoly company is in your area. To set it up, you'll need a cable TV line in your place of residence. Call your cable company and they will come and set it up for you. Typically this involves hooking up a cable modem (which they supply) to your cable line. Then you can connect your coputer to that modem with Ethernet cords or wirelessly with a wireless router. If you want to connect multiple computers to the Internet, I suggest buying a wireless router with multiple ethernet ports. Your cable guy or gal should be able to help you out with that.

DSL is high-speed internet access over your telephone line. I've never used DSL but I know that Earthlink and AT & T offer high speed DSL. Your DSL provider will supply you with a modem that you connect to your phone line, much like the cable modem is connected to the cable line. Then you connect your computer to the DSL modem via Ethernet or wireless using a router.

You could do it yourself or have a service person do it for you, it depends. Once you pick a service, ask them what their options are as far as set-up. They may be able to send you a step-by-step guide.

Check out my source link for a list of providers and info about the connection types.