dsl vs. cable

2.2 Why focus on Internet access? Internet access has several desirable properties as an application to consider for exercising residential infrastructure. Internet technology is based on a peer-to-peer model of communications. Internet usage encompasses a wide mix of applications, including low- and high- bandwidth as well as asynchronous and real-time communications. Different Internet applications may create varying degrees of symmetrical (both to and from the home) and asymmetrical traffic flows. Supporting all of these properties poses …

…the literature, namely, how this infrastructure can be used to provide Internet access. It concludes with a qualitative evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of cable-based Internet access. While ISDN is extensively described in the literature, its use as an Internet access medium is less well-documented. This chapter briefly reviews local telephone network technology, including ISDN and future evolutionary technologies. It concludes with a qualitative evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of ISDN-based Internet access.