Cable broadband is internet access delivered over the coaxial cable network originally built for television. A cable modem at home talks to a termination system at the provider's head-end using the DOCSIS standard, which carves the cable's spectrum into downstream and upstream channels.
Why it matters
Cable can offer high download speeds without new infrastructure, but the medium is shared. Homes on the same neighbourhood segment split the capacity, so evening congestion can slow everyone down. Upload capacity is usually much smaller than download, although newer DOCSIS versions improve this. Compared with DSL, speed does not fall off with distance as sharply, and compared with fiber, it has higher latency variation and more asymmetric plans.
Example
A plan sold as 500 Mbit/s down and 20 Mbit/s up has a very lopsided ratio. Streaming video is unaffected, but uploading a large video file or running a video call at the same time may suffer, because the 20 Mbit/s upstream is saturated first.
Common misconceptions
- Cable broadband is not the same as cable TV, though they share the wire.
- A high advertised speed does not guarantee the same speed at peak hours.
- A faster router does not fix problems on the provider's shared segment.
Related
Get notified when this term updates
Plus occasional practical tips on uptime and monitoring, nothing else. Unsubscribe anytime.
यह पेज सामान्य जानकारी है, जिसे हमारी संपादकीय टीम ने लिखा है और दस्तावेज़ीकरण बदलने पर अपडेट किया जाता है। सर्वर और प्रदाता अलग-अलग होते हैं, इसलिए बदलाव पहले सुरक्षित तरीके से जाँचें। देखें: संपादकीय नीति और अस्वीकरण.