In the UK, there seems to be a lot of confusion on what types of Broadband technology offer which benefits. Like the majority of people in the country that use Broadband on a daily basis, the way the technology works is not a concern or something that they are educated about to understand the differences when choosing an Internet provider.

When a customer makes a decision to purchase a broadband connection from an ISP they will usually only consider the following main points: Price, Availability, and Performance (speed). However, a fourth issue has recently emerged for some customers and that is to decide whether to purchase an ADSL connection or a Cable connection.

With the coverage of Cable broadband increasing in both physical availability and within the media spotlight, customers are trying to having difficulty in identifying what the differences between ADSL and Cable Broadband connections actually are. Many people however would probably agree that a key difference is performance – and that Cable Broadband is actually faster than an ADSL connection.

However, what some people may not know is that currently both technologies in the UK are not too far apart as they think they are.

Cable and ADSL

Cable and ADSL Internet connections both utilise unused bandwidth over existing phone infrastructure.

ADSL technology provides Internet access over a single dedicated telephone line. ADSL Broadband requires a standard telephone wire, and data is transmitted over a private line (e.g. BT). ADSL customers have their own dedicated connection to the nearest local telephone exchange. However, performance is determined by distance from the local telephone exchange and also by the number of users sharing the service from the local telephone exchange to the ISP.

Cable technology provides Internet access over a shared cable television line. Cable Broadband requires a fibre optic cable that links from a cable TV to the computer. Cable customers have their service is transmitted over a shared cable line. Cable customers share the cable connection with other users in their area and therefore performance can be affected by the number of people sharing at a particular time.

Cable and Fibre-To-The-Home

For actual Cable Broadband customers there seems to be confusion over what performance to expect from their high speed connection. Cable Broadband in the UK is not a fibre cable connection from the Cable Broadband provider to the end user’s computer. The fibre cable is actually only installed from the Cable Broadband provider to the local telephone exchange. From the local telephone exchange to the end user’s computer it is actually coaxial copper wire and not fibre cable. This is commonly known as Fibre-To-The-Cabinet (FTTCab).

Fibre cable however can also be deployed past the local telephone exchange and more closer to the end users premises, for example:

• FTTN - Fibre-to-the-Neighbourhood
• FTTC - Fibre-to-the-Curb
• FTTP - Fibre-to-the-Premises
• FTTB - Fibre-to-the-Building
• FTTH - Fibre-to-the-Home

Customers need to be aware that a fibre/coaxial network is not Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH). It is therefore important that this is clarified and understood by customers to avoid any current or future confusion (when FTTH is available) and unrealistic expectations.

However, it must also be mentioned that FTTH is being deployed by BT and H20 who both aim to trial FTTH in the near future in selected UK areas. Meanwhile some other countries where FTTH is available to customers include the following:

Source: FTTH Council - Top ten countries with highest FTTH availability