Cable Modems Are The Wave Of The Future Essay, Research Paper

There are several different methods to achieve communication between computers. In the case of the Internet, most people use a telephone modem to establish a connection between their computer and the computer that gives them access to the Internet. Normally, the computer that gives them access to the Internet, referred to as an ISP (Internet Service Provider) can only have a limited number of users on it at any given time. In this case, users may find that they cannot make a connection and therefore get a busy signal.

Some drawbacks of dial up connections are a having a slow connection, busy signals, and getting disconnected while online. It is also important to note that an extra telephone line is required.

Cable modems can offer tremendous advantages for accessing the Internet and Cox Communications Inc. provides the best value for the dollar. They claim to beat any competitor in terms of price and value. Cox Communication Internet service is called @Home.

The following is a current price list and is also available at www.coxrevolution.com.

One important feature of Cox@Home is definitely the speed. Accessing the Internet is up to 100 times faster than a 28.8 modem because of the high bandwidth that is available through coaxial cable lines. A 28.8 modem can transmit data at a rate of 28,800 bits per second. Cox@Home cable modems can transmit data at 1,500,000 – 3,000,000 bits per second saving the user valuable time and unneeded boredom.

Some factors that are beyond the control of the @Home Network can affect the speed of connection to the Internet. For example, the tremendous increase in Internet traffic over the last few years has resulted in a reduction of speeds and packet loss. Since bottlenecks can occur on another provider’s backbone, the @Home Network has taken steps to avoid this problem. The process is called caching, and it involves making copies of frequently accessed web pages that are then placed on a very fast, highly available server called a proxy server. The proxy servers continually verify that the cached copies are the same as the most current versions of the web pages available.

References

http://www.home.net/corp/network.html

www.coxrevolution.com