Access
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Internet Access provides always-on high-speed Internet access over a single dedicated telephone line; Cable Internet Access connects over a shared cable television line of hundreds or even thousands of users.
Performance
Since Cable Internet Access bandwidth is shared among all users in a neighborhood, performance will vary dramatically as more users in a neighborhood connect online at the same time. Since DSL subscribers access the Internet over a single dedicated phone line, performance is not impacted.
Security
Using a shared connection, such as the case with Cable Internet Access, also creates security problems and users are much more vulnerable to data interception, unauthorized monitoring, and hacking from other users along the same cable network. For this reason, residential Cable customers are often forbidden to telecommute,
host Web sites, use video teleconferencing, or any other bandwidth intensive applications.
