A technology for connecting users to the Internet through the TV-cable network and has the advantage of high-speed bandwidth 10–50 times as high (up to 5 megabits per second) as dial-up modems, which have 56 kilobits per second and use the telephone networks. TV-cable providers have to upgrade their network infrastructure to offer the service, whereas the dial-up modems need just a telephone line for connectivity. An alternative to the usage of cable-modems is DSL (Digital Subscription Line). DSL makes use of existing telephony lines and achieves approximately the same transmission speeds as cable modems.

See Also: DSL Modem; Network.