Dial up is a very slow way of getting online, but many people are still using it because it is simple and cheap. DSL has been around for many years, but it has traditionally been expensive and the extra speed that it gives is not always enough to make up for the effort of getting a new service. Considering the importance of Internet to daily life these days, having only these two options of getting online seems fairly bleak. However, over the last couple years, a different service emerged, known as broadband cable Internet. This service has proven to be a very popular service because it has been able to eliminate many of the problems that plague both dial up and DSL.

Comcast's broadband cable Internet arose out of the knowledge that the infrastructure that delivers cable television also had the capacity to deliver Internet services. Once Comcast decided to go digital with its television services, the company updated all of its underground cables to accommodate more bandwidth transmission and to make it easier to transport data. This upgrade make it possible for the company to add on new broadband cable Internet services without compromising its cable television services. Internet, as a digital medium, is fully compatible with the transmission of digital television, and sharing the same infrastructure for the two services made it possible for Comcast Cable to start offering an Internet service without extreme expense (and thus keeping prices competitive).

What broadband cable Internet excels most at is speed. For instance, when other types of services offer a couple of Mbps as their top speed, Comcast offers up to 8 Mbps. This difference in speed is due to the different technologies that carry services such as DSL and those that carry broadband cable Internet. As would be expected, as technology becomes even more advanced, cable will still be able to maintain a higher connection speed than other types of services.

Even at this time, it is possible to see that high speed Internet technology is moving forward to the time when even higher speeds are needed. Though PowerBoost speeds - a way of giving bursts of speed at certain times- (which reach 12 Mbps) are not maintained at all times, they come into play when extra speed is necessary. PowerBoost is an innovative way of allocating limited bandwidth to the customers who are in need of more of it at any given time, and the technology will likely become more widespread in the future.

For the basic Internet user, cable's high speed Internet services offer more than enough speed to do even extremely bandwidth-intensive applications, also enough speed to provide each member of a household with enough bandwidth to simultaneously get online. Some of the most common uses of the Internet are to check email, share info and photos with friends and family, and to take advantage of online entertainment. Though some of the online entertainment sites require very fast connections, the higher speed cable connections provide plenty of speed.

As the popularity of broadband cable Internet keeps on increasing, we will probably soon see the day when other forms of Internet become obsolete. Broadband cable Internet provides a much higher quality service but, thanks to its reliance on existing infrastructure, is cost-effective for all users.