

Knowing that there are already so many articles in existence about this topic. There is no brain surgery behind it. With a minor degree of research, we were able to compile all the details of this technology in an orderly and summarized manner. Together, we will go through it step by step to uncover all the secret details that make this technology function.

Cable internet is actually an extension to already existing cable TV technology, the origin of which stretches back to early 1950 by history. The idea originated with delivering TV signals through a coaxial cable to the geographically challenged zone or remote areas were over-the-air TV receptions was not possible to convey. In the 1970s, cable TV was spread into bigger cities and major metropolitan areas of United States due to its huge bandwidth with an accommodation lot of channels at with relatively low costs and higher quality and acceptable costs of installation on the consumer's end.

The first cable modem was introduced in 1990. Its main purpose was to the deliver Internet to the residence of the user with cable television line. As the years gone by and progress continued, the demand for more internet speed arose and technology also kept improving. Now cable internet has a potential of transmitting a high-speed Internet connection through your already available cable TV without affecting your entertainment on TV.

Science Behind it





The early version of cable connection was a simple copper wired coaxial cable. Later, to improve the speed and bandwidth of the cable, fiber optic cable is interwoven into the coaxial cable and named as “Hybrid Fiber Coaxial Cable” (HFC), replacing the traditional copper wired coaxial cable, initializing the new age of high-speed Internet plus cable TV and also VoIP. This combo of cables was able to carry all type of broadband content (such as video, data, and voice)

TV transmission data is “One-way data” meaning that there is no data that will be sent back to providers. Channels will be displayed as an output on the cable TV. However, Internet signal is “Two-way data”, namely downstream and upstream data. Downstream is internet data which is coming from CMTS (Cable modem termination system) and has reached to the user by cable modem (Download). Upstream is a user-generated deployed data (Upload). Connection speed depends on neighbor bandwidth channel. The highest theoretical maximum speed of a cable Internet is 400 Mbps. The latest practical supported connection speed transmitted by the cable modem is 150 Mbps. To avoid congestions in internet speed and over usage, “limiter” is applied which is called “Data Cap”. If one user on the same channel download reaches this data cap, the connection is detached from the user until the given duration given in quota is met.

Pro and Con



Cable internet is highly reliable not only owing to its speed but its durability as well; there is seldom any interruption due to bad weather, or other anomalies. Cable internet has its own share of lingering problems, like its lack of availability everywhere. Suppose if you want to move your property to a remote region, most likely you won’t find this type of connection more often and you will bump into a downgrade of your connection to either a slower version of DSL or you have to revert back to traditional ISP connection. To avoid this, you have to make a plan accordingly before moving to the new property.

If we suppose that you are the sole user on the broadband channel that is assigned to you by your provider then your internet performance and speed will not falter much. Even if up to 1000 users connection is shared on the same channel. However, if the heavy user enters the channel. Consequently, the performance degrades from the advertised maximum by the provider. It can be prevented by hindering that user by applying data limit as discussed earlier. (Data Cap)

Another downside of the cable internet is the fierce consumer competition and conditions or offers that are supplied by rival providers. If you want to jump from one provider to the other. The newer provider will encourage you to completely renounce your pact with all other providers. Also be aware! If you choose cable Internet connection, you will no longer pick out Internet Service Provider (ISP).



The process of data transmission



· Between client and service provider



Your cable and internet bundle service provider will give you a cable modem and this modem, which is the central brain system to control the data flow on the user end. It is pre-installed with DOCSIS software developed according to the American standards to control your upstream and downstream. (We will discuss it in detail in our next upcoming heading) This cable modem is connected to your computer and to your cable television via wall jack. Obtaining high-speed Internet will not restrict your viewership, neither it will interrupt your television service because cable has enough bandwidth to handle your TV and internet connection at the studiously.

You will be provided with a broadband connection at a monthly fee. The monthly fee will cover the rental fee of your cable modem, unlimited Internet access (in some cases with data cap), Ethernet card, and other perks depending on the provider given services or purchased bundles.

The client starts to surf the internet and upstream-downstream data begins to flow. On the client end, data is processed in a cable modem and sent to or forth from CMTS operator, Operator converts the downstream-upstream signals and sends it to the ISP signals. CMTS seems to have a lot of channels attached to their side. Each channel is about 6-MHz. One channel can deal with 1000 users at a time. More users mean more channels to be added by the service providers to accommodate their user base. There are different service providers with unique packages and service, for example. Spectrum Internet, a famous cable internet provider and promise you the speed between 60Mbps and 100Mbps. Here Spectrum internet is CMTS which will control your speed according to their retail packages.



Downstream: It refers to data sent from a service provider to a client Upstream: It refers to the data the client to the server (uploading).

· Between service provider and ISP



The cable modem which is provided by your cable connection company is certified by “Cable Labs Certified Cable modem” and it is US standard for cable internet to control data flow between the user and ISP. CMTS get and provide you data from Servers Dynamic host configuration Protocol (DHCP). The server assigns a unique IP Address to all users within a cable connection. Which assigns you an identity and eligibility to enter the pool of worldwide internet.



Final thought



The cable internet is a trustworthy system which is currently gaining popularity. However, for the curious people, who want to know how this connection actually works. We hope that this article at least helped you in the understanding of technology.