


The downside is that fiber is more expensive than cable due to its limited availability. In contrast to metal/copper cables, fiber-optic cables are made of glass which can transmit data at faster speeds. That said, you may be sharing your bandwidth/download capacity with other users in your area. These services are usually available for subscription via cable TV providers. In other words, the same type of coaxial cables-composed of plastic and copper-are used. CableĬable internet access uses the same infrastructure as cable television. DSL is also affected by the distance between your device and your provider’s closest exchange. Because of this, download speeds can be affected by the age and quality of your wiring. DSLĭigital subscriber lines, or DSL, use infrastructure from phone lines to transmit data. By modern standards, dial-up speeds are considered sluggish. Dial-upĪs dial-up connections to the internet only require use of a phone network, it is a preferred option for those in rural or remote areas. This, of course, can come down to pricing and availability in your particular area. Right off the bat, your internet connection type may impact your download speeds. 5 factors that can affect your download speed 1. Downloads grinding to a crawl on your PC? Whether you’re waiting for your streaming to buffer or your next game to load, here are a few tips to speed up the process.
