Cable Modems
Practical Guide To
Cable Modems
FAQ
Can I watch my cable television and surf the Internet at the same time?
Can I share the cable connection between several computers?
Are there any special requirements for the cable modem?
Can I watch my cable television and surf the Internet at the same time?
Cable modem Internet access is available simultaneously with your television service and does not require a phone line. You can watch a movie trailer on TV, call someone about joining you and check the movie times online - all at the same time.
Can I share the cable connection between several computers?
Using an Internet proxy device or PC with two network cards running Internet sharing software will enable you share your connection.
Are there any special requirements for the cable modem?
Road Runner states the minimum requirement to be:
Recommended
Processor Pentium/166Mhz
RAM 32 MB (Windows 2000 requires 64mb)
Hard Disk Space 150 MB (Windows 2000 requires a 2GB hard disk
with 650MB of free space)
Video SVGA,XGA, or 8514/A graphics card
Sound
Operating System Windows 95, 98, 2000 or NT
Network Card Available 10BaseT port OR one free ISA or PCI slot
with available IRQ.
MACINTOSH
Recommended
Processor Power PC 75 MHz (166 MHz recommended)
RAM 32 MB (required for OS 8.5 and higher)
Hard Disk Space 50 MB
Video 256 colors
Sound Built-in
Operating System MacOS 8.0 with open transport
Network Card Available AAUI or 10BaseT port
The service is very reliable and stable. Customer satisfaction has been noted to be above 90%.
Cable modem service providers sometimes boast of speeds up to 5 megabits/second but this is rarely seen. The average speed is normally over 1megabit per second or above. This translates to over 1000 kilobits/second. By comparison, the fastest a dial-up modem can go is 56 kilobits/second.
Unless you are connecting to the Internet through a proxy device with some protection it is important that you do not set drive sharing on your PC. Personal firewall software is also available if you feel you have a greater need for protection. For the most part, you are more vulnerable from a computer virus that you can receive through your e-mail. Virus protection should always be kept up-to-date.
Kinetic Strategies Inc. estimated cable modem service was commercially available to more than 65 million homes in North America by March 2001. and estimates North American cable modem subscriptions topped the 10-million mark in May 2002
This guide was written by Raymond Melnik, a Telecommunications Specialist and Systems Engineer who has been certified in Northern Telecom, Cisco, Microsoft and Novell.
