About Cable Internet vs Satellite, When choosing the best type of internet, you should consider factors such as availability, performance, and cost.
While considering these factors, two main types of internet come into mind: cable internet and satellite.
While both may be viable for high-speed internet, they differ in various aspects.
This article compares cable internet vs. satellite comprehensively to help you choose the most appropriate for your needs.
Cable Internet vs Satelite: Definition
Cable internet is an internet service that uses underground cables to deliver internet to your home.
The Cable internet uses the same infrastructure that your cable TV uses.
These cables feature copper construction for data transitions, wrapped in a foil, and an insulator to prevent data loss.
Although Cable Internet is predominantly available in suburban and urban regions, you can also find it in some rural areas.
To get cable internet, you must be within its reach, then rent or purchase a router from your ISP.
On the other hand, satellite internet is a form of internet service that uses a constellation of satellites placed in orbit.
These satellites get information from a ground station on Earth and beam the signals to your house.
The best thing about satellite internet is you can get it anywhere, including remote regions.
To get satellite internet, you will need a receiver dish, which serves as an antenna, and a router from your ISP.
Cable network connection
Cable Internet vs. Satellite: Top Service Provider
Let us discuss some of the top ISPs starting in this section.
Cable Internet top service providers
Spectrum
Spectrum features unlimited data per month with no contracts. You can rent its modem for just $5/ month, and it offers to pay up to $500 to terminate your former service contract.
Its monthly plans include 200Mbps for 49.99, 400Mbps for $69.99, and 1000Mbps for $89.99.
Xfinity
Xfinity is a speedy, reliable Internet service offering 50, 100, 300, and 1200 Mbps.
The availability and price for these speeds depend on your location and chosen plan.
You can rent its router for $14/month and get 1000GB monthly data for the above speed plans.
Note that if you exceed this throttle, you will pay the $10/50GB bundle you use.
Top Satellite Internet Service Providers
Viasat
Viasat has several plans for people on a budget and those who want more bandwidth.
For example, its unlimited bronze costs $49.99/month, where you get 12 Mbps 40GBs highspeed data.
Its other plans are unlimited silver 25Mbps and 50GB high-speed data for $69.99 and unlimited Gold 50Mbps for $99.99.
Each plan comes with a 2-year contract, and the initial price increases after the first three months.
Starlink
Starlink is a relatively new ISP that offers several plans starting from $90 to $2500 per month.
Its equipment price also depends on the chosen plan, with the cheapest costing $599 and the highest $2500.
Starlink has no data caps or contacts, and its services are available in most global remote areas.
Starlink antenna
Cable Internet vs. Satellite: Performance
Now, let’s compare the performance of both services in terms of download speed, upload speed, and latency.
Download speed
Download speed refers to the amount of data you can transfer from the internet to your device, usually measured in Mbps.
Generally, cable Internet has higher and more stable speeds than satellite Internet.
In most cases, cable internet comes with speeds between 500 and 1000 Mbps, depending on the chosen plan.
In contrast, Satellite Internet offers speeds between 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps, depending on your chosen plan.
However, modem providers like Starlink use LEO satellites and sophisticated technologies to offer up to 350 Mbps.
Although this speed is higher than most conventional satellite ISPs, it’s still not at the cable speed level.
Additionally, all satellite’s internet speeds are affected by weather, making them unstable.
Upload speed
Uploading is the opposite of downloading and refers to how many data megabits you can transfer from your device to the internet.
Again, cable internet wins in this regard, considering you can upload a speed of not less than 10 Mbps, depending on your package.
Additionally, some cable ISPs offer symmetrical speeds where the download and upload speeds are equal.
Since cable uses coaxial cables, its upload speeds are also stable without much downtime.
When it comes to satellite internet, you can never get symmetrical speeds. In that regard, satellite internet upload speeds can go as low as 3 Mbps.
While Stalink can have higher upload speeds, it depends on the weather and package choice.
Internet speed tester
Latency
Latency is the time taken for data sent from a device to reach its destination and is calibrated in milliseconds.
The lower the latency, the better your internet can perform real-time tasks such as video conferencing.
Regarding this latency performance, the cable Internet wins with low one-digit latencies.
Cables have the lowest latency, only second to fiber Internet.
Conversely, satellite internet has higher latencies due to the distance between the device and the satellites in space.
For this reason, it can take even 600ms for a request to travel from your device to satellites in space and back.
The only expectation is Starlink, which uses LEO satellites. Hence, its latencies are between 20 to 40 ms, although still higher than cable.
Cable Internet vs. Satellite: Availability
As we established above, cable internet is mostly available in urban and suburban areas.
It uses the existing cable TV infrastructure and can only be available in limited regions with these amenities.
You can also find it in some rural areas, but the speeds may be lower.
In contrast, satellite internet is available in most areas, including most rural areas.
Some satellite ISPs, such as Starlink, provide service worldwide in the remotest regions where other internet infrastructures are nonexistent.
Therefore, satellite internet, which requires only an open sky, is more available than cable.
Cable Internet vs. Satellite: Equipment and Installation Fee
Generally, satellite internet installation fees and equipment depend on your ISP and preference.
For example, Starlink Satellite sells equipment that you can self-install.
Other satellite ISPs like Viasat offer equipment plus a technician to install them at no cost.
Again, you may get others that sell equipment and require you to hire your technician for installation.
Typically, satellite internet comes with a router, necessary cables, and a dish you install in an open space.
In contrast, cable internet installation is straightforward, especially if your building has a cable TV infrastructure.
You just need a router, which you can buy or rent from your ISP and then connect to the cable on your wall.
However, if your building does not have cable infrastructure, you will need a technician to ensure it reaches your building.
Therefore, satellite internet is more expensive in terms of equipment and has a more complex installation process.
Satellite internet installation
Cable Internet vs. Satellite: Price
Although the price of the Internet depends on your chosen package, cable is generally cheaper than satellite Internet.
For starters, cable internet uses the existing infrastructure. Hence, ISPs do not have to change more.
Additionally, most people are concentrated in urban areas, meaning ISPs have more customers.
For these reasons, they can distribute the general cost to their wide customer base, lowering the internet price.
However, satellite internet infrastructure is still developing. Again, satellite ISPs do not have a large customer base, meaning they cannot distribute the cost evenly to many clients.
Hence, they can only charge high monthly prices to recoup the investment made on the expensive satellite framework.
Cable Internet vs. Satellite: Gaming and Streaming Experience
When streaming your favorite movies from streaming platforms such as Netflix, you will need high-speed internet.
In this regard, satellite and cable internet offer enough speed for basic streaming. However, for 4K streaming content, you will need cable or higher satellite internet packages.
For gaming and other real-time activities like video conferencing, wired internet, such as cable, is the best.
First of all, it does not experience downtime in terms of speed, which may cause lagging.
Additionally, its latencies are very low, hence hindering your response time when you are gaming.
Conversely, signals have to travel from satellite thousand miles on satellite internet.
For this reason, using satellite internet is prone to high latencies that would slow your gaming resonance time.
Cable Internet vs. Satellite: Which One is Better
According to our discussion, cable internet is the best choice. It is affordable, has high speeds and low latencies, and is suitable for every online activity.
However, it’s not available everywhere, especially the rural areas. Therefore, if you live in remote locations, satellite internet may be your only option.
While it may not be as high-performing as cable, it’s still good enough for basic online tasks.
Conclusion
Now you know which type of internet you should choose between cable and satellite. It is also important to note that cable comes with less internet interference than satellite.
However, both have data caps, although cable users experience higher throttling thresholds.
Also, you may experience speed downtime in both types of internet during peak hours.
But satellite has more downtime, especially during windy, snowy, and rainy weather.0