If you’re considering broadband, the chances are that you have two options: ADSL or cable (there’s also satellite, but it’s only really worthwhile when the other two are unavailable). Given that, then, you’re probably interested in just what the difference is, and which one is better. Read on.

The main difference between ADSL and cable is that ADSL uses your existing phone lines, while cable uses dedicated cables laid by a cable company – the same ones you can use to receive cable television transmissions.

Putting all the scientific stuff aside, ADSL and cable have clear upsides and downsides. With ADSL, you’re using a line for something it ultimately wasn’t meant for, and there is a top speed that you can’t go over (what it is depends on the quality of the physical line). If you’re a long way from a telephone exchange, you may find your connection very slow. Generally, however, ADSL is very cheap, and the healthy competition in the market means it’s getting cheaper all the time.

Cable, on the other hand, is devoted to what it does, with no telephone legacy to support. It can offer higher transfer speeds, even if you’re far away from the exchange. Can you guess the downside? It’s expensive.

So should you get ADSL or cable? Well, really, the answer largely depends on where you live. First, check how far you are from the telephone exchange – if it’s a long way, you shouldn’t even consider DSL. Then check what the prices are like at the cable provider in your area, as some are much more reasonable than others.

Ultimately, you have to decide what’s best for you based on local factors, but there are some websites out there to help you make the decision – dslreports.com, for example, is very good. Don’t commit to a connection until you’ve searched the web to see what its customers say.