I am currently considering bids from our local cable company and our local phone company. The proposal called for a 10 Mbps access speed to the Internet. The phone company will deliver a 10 Mbps connection via fiber and it is “dedicated service”. The Cable company proposal states: “10MBS OF SYMMETRICAL INTERNET ACCESS WITH A CATEGORY V ETHERNET CABLE HANDOFF”. I would like to hear from anyone concerning the differences in bandwidth, speed, etc. Am I comparing apples to apples with these two? Does “symmetrical” imply that upstream and downstream are both at 10 Mbps? Are there any differences in reliability and true bandwidth availability with the cable connection?
