One of the several options for broadband access to the Internet is through cable. There is much optimism with regard to this method, since a large number of Indian households already have cable connections running to their televisions. Even though the initial setup fee can be high in some cases, cable access seems to be one of the cheapest solutions for high-speed Internet access in the long term. Add to this the willingness of several ISPs to offer large discounts on cable equipment to gain market share, and you end up with a very attractive option.

So, in true PCQ Labs tradition, we decided to test one of these services. Our test subject (myself) is based in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, and has had a 64 kbps connection from Mantra Online for two months. Now, we realize that 64 kbps and broadband don’t exactly go hand in hand, but it is also important to realize, that being the cheapest option, this is the most common choice. Subscribing to the service is as easy as paying your local cablewallah a visit and filling up a form. A technician from Mantra or your cable operator comes down and installs the appropriate hardware (modem, Ethernet card) and configures the machine. The installation fees is Rs 2,250, and the per month charge Rs 1,100. Since the cable modem is rented and not sold, we saved on its cost of about Rs 15,000.

My installation took two days, but the connection could not be activated due to problems in signal strength. I was initially told it was too weak, since I live quite far from my cable operator. Even the cablewallah was quite surprised to notice that the modem didn’t go online even after all the amplifiers in the route had been put on full power. Later, I was sheepishly told that the strength had actually become too strong for the modem, and the problem was resolved within an hour.

We used DU Meter to check out the download speeds with cable modem. The download speed is consistent as can be seen in the red graph

The advantages of a cable connection are many: no more phone bills, 24x7 connectivity and a bit more bandwidth than the average user is used to, to begin with. Things you can’t imagine on a dial-up can be done through a cable connection. For example, right now I am downloading Red Hat 7 all by myself, something which one wouldn’t even dream of on a dial-up. Since the computer can stay online 24 hours in a day, such downloads aren’t a problem. Then, of course, you can afford certain luxuries like streaming music as well. All in all, a good deal.

Downloads are quite stable and I seldom experience the roller coaster ride that I had got used to on a dial-up. But there are exceptions as mentioned below. My Net downloads in two months have already exceeded what I had managed in two years of dial-up. I could go on and on about my download achievements, but I’ll refrain.

Don’t be mistaken, however, into thinking that there are no flaws in this technology. The most common complaint is of shared bandwidth. The reason why Mantra can afford to give away free modems is because one modem can be shared by many people. When a neighbor of mine decided to get a cable connection as well, a hub was installed in my room, connected to the modem, and both of us were made to connect to the hub.

What that effectively means is that now both us are sharing the same connection, and as a result, the same bandwidth. I was initially told that bandwidth is incremented on the modem automatically as new people join in, but later curtly informed that this would happen only after a third user joins our little party.

On a slightly more technical level, there is the problem of IP addresses. On a dial-up connection, users are dynamically assigned an IP every time they connect, which is revoked when they disconnect. However, in a situation such as mine, the norm is to assign a static IP to every computer on the network that never changes. However, citing security issues, Mantra decided to implement NAT (Network Address Translation). According to this setup, even though every computer on the network is assigned an internal IP that identifies it on the local network, all connections to the Internet are made through a single IP. Complex as it may sound, it is an effective and simple way of avoiding the assignment of external IP addresses to all computers. However, NAT limits the functionality of several software and, in my case, this means that I cannot use Napster with some computers, use some IP telephony packages, play multiplayer games, etc.

Finally, there is the issue of disconnects. Cable modems go online automatically. But they also go offline automatically when there is a problem at the backend. And in such situations there is nothing you can do, except sit, twiddle your thumbs, and hope that the problem will sort itself out. However, since the technology is still in its infancy and people are getting used to it, one can expect such problems to reduce, if not go away altogether.

So the question is: Is Internet access through cable modem worth it? In our opinion, definitely. For most moderate to heavy Net users, savings on the phone bill alone will make up easily for the cost of subscription to the service. Top it off with always-on connectivity and no download limits, and we have a winner on our hands. Our suggestion is, if the service is available in your area, go for it.

Anuj Jain