What are the limitations of Cable Internet access?
Cable is not without its drawbacks. Its speeds are not fixed and occasionally unreliable, sometimes dropping well below the 500Kbps mark, and rarely reaching the listed 1.5Mbps mark. This is due to the fact that cable’s most major limitation: because cable targets the consumer market, it isn't always robust enough to support sizeable intranets, web servers or other networking hardware. The service also requires a cable modem. Some providers have the option to lease a modem, which is a small fee that is added to your monthly bill. Others require that you, the consumer, purchase your own modem, which usually costs somewhere around $100.
