What is cable modem Internet access ?

A cable modem allows a single computer (or a local area network) to connect to the Internet via the cable TV network. The cable modem usually has an Ethernet or/and USB LAN connection to the computer, a RG6 coax WAN connection to the headend, and is capable of speeds in excess of 5 Mbps.

Typical speeds tend to be much lower than the maximum, however, since cable providers cap the bandwidth at the headend and oversubscribe in order to reduce cost. Also, cable newtork topology is a shared medium, with users sharing the same bandwidth to the headend. All this might slow down network access during periods of peak demand.