You may be asking yourself, do I need to know? The short answer is yes. Knowing the difference will ensure you provide your network with all the information they need to make an informed decision as to whether they should select a Cable or ADSL service. This will avoid any nasty surprises later on and sets expectations from the start.

So what is the difference?
Well, some premises are serviceable by both technologies, so it’s possible for customers to have either service connected. There are vast differences in the delivery and speeds of the two technologies, with customers generally having a far better experience on Cable over ADSL. Cable offers customers download speeds of up to 100Mbps, compared to 22Mbps on ADSL2+, which is only achievable if you are within a few hundred metres of the exchange. To put that in perspective, Cable is theoretically 5 x quicker and isn’t affected by interference and distance like ADSL. Would you be happy to have your broadband grind to a fifth of the speed you were used to?

When speaking to customers it’s important that you can distinguish between the two technologies, to ensure your prospects receive the best possible treatment and advice. This may sound difficult, but it’s not, as long as you know what you’re looking for.  If you follow these simple steps below, you can ensure your warm network is adequately informed that switching from their current cable broadband to ADSL broadband will result in reduced download / upload speeds and is NOT advised. Unfortunately our Service Qualification checker doesn’t have the ability to determine if the customer is served by cable broadband, so it really is up to you to ensure your leads are aware of the impact of switching from their current cable provider.

How do I identify a Cable Internet connection?
A cable customer is easily identifiable by looking at the back of their modem and checking if there is a coaxial cable like the one shown above leading into it. The modem may also have a label marked coaxial where the cable leads in.

Cable Providers in Australia

  • Telstra
  • Optus
  • iiNet (small selected areas)

For further information around technologies, please refer to the IBO Broadband Selling Guide: https://myacn.acninc.com/media/APAC/myacn/au/au_docs/pdf/products/broadband/Broadband_SellingGuide.pdf