Interested in purchasing high-speed Internet? Visit Optimum.com.

High-speed Internet service is provided by both cable television companies and telephone companies and is provided through one of two basic ways: through a cable modem (cable broadband) or a Digital Subscriber Line connection (DSL).

Cable broadband works by providing you access to a network that transmits data at very fast speeds. The information is sent and received across the cable companies advanced fiber network, the same network that delivers cable television service. Aside from the actual cable modem and a computer, all you need to get high-speed Internet is either an Ethernet network card or a USB port, which most new computers have.

DSL uses the same telephone wiring as traditional dial-up modems. The difference is that is works on the unused (high) frequencies on the phone line. With DSL, you place splitters on all your telephone jacks so that the DSL modem receives the frequency it needs and your telephone receives the frequency it needs. The splitters allow simultaneous access to the line by both the telephone and the computer.