Although most Internet users have become accustomed to fast connection speeds, it’s important to remember that all modems are not created equal. In addition, download times are affected by many variables, the most critical of which is the connection speed of both parties. Some modems are fast and some, though once considered fast, are now very slow. The most commonly-used modems range the gamut from 28.8 kbps analog to the 250 mbps wireless. Following is a brief comparison of various modems and the respective time required to download a 10MB file.
Modem / Transfer Rate / 10MB Download
28.8K / 28.8 kbps / 46 minutes
56K / 56 kbps / 24 minutes
ISDN / 128 kbps / 10 minutes
ASDL / 384 kbps / 3.3 minutes
Cable / 600 kbps / 2.1 minutes
T-1 / 1.54 mbps / 50 seconds
Wireless / 250 mbps / .3 seconds