Is cable internet a good choice for my business?

Cable internet can work for a business, but in 2026, fibre is almost always the better choice if it’s available at your address. That’s the honest answer, and the rest of this article explains why.

Cable still has a few genuine advantages: it’s widely available, installs quickly, and delivers strong download speeds. But its biggest weakness for business use, asymmetric speeds with severely limited upload, hasn’t changed. And with fibre now available at roughly 90% of Canadian addresses and business fibre plans priced competitively with cable, the situations where cable is the right choice for a business are narrowing every year.

Let’s break down what cable internet actually delivers, where it falls short, and when it makes sense for a business in Canada.

What Is Cable Internet in 2026?

Cable internet uses hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) infrastructure. Fibre optic cable carries the signal from the carrier’s network to a neighbourhood node, and coaxial copper cable completes the connection from that node to your building. This is why it’s sometimes called “coax” or HFC internet.

In Canada, the major cable internet providers are:

• Rogers, the largest cable provider, serving Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Western Canada (through the Shaw acquisition completed in April 2023). Rogers’ cable network now connects over 60% of Canadian households.
• Vidéotron, serving Quebec (and now Freedom Mobile nationally after acquiring it as a condition of the Rogers-Shaw merger).
• Cogeco, serving parts of Ontario and Quebec.
• Eastlink, serving Atlantic Canada.

It’s worth noting that Shaw no longer exists as a separate brand. Rogers completed its $26 billion acquisition of Shaw Communications in April 2023, absorbing Shaw’s cable, internet, and home phone customers. If your business was formerly on Shaw internet, you’re now a Rogers customer on the same cable infrastructure.

The Upload Speed Problem

This is the single biggest reason fibre is generally better than cable for business, and it deserves a clear explanation.

Cable internet is inherently asymmetric. The technology allocates most of its capacity to downloads and very little to uploads. On current Rogers DOCSIS 3.1 plans, even the fastest tiers typically offer 1,500 Mbps download but only 100 to 200 Mbps upload. Mid-range plans often deliver 500 Mbps down with just 20 to 30 Mbps upload.

For comparison, Bell and TELUS business fibre plans deliver symmetric speeds. A 300 Mbps fibre plan gives you 300 Mbps up and 300 Mbps down. A 1 Gbps fibre plan gives you 1,000 Mbps in both directions.

Why does this matter? Because the activities that matter most for business are upload-heavy:

• Video conferencing (Zoom, Teams) sends your video and audio upstream. A single HD video call needs 3 to 4 Mbps of upload. Ten simultaneous calls need 30 to 40 Mbps, which can saturate a cable connection’s upload entirely.
• VoIP phone calls are bidirectional. Each active call uses about 100 Kbps of upload. That’s small per call, but it adds up with 20 or 30 active lines, and VoIP is extremely sensitive to latency and jitter, both of which worsen when upload capacity is saturated.
• Cloud file syncing (OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, SharePoint) uploads your files to the cloud. On 30 Mbps upload, syncing a 1 GB presentation takes over 4 minutes. On 300 Mbps fibre, it takes about 27 seconds.
• Cloud backups are pure upload. A business backing up 50 GB of data daily needs over 3.5 hours on 30 Mbps upload, but only about 22 minutes on 300 Mbps fibre.

What Cable Internet Does Well

Despite the upload limitation, cable has genuine strengths that matter in certain business scenarios:

Wide Availability

Rogers’ cable network covers over 60% of Canadian households, spanning Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Western Canada (former Shaw territory including BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). Vidéotron covers much of urban Quebec. Eastlink covers Atlantic Canada. Cable is available in many commercial buildings and business parks where fibre hasn’t been run yet.

Fast Installation

Cable installation typically takes 1 to 2 weeks, since the coaxial infrastructure is already in the building or easily accessible from the street. Fibre installation can take 4 to 12 weeks if construction is required. If you need internet for a new office quickly and fibre isn’t already in the building, cable can bridge the gap.

Strong Download Speeds

Rogers currently offers DOCSIS 3.1 plans with download speeds up to 1.5 Gbps (and 2 Gbps in some areas). For download-heavy tasks like receiving large files, streaming training videos, software updates, and general web browsing, cable performs well.

Flexible Contracts

Cable business plans often have shorter contract terms or month-to-month options. Business fibre plans typically require 2 to 3 year commitments for the best pricing. If your business needs flexibility (for example, you’re in a temporary location or expect to move), cable’s shorter commitment can be an advantage.

Unlimited Data

All current business cable plans from Rogers, Vidéotron, Cogeco, and Eastlink include unlimited data. No caps, no overage fees.

Cable vs Fibre: The Comparison That Matters

DOCSIS 4.0: Will Cable Close the Gap?

The big hope for cable internet is DOCSIS 4.0, a technology upgrade that promises to bring symmetric multi-gigabit speeds to existing cable networks. Rogers partnered with Comcast in September 2024 to adopt Comcast’s access network architecture and roll out DOCSIS 4.0 across Canada.

Here’s where things stand in early 2026:

• Rogers began testing DOCSIS 4.0 modems in Calgary homes in August 2024, with initial tests showing download speeds of 4 Gbps and upload speeds of 1 Gbps.
• Rogers has rebranded some of its internet service under the Comcast Xfinity name in certain markets, with newer plans offering up to 200 Mbps upload where the infrastructure supports it.
• A broader DOCSIS 4.0 rollout across Rogers’ footprint was targeted for late 2025, but widespread availability for business customers is still limited as of early 2026.
• Comcast has deployed DOCSIS 4.0 to parts of ten US markets covering over 1 million homes, with broader expansion underway as new full-duplex amplifiers reach volume production.

When DOCSIS 4.0 is widely available, it could significantly improve cable’s value proposition for business by delivering symmetric speeds that compete with fibre. But “when” is the key word. As of February 2026, the vast majority of Rogers’ cable network still runs DOCSIS 3.1 with the same asymmetric speed limitations it’s had for years.

When Cable Makes Sense for a Business

Despite our preference for fibre, there are legitimate scenarios where cable is the right choice:

Fibre isn’t available at your address. This is the most common reason. Even in major Canadian cities, some older commercial buildings don’t have fibre run to them. If cable is available and fibre isn’t, cable is a solid option. Pair it with an LTE or Starlink backup for resilience.

You need internet fast. If you’re opening a new location and need connectivity within days rather than weeks, cable’s quick installation timeline is a genuine advantage over fibre (which can take months if construction is required).

Your team is small and download-focused. A business of 1 to 5 people who primarily browse the web, download files, and do occasional video calls can function well on cable. The upload bottleneck becomes noticeable with larger teams or heavier cloud usage.

You’re in a temporary or short-term location. Cable’s shorter contract terms and simpler installation make it practical for pop-up locations, temporary offices, or businesses that expect to relocate within a year.

As a backup connection. Cable from Rogers makes an excellent backup to a primary Bell or TELUS fibre connection (or vice versa). Having your backup on a different carrier and different technology ensures that a single infrastructure failure doesn’t take out both connections. If your primary is Bell fibre, a Rogers cable backup provides genuine diversity.

When Cable Is Not Enough

You should choose fibre over cable if any of these apply to your business:

• You have more than 5 employees on video calls regularly. The upload bottleneck on cable will cause quality issues.
• You use VoIP phones. VoIP is extremely sensitive to latency and jitter, both of which are worse on cable than fibre, especially when upload bandwidth is saturated.
• You rely heavily on cloud applications. SharePoint, Salesforce, QuickBooks Online, cloud-based CRM or ERP systems, and collaborative tools all benefit from symmetric speeds.
• You do daily cloud backups of significant data. If your backup exceeds 10 GB daily, cable’s upload limitations will mean your backup either takes too long or competes with your staff for bandwidth.
• You need an SLA. Cable plans generally don’t come with financial SLA guarantees. If guaranteed uptime matters, you need fibre (either a business fibre plan from a reliable carrier or Dedicated Internet Access for contractual guarantees).
• You transfer large files. Creative agencies, architecture firms, engineering companies, and healthcare providers handling medical imaging need symmetric upload to function efficiently.

Questions to Ask Before Choosing Cable

If you’re considering cable for your business, ask these specific questions:

• “What is the upload speed on this plan?” Don’t just look at the headline download number. A 500/30 plan and a 500/100 plan are very different for business use.
• “Is fibre available at my address?” Check with Bell, TELUS, and any regional fibre carriers before settling on cable. You might be surprised. Fibre availability has expanded dramatically in the last two years.
• “What are the peak-time speeds in my area?” Cable is shared bandwidth. Ask the carrier about typical performance during business hours at your address. Some areas experience more congestion than others.
• “Is DOCSIS 4.0 available at my address?” If Rogers has rolled out DOCSIS 4.0 in your area, the upload speeds may be significantly better than older DOCSIS 3.1 service.
• “What are the contract terms and early termination fees?” Understand what you’re committing to, especially if you might move locations.

Frequently Asked Questions