Internet connection: Deutsche Telekom vs. cable network

Cable would be the emergency plug for me... When I think about how much struggle there is with the connection at work...

We have no problems whatsoever with cable connections. Additionally, speeds over 400mbit. At our construction site, we would only get 12mbit with Telekom... Depending on usage, there may be different preferences.

I still have difficulties with the (technical) understanding of whether it makes sense depending on the individual situation to have traditional DSL (Telekom) installed or to use the cable network from Vodafone, for example

Vodafone, Telekom and co. are providers, all service providers. Everyone uses the network of the former Deutsche Post, today Telekom (just like with electricity), only the so-called "last mile," that is the distance from the last distribution box to you, belongs to Telekom. This means that with a Vodafone contract, Telekom installs the connection but you pay Vodafone. Simply put: you have to decide whether you want a cable (or fiber optic) connection or if satellite is sufficient. The rest is just contract design.

To my knowledge, that is not entirely correct. The cable network no longer belongs to Telekom. They are truly different media. Within these, such as DSL, it is then purely a matter of contract.

More correct would be (simplified) the copper network, which was formerly used for telephony, is mostly used by Telekom to provide DSL. These lines are rented out to other providers such as 1&1. The cable network is the network that was formerly used for cable TV and is provided by cable providers for the internet. Cable offers very high download rates with very moderate upload and it is a shared medium. Many participants share the bandwidth, which can lead to drops because the lines are oversubscribed. This would be the case with our connection in the new building. Copper (DSL) is not as fast, currently a maximum of 250 MBit but has higher upload. If you have a certain performance requirement, it stays that way because it is not a shared medium. In the end, fiber optic (up to 1000mbit in the private sector, also not a shared medium) is what you should have, but it is rarely available as a rule.

Just for fun, I once inquired at Unitymedia Business (back then not yet Vodafone) about how much a symmetric 1 Gbit fiber optic line would cost me. Since the nearest distribution point is a bit away, it wouldn’t be exactly cheap. The estimate was around €200k. I declined gratefully. Let’s see when we will even get fiber optic here. Since we are building in an old development area and internet speeds probably aren’t that important (most neighbors with Telekom have a max of 12mbit), we have a great signal with our cable and constant upload/download. With 40mbit upload, I can live well privately.