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Are you looking for a better
Internet connection? Or perhaps you've heard about high-speed Internet
connections, such as cable, ISDN, and DSL but need a little clarification
as to what each of these different types of connections are and what they
do. Read on, and I'll try to shed a little light on the subject for you.
Dial-Up Connections
The most basic type of
Internet connection is called a dial-up connection. This connection is
made through a modem (the communication mechanism in computers) that uses
a telephone line to connect to the Internet. The modem must dial the
telephone every time it wants to connect to the Internet, hence the name
dial-up connection.
Modem - Dial-Up Connection
The fastest modem that you
can use for this type of Internet connection is called a 56K modem. When a
regular analog telephone line is used for an Internet connection, the
modem must convert the analog signals that it receives from the telephone
line into digital signals that the computer can comprehend. To send
information from your computer, the modem must take the computer's digital
signals and convert them into analog signals to be sent over the telephone
line. All of these conversions take time; compared to other Internet
connections, this is a relatively slow connection. One other problem with
this type connection is that calling the Internet will tie up your
telephone line often forcing frequent users to bear the cost of installing
and paying the monthly fees for a second telephone line.
ISDN - Dial-Up Connection
The second type of dial-up
connection is through an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network). This
connection is a high-speed dial-up and requires a special type of
dedicated digital telephone line. This type of connection improves
speed because the signals received are already in a digital format, but it
is costly. An ISDN line should be considered only if the broadband
connections that we will cover next are not available.
For a while dial-up
connections were the only way to access the Internet. Now, however,
broadband connections are available in many parts of the country as
telephone and cable companies install new lines to accommodate Internet
connections.
Broadband Connections
Broadband is a high-speed
Internet connection that makes surfing the Web more enjoyable. It also
easily accommodates the video, audio, or complex graphics that are
becoming commonplace on the Internet. Broadband is a type of data
transmission in which a single medium or wire can carry several channels
or communication paths at once. So broadband cable connections are able to
transmit both television signals and Internet data at the same time.
Broadband telephone connections like DSL are able to transmit both voice
and data over the same line at the same time.
Broadband connections are
always on. That means if your computer is on, you will be connected to the
Internet with no dial-up involved. For most average users, a broadband
connection will mean accessing the Internet by either a cable modem
provided by their local cable company or a DSL modem and DSL telephone
line provided by their local telephone service provider.
Cable - Broadband Connection
A cable modem is a fast
connection that you purchase from your cable television company. Most
cable companies provide you with the modem and a network card that must be
installed in your computer. Their service appears as a reoccurring charge
on your monthly cable television bill. With cable Internet access, your
cable company becomes your Internet Service Provider. You do not have to
have cable television to use their cable for Internet service. However,
most cable companies give price breaks on Internet access to their cable
television customers.
There are only two drawbacks
to cable. First, it is a shared connection, meaning you share the
"pipeline" with your neighbors. That doesn't mean that your
neighbors will know what you are doing on the Internet. But it does mean
that if all of your neighbors were on the Internet downloading large files
at the same time, your Internet connection would not be as speedy as
usual. In actuality, this won't have any noticeable impact on a
neighborhood until a lot more folks start using cable modems. The second
drawback to cable is also minor. Because cable modem connections are
always on, they, like DSL connections, make you more vulnerable to hacking
and security breaches. For this reason, many cable companies are now
providing their customers firewall software to help protect their
security.
DSL - Broadband Connection
DSL stands for digital
subscriber line. This is a special telephone line that also provides high
speed Internet access. In most cases you can use one DSL line for both
Internet and voice communications, saving on the cost of a second line.
DSL connections are speedy. In some cases they are as fast as cable
connections. The only caveat here is that the closer you are to the main
telephone switching station, the faster your connection speed will be. So
when you call the telephone company about a DSL connection, make sure that
it is available and also that you will be able to get a relatively fast
connection. To get a DSL connection, you will need your telephone company
to hook up the line. They usually provide the DSL modem as well. Sometimes
the telephone company can also be the service provider, but most often,
you will need a different Internet Service Provider to provide the monthly
service.
Wireless - Broadband
Connection
Wireless Internet Connection
is not satellite technology as many think. Wireless works more on
the microwave technology. Your Wireless ISP mounts a small antenna
on your roof and points it towards their closest transmission tower.
Wireless provides Internet at speeds 25 times faster than dial-up, 10
times the speed of ISDN, and 10 times the upload speed of most DSL
lines. Typical Wireless connections provide high speed broadband
downloads as well as high speed broadband uploads. Many DSL and
Cable connections provide high speed download, which most people want, but
provide a slower upload speed. The need is growing for faster upload
speeds now with web cams and video, as well as files and music uploads.
If you are accustomed to
using a regular dial-up connection, you may well be amazed by the speed of
a cable, DSL or Wireless connection. It will make surfing the Internet a
much more pleasant experience. How fast is fast? Just for a quick
comparison, if a file takes one hour to download over a standard 56K
modem, it will take only about 26 minutes with an ISDN line. A cable
connection would take between 2.2 and 13 minutes, and a DSL connection
would take between 2.2 and 26 minutes. So if you want to do some speedy
surfing, think broadband.
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