Introduction to Internet Connections There are basically 4 ways of connecting your PC to the internet: 3 are fast, one is slow. The fast connections are referred to as broadband.  The slow connection is known as dialup. Which method you choose is determined by your budget and your geographic location.  We’ll explain how this works.

Dialup The most popular, and the slowest, way of connecting to the internet is via a dialup connection. This involves installing a modem in your computer and connecting it to your phone line.  Service providers such as AOL, MSN, and Earthlink will provide your modem with access to the internet when you dial up a certain phone number, which they will give you.  To prevent freeloaders from calling up and using their internet access ports, these ISP’s will assign you a user ID and password that you will need to provide when you dial up their phone numbers to access the internet. The advantage to dialup internet access is that it’s cheap and available almost everywhere.  The disadvantages include tying up a phone line, busy signals, not being on all the time, and being very slow, taking often 10 to 100 times as long to download images, web pages, and swing videos. As a last resort, it will do, but other access methods are preferred.

Broadband The faster connections are commonly referred to as broadband.  Utilizing cable tv lines, satellite dishes, or special high speed digital signals on your existing phone line (DSL), broadband access dramatically increases the speed at which your computer can send and receive internet information. This reduces the time it takes you to upload and download swing videos. Most broadband service providers will install the necessary hardware and cabling, including configuring your computer to use it. High speed internet access is currently available via three technologies: DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) Technology works over standard copper phone lines, and enables telephone companies to provide high speed services to the home. Cable Modem Technology allows cable TV providers to deliver high speed services over the same cable lines used to carry TV signals. Wireless Technologies from either Satellite or land-based systems, known As LMDS and MMDS, can provide broadband service via a home rooftop antenna.

Choosing Between Them Dialup or broadband? Which should you get? Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Dialup is slow, but easier to connect. It uses your existing phone line, but it ties it up as well. A dialup modem comes built in to the V1 and most laptops. With dialup, you are subject to getting busy signals if your ISP has a lot of people connected at one time.  There is also a wait you must endure while your modem dials up and establishes communications with an internet access number.  Your connection is not always on and available instantly as with broadband connections.  Incoming phone calls on the line you are using often can disconnect you from the internet, forcing you to go through the dialup wait again. Broadband, on the other hand, is much faster.  It is always on and available to you instantly. The time to download a swing video file is much less, saving you a lot of waiting. However, it costs a little more and is unavailable in some areas. But it can be 10 to 100 times faster and more reliable. But which type of broadband should you get?  This answer depends on your location, budget, and availability. It also depends on how long you are willing to wait.

Comparing Speeds Suppose you were downloading a 2 megabyte video file.  With a 56K modem, it would take you 9 minutes with a good connection. A satellite connection would only take 40 seconds for the download to complete.  With DSL, this time is reduced to about 8 seconds.  And with cable, the download time is only about 2 seconds. If you were to upload or send that file to another person, the waiting times change. With a 56K modem, it would still take you 9 minutes with a good connection  Satellite would also require about 9 minutes since it’s uploading speed is very slow.  DSL would take about one and a half minutes, and cable would only take about 20 seconds.

Comparing Broadband Options DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) Sends digital signals over standard copper phone lines.  It enables telephone companies to provide high speed services to the home. While most consumers can expect to see at least a 6 fold increase in line speed over today's 56K analog modems, some versions of DSL can send data more than 100 times faster., for an additional monthly fee. You can select how fast and how much extra you want to pay. Costs range between $35 and $75 per month. In addition to higher speeds, advantages of DSL Service include: It uses your existing phone lines. It is an "always on" service, no dialing is required to connect to your ISP It can often share the same line with standard telephone service, without interruption or interference Cable Modems Allows cable TV providers to deliver high speed services over the same cable lines used to carry TV signals. The cable modem communicates with a PC.  Usually the cable modem attaches to the PC via an Ethernet port.  Cable modem speeds have been clocked up to 1.5 megabits per second, one of the fastest available.  Like DSL, it is an always on connection, avoiding the long delays which occur while dialup modems try to make connections.  Comcast and Time Warner are two examples of cable modem ISPs.  The cost of an internet cable connections range between $40 and $80 per month   Satellite Provides broadband service via a home rooftop satellite dish that receives high-speed data from the same satellites used to transmit video signals. Echostar and DirectDSL are examples. Satellite service is available almost anywhere in the United States, delivering data at speeds up to 400Kbps, about 8 times the speed of a dialup connection. Satellite cost range from $50 to $85 per month, but are coming down

For More Information There are several web sites available that contain information that will aid your broadband decision. Some of the better ones include: getspeed.com – lists the broadband options available for your phone number dslreports.com – Focuses more on DSL availability getconnected.com – Lists broadband provides and prices for your zip code or area code and phone number tssbroadband.com – provides more info about broadband and your options.  Published by Tech TV