Computer Software

The Internet is an astonishing entity, allowing us to be connected to every corner of the world in order to communicate, seek out information, do business, and even have fun. Years ago, our connections to the Internet were limited to dial-up access, which hogged our home telephone lines and uploaded and downloaded information at a snail’s pace. Today, though, we have the fortune of being able to connect at what seems like breakneck speed in comparison with our old 28.8 Kbps modem, with the arrival of broadband Internet access.

Basically, broadband Internet access provides the user with a high data-transmission rate Internet connection. Any connection of 256 Kbps (kilobits per second) is considered broadband Internet. Because of the high rate of data transference, it is also commonly known as high-speed Internet. This is ideal for uploading large files including pictures and music, as well as downloading larger files in a fraction of the time it used to take with dial-up.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) identifies broadband Internet access as 200 kbps in one direction, and advanced broadband Internet as 200 kbps in both directions (uploading and downloading). There is not a single standard rate of transmission that has been set industry wide, however. Therefore the term broadband can mean much lower transmission speeds, depending on the ISP (Internet Service Provider). Some ISP’s take advantage of this, unfortunately, and promote slower transmission rates as broadband, unbeknownst to the customer oftentimes. In addition, because ISP’s often allow more customers to subscribe to their high-speed Internet service that they can usually handle, the bandwidth that they promote is rarely available.

Right now, there are three basic types of broadband Internet access available to the general public. The first one, known as DSL, is the standard broadband technology available. DSL (digital subscriber line) originated in 1988, when the Internet as a public entity was still in its infancy. It is still widely available today, mostly through telephone companies, as that is the technology that is required for DSL.

On the coattails of DSL in broadband Internet popularity is the cable modem. Cable modems provide comparable data transmission rates to DSL, though uploading data is usually a bit quicker still with DSL. However, the advantage of cable modems is that is does not tie up your home telephone line. Cable modems can also be used to provide telephone service (VOIP), and more cable companies are jumping on that bandwagon all the time. Often, though, cable modem service comes at a price. Cable companies are frequently hesitant to offer broadband Internet access without the customer subscribing to a certain level of cable television programming as well. For most people, this isn’t usually a big issue.

One major obstacle of broadband Internet access is that it is often difficult to provide the service to rural areas, due to technological constraints. The costs to connect outlying areas is high, therefore the technology is often slow to reach the regions outside of more densely populated urban areas. There is a solution, and technology has looked to the sky to provide yet another means of providing broadband Internet access to the masses.

Satellite Internet is a newer type of broadband Internet access, and is ideal for areas where land-based Internet access is not an option (such as on boats). It is more expensive, but is often the only way of getting Internet access of any kind in rural areas. The drawback of Satellite Internet is often the delay problem, due to the signal having to travel through space to the satellite and back to Earth again. This problem can be exacerbated because of any number of atmospheric conditions, from rain to sunspots. Fortunately, it really only affects those who participate in Internet gaming or use streaming video feeds. The delay is not really noticeable when using the Internet for email of other basic Internet services.

Broadband Internet access provides the computer user with a quicker way to enjoy the Internet. You don’t have to tie up your home phone line anymore to check your email, and you don’t have to be cut off from cyberspace if you have an incoming call. The speed of data transmission is vastly improved over dial-up Internet, which is a lot less frustrating when uploading or downloading large files. The best thing about broadband Internet access is that the cost for service is going down all the time, thanks to the competition of the various ISP’s. By doing research, you can find the right type of broadband Internet access to fit your individual needs.

Has broadband internet access achieved it’s goals?

If you think back several years, you can easily remember how broadband internet access was touted. The basic idea was that with the increasing rate of transmission offered by broadband access connections, people would become far more productive creatures than they ever had before. They would make massive leaps in research, telecommuting would become an everyday occurence, and the home and workplace would merge forever. Well we’ve had some time to review. Has this broadband vision become our reality?

While broadband has clearly emerged as the leading product for both home and business users, much of the promise of high speed internet has not yet been realized by the average American consumer. Yes people use broadband access more than ever, but its arguable that productivity has been increased. Certainly people are surfing the internet at speeds of unheard of a mere decade ago, but are they actually getting more done in the final analysis? This question can be answered with a simple “not yet”. More people telecommute than ever before, but you’d be kidding yourself if you didn’t notice the huge traffic jams that occur in the “Real world” more often than they do in CyberSpace. Most of humanity is still in a 9 to 5 mindset because old habits die hard and people still like to do business in person. As of 2006, telecommuting remains more of a dream than a reality for most people.

When businesses originally pictured a popular internet, they expected applications such as video-conferencing to be the big winners. In reality, no one could have expected the true bandwith hogging applications such as music downloading and file sharing would become as millions of people found the power of peer to peer networking. As the advent of broadband spread, more and more users became increasingly affected with virii and spyware. With broadband and always-on connections, the security risks are truly enormous. More resources than ever are now spent policing the internet of the many foul actions that can only occur because of relatively cheap broadband connections. All forms of spam have been able to proliferate over the relatively generous broadband connections, as tightly monitored bandwith became less of an issue than ever in the past.

Broadband access has delivered on many of its promises. People can now download music and video faster than ever before. Tasks that used to be laborious on a dialup connection are now almost instantaneous on a fast internet connection. Those of us who’ve been using broadband for awhile should remember what the days of the 2400bps were like. And we should never forget just how slow and frustrating life in the slow lane could be.

Your internet access provider can make you happy or sad. They can also save you time or cost you precious time. How do you make sure that you are satisfied and feel good about your internet access provider? You can ensure that you have made the correct choice for you and your family by researching and weighing the pros and cons of each provider.

Where do you start? First find an internet access provider that has a proven track record and good customer service ratings. Make sure that the customer service department is available 24/7. Call the customer service line to see how quickly you reach a customer service representative and ask them questions to see how confidently and thoroughly they answer your questions. This will give you a pretty good idea of how the customer service department will treat you if you have a problem with their service.

See what each internet access provider offers their users. How many email addresses are available for each account? Is there a limit on the number of hours you can use per month? Do they offer SPAM blocker and/or virus protection to their users? These are all valid questions that should be answered before you choose an internet access provider. This will help you to narrow down your decision between a few providers.

Do they have different billing options for your convenience? Do you want the payment to come directly from your checking account or would you like to use a debit or credit card? You need to take these options into account if you have a specific payment method that you prefer.

The key to choosing the right internet access provider is research. Call and visit different internet access provider’s websites to compare the features of each. Make a list of features that each internet provider offers along with their price. In this way you can compare the benefits of each side by side. The key is to make your decision using a balance of benefits and cost. A lower cost could possibly mean that you have a lousy connection so be sure that you get recommendations from friends, family, and rating websites. If they do not offer benefits that are needed for you and your family, then it does not matter what price it is. If it is not useful, then why have it? Make sure that your internet access provider meets your needs and wants and you are sure to find one that you will be satisfied with!