Broadband Internet

Broadband comes from the words "broad bandwidth" and is used to describe a high-capacity, two-way link between an end user and access network suppliers capable of supporting full-motion, interactive video applications. Broadband is generally taken to mean bandwidth higher than 2 Mbps.Broadband offering integrated access to voice, high-speed data service, video demand services, and interactive delivery services.

Although most new PC's still include an analog modem, an increasing number of PC users are abandoning analog modem internet access for the world of broadband access. As of the end of third quarter of 2005, for example, there were an estimated 80 million subscribers to residential broadband internet services such as DSL and cable modems in the united states and Canada. About 20 millions of these broadband subscribers Broadband subscribers have been increasing by at least 14% per quarter every quarter since early 2000.Plus a recent survey suggests that as many as one third of current dial up users plan to switch to broadband access within a year.

Benefits of Broadband Internet

Speed

The fastest analog modem can download data at a maximum rate of 56 kbps, whereas broadband services start at 128 Kbps for ISDN.Newer forms of brosdband, such as Satellite TV Internet,DSL and cable modems, start at 384 kbps and typically exceed 500 kbps.Similarly broadband services can upload data at several times the speed of an analog modem.

Convenience

Cable modems and some types of DSL and satellite broadband Internet service are always on, providing you with an immediate connection as soon as you open your web browser. Analog modems require you to dial up the server and wait up to a minute before you can check your email or surf the web. Similarly always on broadband services can provide you with immediate notification of incoming email, whereas analog systems can check for incoming email only if you stay online and tie up your phone line.

Telephone line usage

Most analog modems do not support call waiting, making it difficult for callers to reach you with important messages while you're online unless you use call-forwarding or call notification software. Although some dial up ISPs provide software that can alert you to incoming calls, in most cases you must find and install such software yourself. By contrast, most broadband services keep your telephone line free so you can check email or surf the web and use the telephone at the same time.

Price

The price of broadband Internet falling continuously and it will be much cheaper than dial up connection soon. If your Internet usage time is one or two hours per day, dial up will be cheaper. If it exceeds, broadband will be the best option. In future broadband will replace dial up service totally. Ease of reconnection after an operating system upgrade Because broadband Internet is usually based on automatically configured TCP/IP network settings, you should be able to keep your broadband connection running during a windows upgrade with little difficulty. Just verify that you have the correct drivers for your Ethernet adaptor (used for most broadband connections) before you perform the upgrade, note your computer and work group name, and should be able to go online as soon as the upgrade is completed. A dial up connection is often much tougher to keep working, especially because of the different methods used by various windows versions for handling dial up networking.

Broadband Internet Access Types

Thanks to the combination of huge multimegabyte downloads needed to update software and support hardware, dynamic websites with music and full-motion video, and increased demand for online services, even the fastest analog modem (which can download at just 53 kbps) isn't sufficient for heavy internet use. More and more users are taking advantages of various types of broadband Internet access solutions, including:
Cable modem
DSl
Fixed base wireless
Satellite based services
ISDN
Leased lines
At least one of the these services might be available to you, and if you live in a large to medium size city you might be able to choose from two or more of these broadband solutions.

One way of making sense out of the confusing morass of plans available from cable modem, DSL, fixed wireless Internet, and satellite vendors is to calculate the average cost per Kbps of data downloaded ($/Kbps). You can calculate this figure yourself by dividing the service cost ($SC) per month by the rated or average speed of the service ($SPD):

$SC / $SPD = $/Kbps

For example, a typical cable modem service costs $50 per month, including cable modem lease, and has an average (not peak) speed of SOOKbps. Divide $50 by 500Kbps, and the cost per Kbps equals 10 cents.

Use this formula with any broadband or dial-up service to find the best values. Don't forget to calculate the cost of required equipment. If you must pay for equipment or installation upfront-as you will need to do with Satellite, fixed wireless, and ISDN Internet plans-divide the upfront cost by the number of months you plan to keep the service and add the result to the monthly service charge to get an accurate figure.

Comparing Typical Speeds for Various Types of Internet Connections

Analog Modem - 53 Kbps
ISDN -128 Kbps
ADSL-384 Kbps-1Gbps
Direcway Satellite Internet -500 Kbps to 1.5Gbps
Cable-512 Kbps to 1.5 Gbps
Fixed Wireless - 512 Kbps to 1.5 Gbps

Wireline versus Wireless

In some cases, a fixed-wireless system is the only wireless option. So you must decide if a fixed-wireless connection is practical and if it is competitive with available wireline connections. Today fewer than 10 percent of buildings have fiber to them, and only about 50 percent are close enough to a central office (12,000 feet or 3.5 km) to take advantage of DSL technology. Thus in many cases, a wireless connection could be the only option for high-speed communications. This is especially true in more remote areas. In some areas, the only option for communications will be by satellite.

When both wireless and wireline options exist, the potential reasons to consider wireless include lower costs, faster deployment, greater flexibility and better reliability. Unfortunately costs and deployment have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and actual costs will depend on the particular circumstances. In developed countries, a wireless system won't be more reliable than wireline options, but in developing countries wireless communications may be much more reliable.

DSL Vs Cable Internet

Both DSL and Cable internet access offer high speed, always-on connections. First, you'll need to check to see if either or both services are available in your area. Contact your Phone Service Provider or your Cable Service Provider to check availability. A basic setup requires a Cable or DSL modem that your Phone or Cable Installer will provide (or they will provide recommendations for which modems works with their system and where you can purchase one). The output from the Cable or DSL modem is a standard RJ45 network connection, the same as what Yale ITS-Med uses for their network connections. The Cable or DSL Installer will install a Network Interface Card into your home computer and install the necessary Cable or DSL Software on your computer.

With both services, your connection is "always-on", meaning when the computer is on, your connection to the internet is established (unless you manually disable the connection through the Cable/DSL software) This will not affect your regular phone or cable television use - while the computer is connected, the phone will still function as normal and cable will still feed to your television.

Each service has its pros and cons.

DSL Pros:

Uses existing phone lines
Reduced security concerns.

DSL Cons:

Limited Availability
Connection speed decreases with distance from central office
Not compatible with all phone systems Fluctuation in speed(Sometimes the speed may be lower than dial up connection at peak usage, particularly on holidays).

Cable Pros:

Wider availability
Less expensive than dsl.
Consistent connection speed regardless of distance from central office
Compatible with all cable providers
Higher speed than DSL.

Cable Cons:

Potential security risks than DSL.Compared to dial up connection security risk is highest for DSL and cable modem connections because of always on connection.

Today, cable modem retains a slight performance advantage over DSL but this advantage seems to be a short-term one. Most cable networks have not yet reached high enough subscriber levels to make the shared bandwidth issue critical.

The main drawback of dsl system is connection speed decreases with distance from central office.Both cable and dsl speed decreses with number of users.

DSL and cable modem services are largely concentrated in high-population metro areas, so if you can get one type, you can probably get both.For rural areas, Satellite based Internet will be the best solution. Satellite Internet bandwidth is not a shared one and you can connect many PCs.This is the biggest advantage of satellite Internet.