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BROADBAND INTERNET GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
What is it with technology? These days, it changes quicker by the day and
the 'newest, latest' technologies are always just around the corner. Does
that necessarily mean we should all be jumping on the high-tech bandwagon,
buying all the latest products and services to feel up with the times? Of
course not - not all technologies are worth such support; but broadband
is.
Many of you reading this
right now will already have broadband. Probably all of you will have heard
of it prior to your visit. If you know all about it, go straight to the real
deals; if you wish to know a bit more, read on. This page is a
brief introduction to what broadband is and why you should get it, along
with helpful advice on things to look out for. If you just want to take a
look at the latest deals, though, click here.
IMPORTANT: This
article relates to ADSL broadband. Cable and satellite broadband follow
different installation procedures.
What
is broadband?
Broadband is the successor to
the 'dial-up' Internet connection. Instead of connecting through and
taking up the whole of the telephone connection, like 'dial-up' does,
broadband allows data to be streamed separately. All you really need to
know is that with broadband, you can access the telephone and the Internet
simultaneously and without interruption.
Why
should I get broadband?
|
How
do I get broadband?
Getting broadband is easier
(and cheaper) than ever now. First of all, the company you choose to
provide you with your connection will initially check whether your
telephone line is compatible. You are usually notified within a period of
something like 7 to 28 days whether your line can handle the connection.
If successful, you will receive a modem (possibly incorporated into a
router) along with filters (used to make sure telephone calls can be taken
whilst surfing) from your chosen company. Some companies still charge for
the equipment, but as the market is increasingly competitive, many
companies have now dropped these charges.
Setting up is now relatively easy, but your computer may need to be fairly modern to handle the equipment. Companies tend to go for modems that use USB as their power source, so make sure your computer can handle this type of equipment. If not, you may want to ask the company if they can provide you with older equipment, or go for a company that provides older equipment as standard.
All companies should provide some sort of setup guide, to assist you in setting up the computer for broadband. Many companies, like Orange (formerly Wanadoo), provide helpful installation CDs that also install all of the broadband software on the computer. Don't be put off by the sound of 'equipment' - the companies help you a lot more now, and you don't need a degree in ICT to be able to set up the connection.
How
fast, download cap
or unlimited, how big a contention ratio and how much to pay?
With broadband Internet comes
a whole host of new jargon. Here are the things to bear in mind when
choosing a package that's suited to your needs:
-
Speed: download speeds range from 128Kb (which isn't really considered broadband) to as much as 24Mb per second! 1Mb/s broadband provides a significant speed increase from 'dial-up' (which is 56kb/s). Anything less will naturally be less of an increase, whilst anything more might not prove to be too much faster (than 1Mb/s). 1Mb/s seems fast enough, but if you really have a hunger for speed, then you could go for the really fast providers, like Be Internet (24Mb/s). Bare in mind, however, the stated speed is always a high expectation. The actual speed depends on how close you are to the local data exchange, so do a bit of research.
Upload speeds tend to be much lower than download speeds, as most home users do little if any uploading (transferring data onto the Internet). If you have a website, however, and frequently upload a lot of data, you might want to look for a fast upload speed too. -
Data transfer amounts: broadband companies soon cottoned on to the fact that the high download speeds were being exploited, with users leaving computers on downloading gigantic files 24 / 7. Whilst some companies provide unlimited data transfer (usually at a premium), many have now introduced download caps which limit the amount of data you can download in a month. This can annoy people, as they're never quite sure if they're nearing the limit. If you only do mainly surfing (by browsing information pages), and don't watch loads of long, high quality videos, you should be fine and shouldn't go over the limit. If you do go over the limit, you may be charged extra or even warned - this varies between companies.
-
Contention ratio: this is the amount of users (or connected computers, specifically) that use the same data line together i.e. 50 to 1 would mean 50 connections would make use of one line. The lower the ratio, the more likely the chance of getting consistently fast broadband making the most of your connection.
-
Price: this really depends on your budget, as well as your requirements. The price will be bound by your needs, on the whole, but also depends on the service provided. As a rough guide, expect to pay £15 to £30 for broadband. Anything more, and you really ought to be looking elsewhere - unless your requirements are right at the end of the scales.
Hopefully this guide has helped you find out a bit more about this fantastic technology. If you are considering getting broadband Internet for your home, or wish to change ISP (Internet Service Provider) to get a better deal, check out our own comparison of the services offered by clicking here.