Simply put – broadband is dirt cheap these days. Almost anyone can afford it now days. And this is a good thing, too. Traditional dial-up connections to the internet are more than an annoyance. I have spent my share of time waiting for downloads or slow sites, looking at a 5 MB download and thinking it will take up my whole connection for at least a half an hour. But, thank God, technology has developed.
I will go over the ins and outs of broadband. I will show you what to watch for and what to avoid. I will also show you how you can tweak that connection, because like anything on your PC, using the default setup is probably a waste of power.
Cable or DSL?
The term “broadband” is actually rather broad. It includes all modes of internet access faster than dial-up. This would include such services as ISDN (although this really isn’t that fast), satellite, cable, and DSL. I can rest easy, though, in assuming your choice will be primarily between cable and DSL. The choice you make will probably have most to do with what is easily available in your area.
Cable is pretty widely available. If your area has cable internet access, this is probably your best bet. Cable has a higher throughput than DSL. Throughput is the amount of data that can flow through the wires in a given time period. It is typically measured in either kilobits per second (Kbps) or Megabits per second (Mbps). This throughput doesn’t always mean, though, that cable is always faster than DSL. The way the cable system is designed, approximately 30-40 homes sit on a single cable node, and each cable node shares a common amount of bandwidth. This means that if you are in an area where there are a lot of cable modems that may be active at any given time, you might notice some really sluggish access speeds, regardless of whether its considered broadband or not. I have, at times, seen cable modems that make dial-up seem like broadband. Of course, this doesn’t happen real often, but is something to keep in mind – you do SHARE bandwidth with your neighbors.
A lot of times, the ISP will cap your upload speeds to 128 Kbps in order to minimize the above problem. This makes doing large uploads a bit slower. It also means it is essentially impossible to run a web or FTP server off of your cable connection. A 128 Kbps upstream connection will drive any semi-busy server nuts and your users will inevitably moan about it. Many ISPs specifally ask that you DON’T run any type of server off of their service.
To get over this problem, you may want to consider DSL. DSL does not offer peak download speeds as high as cable, but you don’t get forced onto the same node as other users as you do with cable. The entire data stream is just for you (don’t you feel special). One plus point, even though the download speed is slower, is that PING times are typically faster. The latency, or the time it takes for data to move from your PC to the net, is lower.
DSL comes in different flavors. Aysynchronous digital subscriber line (ADSL) is the most common. It offers faster download than upload, which happens to match the usual surfing habits of most net users just fine. The actual speeds vary, and usually decrease as you get further out from your telephone company’s central office (CO). In fact, many ISPs won’t even bother to install DSL if you live further than 18,000 feet from your CO. The best way to test this is to contact the ISP you are considering. Many of them have online forms which you can use – just enter in your phone number and it will tell you if you are close enough to get DSL. You can’t always trust these things, though. The best way to find out is to actually have the ISP contact your local phone company and have them run a line test to see if you can get DSL.
Synchronous DSL (SDSL) runs the same way, except that download and upload speeds are the same. SDSL is typically more expensive, as you might expect. This is better if you want to run some type of server over your connection. Like cable, though, some ISPs just don’t want you running servers over their lines, so you will need to check to make sure they won’t throw a wrench on the works.
So, what if you’re out further than 18,000 feet from your CO? Well, the choices, unfortunately are pretty slim. High-Speed DSL, or HDSL, is an option. HDSL will work over network repeaters, while DSL really won’t. This means you can get it out pretty far from the CO. But, you really have to have LOTS of money to throw around. HDSL is meant for ISPs and businesses, not for the home user, and you will pay. ISDN DSL (IDSL) is a faster replacement than the old ISDN and it works out to 50,000 feet from the CO. Finding an ISP that has IDSL may prove difficult, though. There is also traditional ISDN. ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. The “Integrated” comes from the fact that you use the same line to handle phone, faxes, as well as internet data. ISDN requires special service from your phone company as well as additional wiring to the building. It also requires a special modem. Other than that, you’re pretty much stuck with dial-up access until your area grows up and gets DSL or cable access.
Like what you read?
If so, please join over 28,000 people who receive our exclusive weekly newsletter and computer tips, and get FREE COPIES of 5 eBooks we created, as our gift to you for subscribing. Just enter your name and email below:
