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Broadband Internet
The Internet is an ever-expanding network and the applications supported are growing each day. Animation, high quality graphics and pictures, downloadable movies and music - these files are considerably large and via a conventional internet access, these pages may take minutes (sometimes hours) to download. Broadband Internet is a collection of technologies that has high-speed internet access as its goal. Broadband internet technologies achieve this by increasing the rate at which the user can send and receive data. Data transfer speed of 256 Kbps or above is considered the minimum for broadband. Movie downloads or movie trailers, PowerPoint presentations, group gaming and image transfers necessitate broadband access.
Commercial grade T1 lines with connect speed of 1.5 Mbps and T3 with upto 10 Mbps are available at moderate costs these days. The monthly fees for home users is quite inexpensive, so broadband internet wouldn't necessarily burn a hole in your pocket. Some broadband internet services may not be widely available, as this is a relatively new technology. There are five major types of broadband services:
- DSL
- Cable
- Wireless
- Satellite
- ISDN
DSL Internet
DSL Internet or Digital Subscriber Line Internet uses existing bandwidth in the telephone line to deliver additional signals. The humble telephone wire is capable of carrying information on various frequencies. To use DSL internet, we must ensure that the DSL signals and the telephone signals do not interfere with each other. Audio frequencies upto 6000 Hz are used for telephone signals and the higher frequencies are used for the DSL Internet signals. Sometimes, a buffer of frequencies is intentionally left unused. ADSL (Asymmetric DSL) is where the upstream and downstream capacities are not the same. SDSL (Symmetric DSL) offers the same capacities for both upstream and downstream transfer. The drawback of DSL Internet access is that you must live within 3 miles of the central office (CO) that provides the service. The strength of DSL Internet signals tends to attenuate over large distances. Connectivity of upto 1.5 Mbps is easily achievable in DSL. In fact the popularity of DSL combined with less secure OS has resulted in a spate of hackers using the unsuspecting DSL users for launching distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS) recently.
Cable Internet
Cable internet is the technology used to deliver high speed internet and television channels via co-axial or fiber optic cables. A cable connection usually delivers television channels, but it could be capable of handling an internet connection too. The cable wire is split into two with one connecting to the television and the other to the computer. The cable internet provider must have the required infrastructure in the area. Cable Internet / DSL Internet speeds could reach up to 256 Kbps depending upon the service provider.
Wireless Internet
Wireless Internet is the technology used for high-speed internet access without the phone or cable lines. The data is transmitted to and from the computer via antennas. The technology enables the information to be transmitted to various towers in the coverage area and is re-broadcast and received by the antennae installed at the homes of the users. The speed of wireless internet is about 50 times more than 28.8 kbps modem. This ensures no more slow downloads or busy signals or disconnections.
To install a wireless internet connection close to the access point, the minimum configuration required is
- A computer running windows 98 or Above
- At least 64Mb physical RAM & 300 MHz processor
- A USB or Ethernet port to connect the wireless modem adapter
- PCI Adapter Card & Wireless Modem Card (used if neither of the above ports are available)
To install a wireless internet connection that is not close to the access point, we need the above, plus:
- Pigtail Cable (connects to the wireless adapter)
- Lightning Arrestor (if needed)
- LMR or Ethernet cable
- Antenna (points at one of the internet access points)
Satellite Internet Services
Satellite internet is the technology used to connect to the internet via a satellite orbiting miles above the earth. The data signals travel from the computer to the satellite, then from the satellite to the internet service provider. There are two types of satellite internet services: one way and two way. In a one-way satellite service, you can download information at a very high speed via the satellite internet service, but can upload information only through a regular modem. In a two-way satellite internet service, you can download and upload information at very high speeds. But there is a certain latency period, which may affect uploads. So, satellite internet may be used in applications like ATMs but not for web hosting or other internet applications which require fast synchronous data transfer. Satellite internet is the most expensive of broadband services at the time of writing this article. It has high installation costs and monthly fees.
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