Broadband quick start guide
It almost seems implausible that as recently as ten years ago home internet access was a
relatively new thing. Back then the internet was dial up, effectively a trickling tap that
customers would turn on and off whenever they need to download emails. The idea of
downloading a song was an alien concept and would have taken an age at the incredibly slow
dial up download speeds. Watching paint dry was an infinitely more enjoyable experience.
Now it has all chNow it has all changed. Since those days, broadband internet has become the
default for most home users, enabling a relative torrent of content to be
uploaded and downloaded at lightning speeds. Broadband now accounts for the
majority of all domestic internet access. Speeds are incrementally increasing
all the time and in parallel the type of content that we download is changing.
Music, software, games and even films are now being routinely downloaded by
millions of people worldwide.
What is broadband?
Broadband is a type of connection to the internet. The other main consumer type being dial-up modem access.
With broadband you get an always on fast connection from your computer to the internet.
There are two general types of broadband connection available in the UK . ADSL
(" Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line") which works by using your
telephone line for both voice and data at the same time. And cable broadband which is supplied
by a cable operator (e.g. Virgin Media) who feed a dedicated optical cable to your house
capable of delivering telephone, TV and internet services.
Well, how much faster?
also see page about broadband download speeds.
It can get really quite confusing when you start to look at all the numbers and units that
are used when describing download speeds. Transfer speeds are measured in kilobits per second
and megabits per second , which are not the same as the Kilobytes and Megabytes that are used
when talking about files on your computer.
Having said that a 1Mbps broadband connection is about 20 times as fast as a dialup
connection and a theoretical maximum speed of a 8Mbps connection would be about 160 times
faster.
Today the majority of broadband deals on offer boast a maximum download speed of up to 8mbps.
However you must bear in mind that the top speed is only achievable to those living generally within a kilometre of the exchange.
A quick look at the graph below is probably more meaningful in the real world as to what you can expect for the different download speeds on offer.
|
Web page 100k |
Song 5MB |
Watch video |
|
| 56K modem |
16sec |
13.5mins |
no |
|
| 512Kb |
1.5 |
1.5 mins |
Low quality |
|
| 1Mb |
0.8 |
40secs |
low quality |
|
| 2Mbps |
less than half second |
20secs |
Medium quality |
|
| 8Mbps |
instant |
instant |
TV quality |
|
Your telephone line is freed up.
If you have a member of the family who chats for ages on the phone then this is definately a big bonus
over a dial up internet connection. Your broadband connection does not tie up your phone line like a dial-up connection does.
Although the wires in your phone line are used for the connection it is independent from the
telephone's function. So your computer can stay connected to the internet and you can chat on
the phone at the same time.
Setting up costs
Some ISP's do charge for the initial setting up of a new broadband account. This would generally
cover their administration costs and a modem but could include an engineer coming to your house if
a new line is needed.
Many ISP's however do offer free connection and setup, to be as competitive as possible.
So check the package you are interested in and if a charge is made weigh that up against how low the
ongoing monthly cost will be or any other features that may make it worth paying for.