Internet connections


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Broadband

One of the most popular types of internet connection is broadband. In telecommunications the term broadband is a signalling method used to carry information or data. This could be anything from sound to videos to text. However broadband is measured on something called bandwidth. Depending on the rate and size of this bandwidth measure how much data can be carried and often at what quality. Having a large bandwidth such as a broadband connection allows the user to pick up a large number of (channels) but something like a radio will only pickup a limited amount of channels because it has a much lower amount of bandwidth. Broadband has many is capable of doing lots of things just because of it bandwidth. It can easily send files music and even films. Its bandwidth has such a broad-spectrum it allows a computer to do most things capable to a computer. Unlike other connections Broadband has many connection devices. For example on the simplest types of connection it still needs a router or modem to receive broadband signals and it needs some kind of cable to connect to the phone line. This is usually coaxial cable or commonly none as a Ethernet cable. It can however be connected wirelessly. To be able to do this though the router or modem needs to be wireless. To get broadband whether the user is a large organisation or just using a computer from home they would usually be better of having a broadband package and this then is easier to setup and connect.

Dialup

This is the original type of internet connection and this is still used to this day. It is simple; it requires a modem and a telephone cable. This has many disadvantages to the newer broadband type connection. This has a far lower bandwidth and is much slower. Many of the things broadband allows the user to do such as download and watch films are not there and browsing the internet is slow and not pleasant. In Internet history this was used for many years and was for a while the best way to access the internet. That was until broadband came along. Although this type of connection is the cheapest it is also the most inexpensive and slowest. It comes with a low internet speed of 56k. These are also good though because they are easy to connect with and easy to set up with the ISP.

LAN Connection

This is short for Local area connection this is usually described as being small networks. For example networks for small offices and buildings. This however can be used to connect to the internet through. Because LAN consists of a group of computers (one or more) it needs a way of going out to the internet and to do this it would use one of the types of connections described above. The actual network is connected usually by cable but it can be done wirelessly WLAN.

WLAN

This is short for wireless local area connection. This is basically away of connecting to the internet or WLAN and connecting in the LAN to other computers. This has been around for only a few years and already it has become very popular in organisations. It is good because it means that if using WLAN in a building wires are not needed and it means that holes don’t need to be drilled in walls or wires hanging around the building.

WAN Connection

This stands for wide area network. This is basically connecting LANs up together. This is can be very useful in business and organisations, it is usually used by private organisations but WAN is often popularly used by internet ISP providers. This could be even connecting up across continents and connecting nationally with over networks. This in a way can be a form of the internet because it is connecting up between computers across networks and this is basically what the internet is. For WAN to connect and work properly it still needs routers, modems and switches to connect up between computers and networks.

ADSL connection

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL). This is basically allowing a very fast connection over a normal copper line (coaxial cable). This is usually what we know as a telephone line. It does this by having a digital signal. This works in such a way that it splits a signal into two different frequencies. This is not always a reliable way to view and connect to the internet. The quality of the internet and speed of the signal depends of the quality of the phone line signal. Usually this form of connection can only be used over short distances so it is not good for all areas of the country. It has some useful capabilities for example it allows the phone line to still be connected while the internet is being used. This comes in various different packages. It is also good because it stays on all the time unlike dialup.

Cable connections

This is one of the better and perhaps the best form of internet connection. This how internet speeds of 4-6mbps and which is roughly 70 times faster that a 56k dialup connections. There are many cable packages which offer high speeds. Anyone who can get cable TV usually in cities or towns is likely to get cable internet. To be able to have cable internet they need to have a cable internet modem. TO have cable internet to types of equipment are needed. A cable modem and a cable modem terminating system and the cable provider’s end. Once they have these security measures can be implemented in the system and the user will get a very successful internet connection.


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