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Thinking About Broadband Internet Access
If you're still using dialup Internet access for use from home, you should start thinking about "broadband".
What's broadband? That's the term for getting your Internet access via a cable or DSL connection, or even a fiber-optic connection if that's available to you.
During the roll-out stage of cable and DSL Internet access, there weren't too many choices. If only one was available in your neighborhood, that's the one you got.
For some of us, that's still the case. Although I live in a relatively large city (Baton Rouge), my area of Baton Rouge does not have DSL access available. The phone company's equipment servicing my subdivision is not compatible with DSL. Unfortunately, just a few years before the DSL rollout started, the latest-and-greatest phone switching equipment was released — and it turned out to be incompatible with DSL.
In today's broadband world, most cable and most DSL providers have 2 to 4 service options. Basically, they've got a cheap option that is a lot faster that dialup, but still throttled significantly.
Then, a couple higher-priced options with higher downstream and upstream speeds, and then the highest priced option. They also vary the additional features, such as the number of email addresses and the size of the mailboxes.
One thing you should consider is the price of the equipment -- the cable modem or the DSL modem.
Another is the length of service contract you're signing. What if cable lets you sign up and doesn't require a 12-month committment, but the DSL provider requires a 12-month committment with cancellation penalty?
Just like considering the fine print in a cellphone contract, you need to pay attention to the broadband provider's contract, too.
I'm sure you've heard all the anti-DSL comments from the cable people and the anti-cable comments from the DSL people. Flip a coin. If you've been using dialup, you'll be pleased with either option.
But, beware. Once you've tried broadband, you'll never want to go back to dialup!
Unless, of course, your broadband gets interrupted. If you lose your phone service because of a phone system problem, you'll probably lose your DSL service at the same time.
But, if you have a cable ISP, you can get a dialup ISP as a backup. Fortunately, NetZero offers a great choice — a free NetZero dialup account with up to 10 hours per month. If you've got a notebook computer, it's a great solution for travel, too.
Get Free NetZero Internet Access for 10 hours per month
Link to this page — just add this code to your web page!
<a href="http://www.terryscomputertips.com/computers/thinking-about-broadband-internet-access.php">Thinking About Broadband Internet Access</a>
Copyright © 2006-2007 Terry A. Stockdale. All rights reserved.
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