Internet Access: T1, Frame Relay, T3

Dial-up and high speed Internet are two terms that have been thrown around quite a lot in the last few years. What exactly is the difference between the two, and why should we care one way or the other? Does having high speed Internet really make that much of a difference?

The answer: absolutely. Dialup Internet uses a phone line modem to connect to the world wide web, which has two basic effects on Internet service. First, because it is using the phone line, it ties up your phones – anyone calling your house will get a busy signal, and you’ll be unable to use your phones while online. Second, because phone lines are meant to transfer voice information and no more, your connection will be slower than any other possible option. A file that might download in a minute or two on a T1 line or a satellite Internet access line could take upwards of an hour on dialup.

The difference is cost, and even that isn’t much of a difference lately. You may see advertisements for “free” dialup Internet access providers – be very careful. First, these are the slowest even of the dialup Internet access providers, for the simple reason that they don’t get their pay from their customers. Instead, they get it from advertisers. If you use a free dialup service, you’ll get loads of junk mail and constant pop-up advertisements.

On the other hand, if you go with one of the more mainstream dialup services you’ll be looking at a price tag of twenty or thirty dollars a month. Your service will still be slow, but at least will be as clean of advertising as any high speed service. The problem arises again from the price. Dialup Internet access providers are on the way out for a reason – they simply can’t compete. Satellite Internet access is often as cheap or occasionally even cheaper than dialup. Super high speed options like cable Internet or T3 lines may cost more, but have the effect of allowing every computer in your house to be connected through a wireless hub or LAN. High information transfer options, like many T3 lines for example, can even allow you to provide fast Internet access to an entire network for work or at a school, or any other situation where you need Internet access for a large number of computers.

So what’s the price range in high speed Internet options? Your cheapest options are going to be either DSL or satellite access. DSL is somewhat similar to dialup in equipment, if not in actual use. Some phone lines are equipped with a second high transfer data line which allows large amounts of data to be moved back and forth at very high rates of speed. If the phone lines leading to your home are DSL equipped, you can get DSL high speed. While generally too slow for labor intensive work applications, DSL is still very fast and will serve quite well for most home applications – it’s still, after all, dozens of times faster than dialup. DSL rates run between twenty and thirty dollars a month depending on your location, so check with your local Internet access provider to see if your home is wired right.

Satellite Internet is also a very cheap access option. Often only twenty dollars or so per month, satellite is affordable and easy to set up. You’ll have to buy the dish and to make sure you have satellite coverage in your area, but once you’re set, you’ll be flying easy with fast Internet and low costs. The problems with satellite Internet access is its dependency on the transmission tower. If you’re a long ways away from the tower you may find access choppy, especially on overcast days with a low cloud cover. Rain especially can cause problems by coating your receiver dish with a reflective layer of moisture. Also, if there are any technical problems with the tower itself, Internet access for everyone serviced by that tower shuts down.

Satellite Internet access is generally fairly reliable, though, especially in heavily urbanized areas. If you live in the southern California urban environment, with little rain and dozens of satellite Internet access towers, you’ll be set to browse as long and as hard as you want, while paying actually less than most dialup Internet access providers. Satellite Internet access is cheap and affordable, so it’s a good place to start checking. Make sure before ordering, however, that you actually can get a signal from your home or business.

If you’re managing technology for a company that’s going to require running servers or large amounts of data transfer, you may want to seriously consider getting a T3 or T1 line. The kings of high speed Internet technology, T1 lines and other forms of this technology are fairly expensive – often around four hundred per month – but are capable of extremely reliable, lightning fast twenty four hour Internet access. If you work for a company which wishes to run its own web servers for data networking, Internet representation, and company e-mail, only a T1 line and related technology will be able to handle the workload.

This level of processing really isn’t worth it for home use. It would be almost impossible for one person to use up the resources offered by this kind of line – it would be like spending a hundred dollars a day on food and only eaten ten dollars worth of it. A normal cable, satellite, or DSL modem is quite sufficient for the individual, but for the company nothing beats a good T1 line.

This is also a good option to consider if you’re responsible for managing an educational setting such as a school or training classes in computers. A good T1 line can power Internet for an entire room or building full of computers without even straining under the load.

Cable modem high speed Internet is among the fastest of the standard consumer options in terms of Internet options. Prices vary widely depending on what services you decide to get with your Internet – one advantage of cable modem Internet deals is that they often come with a number of other communication features besides simply Internet. Some, for instance, include cable television – some plans even give you cell phone, cable TV, and high speed Internet under a single monthly bill. If you actually use all of those features, cable Internet may very well be worth checking out.

Cable high speed Internet pricing also varies widely from place to place, but on general isn’t much. Some cable Internet companies offer high speed Internet for around twenty or thirty dollars a month, while package deals may cost another thirty or forty on top of that. Again, prices vary, so check with your local Internet access providers to see what options are available to you in your area.

Cable high speed Internet access is often much faster than other consumer priced options. If it’s overly expensive in your area, consider the differences between it and other forms of high speed Internet. DSL is very reliable, if slower. If, though, you don’t do any data transfer out of the ordinary – if you only browse for information and download occasionally, in other words – DSL is more than sufficient for anything you need. Satellite, if you can get a good connection, is good as well. Cable is cheap once set up, but requires your home to be wired for cable. Make sure you do your research and also get setup fees for DSL, satellite, and cable before you pick a service. Contact your local Internet access providers for more information.

What exactly is high speed Internet access good for, anyway? What can one use it for? There are plenty of answers, and all depend on just how much you want to get out of your Internet experience. The most basic use for the Internet, of course, is simple web browsing. There is an absolutely vast ocean of sheer information out there, simply waiting to be accessed. Much of it, of course, is sheer nonsense. It’s important to educate yourself and your children, if you have any, on just what the Internet is and how to use it – some information can be invaluable, while others can be simply useless.

You can go further than that, of course. For instance, there are now dozens of music and video stores online which allow you to browse through thousands of artists and order music online for very competitive rates. A simple click, purchase, and for ten dollars you have an entire CD downloading to your computer in a few minutes. Electronic data isn’t the only thing you can shop for online, either – places like eBay or Amazon.com feature millions of items just waiting for you to show up and get them shipped to your house without ever leaving your desk.

Another recent development in the world of the Internet is the concept of blogging. Millions of people have online blogs in which they comment on their lives, observations, and culture in general. These blogs range from discussions of politics and philosophy to sort of online journals to movie reviews to the personal thoughts of professional journalists. Blogging is a great way to let people know how you’re doing and move into the online community.

One thing you should always remember, especially if you have children, is that the Internet is far from being safe. Every time you use credit card numbers or personal information you’re risking that information getting stolen and used against you. Generally you’ll be safe when using a mainstream site such as eBay or Amazon, or when using a common service like PayPal to make payments. Be aware, though, that there are viruses capable of watching what you type and retrieving your credit card information. Make sure you have a good antivirus program installed, and make sure it’s up to date.

If you have children, you’re going to have to be very careful about the possibility of online Internet predators. Watch what your children do online, and make sure you know where they’re going and what they’re doing. Internet predators lurk all over the Internet and often like to stalk chat rooms and message boards. Educate yourself so you can protect the ones you love.

The number of Internet predators is on the rise and they are clever individuals. Internet predators are skilled at getting the attention of children and parents must monitor their children’s interactions with others on the Internet. There are software applications that will allow for parents to control the type of communication they can have with others and there are keyboard monitoring applications that will allow parents to track what their child does online.

One thing the Internet lets you do is to host your own information on the world wide web. Have an idea for a great new online store? Set up your own business PayPal account and start working today. High speed Internet access, with it’s high rate of information transfer, makes web hosting easy – just pay five or ten dollars a month for a domain name and a few gigabytes of space and you can be up in a few days.

You will, of course, need some knowledge in web design. There are countless tutorials available online for those who want to look. If design isn’t really your thing, there are also plenty of companies out there perfectly willing to design your web page for you for a small price. Just look around and know your options and you’ll be able to get the best solution for the best price every time.