Installed the USB modem but seeing flashing orange or yellow lights, rather than green lights. Why?
Sounds a little elementary. Make sure all the leads are connected to both the modem, the phone socket and the computer and then check the status again. Also ensure your phone connection is
working by checking for a dial tone. Make sure that you haven't accidentally placed a microfilter on your ADSL modem. If none of these solve your problem, then your drivers may not have loaded for some reason. Unplug your modem, reboot and plug your modem back in. If there's still no joy, the network may be out. Call your ISP for a
status report.
 
Can not connect, and my connection keeps dropping really quickly. What should I do?
Double check by using the right username and password for your Internet configuration. Make sure you have got a microfilter on all your phone-based appliances bar the ADSL modem. That includes the Sky box, the answering machine and the fax machine. Check with your ISP about burglar alarms. Also, if you've got a new fax machine, check the
manufacturer's site to see whether the unit is compatible with ADSL. Unplug your modem, reboot and plug your modem back in. 
 
Keep losing my ADSL connection. It seems to happen most often and if pick the telephone - the line seems to be very noisy, too?
The telephone should be connected to a micro-filter, which ensures the frequencies used by the phone line don't clash with ADSL (In fact, unless you place one on the master socket, you will need a separate micro-filter for every telephone extension in your home). If you are already using a micro-filter, then there is the possibility that it is faulty. Most ADSL modems comes with at least two, so check around before you buy more.
 
 
Get a PPP failure message and error 650, 718, 721 or 645. What to do about this?
Make sure line is working by testing for a dial tone on your
phone. Unplug, reboot and plug in again to ensure the driver has loaded. If there's still no joy, don't discount the possibility of a
faulty modem. 
 
Why does modem seem to run slowly and the lights just fade out after a few minutes?
If their is an AMD processor based computer, you might have problems based on a chipset issue. Some units use USB controllers that don't supply enough power to USB devices like modem. A fix on the Microsoft Web site may help, or else there is a need to get a PCI based
ADSL modem fitted into machine. Search the Microsoft downloads
site for chipsets VIA, SIS and ALi.
 
Asked for my CBUK number – what is this?
This is a special code that BT uses to identify your ADSL connection. If you move from one broadband service provider to another, you must get your CBUK number from your old ISP. Contact both ISPs well ahead of time to find out exactly what's needed besides the CBUK number to ensure a smooth change over.
 
An error that says Cannot Create Entry?
Running old system software with an obsolete version of Dial Up
Networking. Head to the Microsoft site to download DUN 1.4.
 
I get error message: RegDBSetKeyVAlueEX failed when trying to connect my modem.
Something is there on system that won't loosen its grip on a component in your computer's registry. One can try doing the installation as an
administrator.
 
Done everything correctly, but either my username and password are rejected, or my connection is very, very slow. Why is this?
There may be a problem with firewall being set to 56K. Disable it,
reinstall your modem and check. If this is the case, uninstall and reinstall the firewall.
 
Why does my connection close if the computer is idle for a few minutes?
Your computer may be set to hang up if there's no network activity. Go
to control panel for 'Network and Dial-up connections' and set its 'Idle Time Before Hanging Up' to 'Never'.
 
 
Got the ADSL connected and working fine on Windows XP PC, but the Dial-Up Networking icon has gone missing from the System Tray. How to get it back?
Select Control Panel; Network Connections, then right-click on ADSL connection and choose Properties. Check the 'Show icon in notification area when connected' option, and the absent icon will reappear next time you're online.
 
Seen adverts for programs that claim to double, triple or even quadruple my download speed. ADSL is already great, but that kind of speed improvement would make it so much better. Is it really possible though?
Most of these programs work by changing network-related settings in your Registry. If your PC were set up poorly then running one of these optimising tools may make a difference. If you want to experiment then check your TCP/IP configuration 
 
Still need help?
Try the Internet Speed Optimization service by iYogi

Speeds Explained

So how fast is your internet connection anyway? Yeah, I know that many companies now are advertising speeds of upwards of a megabit or more. Well, what does that really mean? And how fast is 56K or 28.8 anyway?

I know this is hard to believe if you're relatively new to the world of computers or the internet, but back in 1978 modems were running at 110 or 300 bits per second (the technical term is baud). The table below is not precisely accurate but gives a rough idea of how the speeds have been working their way upwards for the past few years.

Speed Timeline

1978 100 to 300 baud

1988 1200 to 2400 baud

1993 14,400 baud

1995 28,800 baud

1997 33,000 baud

1998 56,000 baud

1999 1,500,000 baud

DSL and cable mode connections

In comparison, local network connections run at 10,000,000 bits per second at least and it is becoming more common for these to be running at 100 million bits per second.

But what does all this mean? Well, a character is eight bits (a bit is a zero or a one, and it takes 8 of them to make a single character). The letter K means 1,024, so a 28K modem is 1,024 times 28 or 28,672 bits per second (also called bps).

Now divide the 28,672 by 8 and you have the maximum number of characters per second that your modem can run at. This works out to 3,584 characters per second, which in today's world is considered pretty slow (you will understand why shortly).

Interesting fact: Modem speeds are all standardized by International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The ITU defines 28.8K bps modems as v.32 and 33.6K bps modems as v.34.

All right, now you are getting 3.5 thousand characters per second, if you have a 28K modem, right? Well, not exactly. First off, the quality of your phone line may drop that down significantly. What happens is your computer sends some data to the "internet"; it is received but there was an error, so the internet computer requests that the data be resent. The worse the quality (you can hear how bad it is by the amount of static you can hear when you listen on the line) the more times the data has to be resent, the slower the line.

On top of that, there is a certain amount of overhead associated with each connection. This is "handshaking", which means the modem is asking the internet computer if it got the data and the internet computer is responding "yes" or "no". There is also a certain amount of data to define what is being sent (an email or a web document or whatever) which eats into the line speed.

Well, okay, let's assume you are actually getting 20K from your 28.8K modem. There's worse news to come. The internet has lots of things that actually have nothing to do with content. There are cookies, advertising banners, comments, web bugs, and a host of other things inserted into your web experience. A typical advertising banner is 7.5K, which in our 20Kbps example requires several seconds to load to your machine.

What can you do? First, if you can get a DSL or Cable modem connection to the internet. It will probably cost about the same or only slightly more than your dialup connection and will improve your surfing experience by many times.

Second (or if you cannot get a higher speed connection) get an ad blocker installed on your system to remove those ads before they are downloaded to your machine. Why even bother downloading banners that you are never going to look at anyway?

I hope that helps clear things up a bit.

If you are a computer expert, you’ll probably already know about these tips (hopefully this will provide you with a little reminder). If you’re not an expert, don’t worry - these tips are simple, and don’t require a lot of computer experience.
While an old computer will never operate at the same speed as a newer (and bigger & faster) computer, you can help your computer stay as “young & healthy” as possible.

1) Disk Cleanup

Performing a disk cleanup regularly is a good idea. Whenever you “surf the internet”, open attachments, delete files, your computer saves a record of your activity. Many of these files are harmless, and individually are very small. But if you spend a lot of time on your computer, before long you’ll take up enough space to slow your computer down a bit.
Disk Cleanup is a Windows utility that helps keep unused and unwanted files from taking up extra storage space on your computer. You can think of it as “spring cleaning” for your computer.
Basically, it removes files that may have once been useful or used but now are just taking up extra room that could be used for more useful programs and files.
To perform a disc cleanup, click on the Start button on the bottom left of your computer screen, then Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disc Cleanup. A small box will pop up, allowing you to select the files to delete (most files are OK to delete, but if you are unsure, it is best to not select the file). Then click OK, and the unused files will be removed.
If you’ve never done a disk cleanup on your computer, now is a good time to get started. Then, depending on how much you use your computer, you can perform a disk cleanup every few weeks to keep your computer running smoothly!

2) Defragmenting Your Computer

Another way to improve the performance of your computer is to defragment your hard drive. What is defragmenting, and why do you need to do it? Here’s a simple explanation:
Basically, defragmenting is putting files back where they belong. With the files in the proper order, your computer will run more efficiently.
You don’t need to hire a computer expert to defragment your computer. It’s simple to do. You just need to plan ahead, because if you have a lot of “stuff” on your computer, it could take a while.
And it’s best not to use your computer while defragmenting.
Not sure how to defragment your computer? You can either click on your computer’s help file (Click the “Start” button on the bottom left of your computer screen, then Help), or click on Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Defragment - for most computers) .
Keep in mind that the actual wording is slightly different depending on the operating system you use (Windows 95, 98, XP, etc) so you might need to refer to your computer’s help file.
Periodically defragmenting your computer will keep it running smoothly!

3) Removing Spyware & Adware

If you’ve ever had spyware or adware on your computer, you know how frustrating it can be - strange things happening, your homepage changing, inappropriate popups, unfamiliar icons.
What exactly is spyware or adware?
Simply, files that are often downloaded onto your computer without your knowledge (or at least without you knowing what they really are).
Unfortunately, many of these programs “sneak” their way onto your computer, so avoiding them entirely is difficult, especially if you spend a lot of time on your computer, surfing the Internet and downloading new programs and files.
Fortunately, there are ways to remove these unwanted files from your computer.
Here are 2 adware/spyware removal programs that are simple to use (and both are free):
Ad-Aware
Spybot

Why does adware/spyware continue to be such a problem? Because most of these programs make money for the people creating and spreading them, unfortunately. So, all we can do is try to avoid them as much as possible, and to remove them when they do find their way onto our computers.
If you do find spyware on your computer, don’t panic. In many cases, you just have some extra “junk” on your computer. But keeping spywaer and adware off of your computer will help it run more quickly and efficiently.

4) Uninstalling Old & Unused Programs

While uninstalling old, unused programs will help speed up your computer, removing the wrong files can cause you some big problems. So, please proceed carefully. And if you are not comfortable, please ask for help from someone you know who is more knowledgeable.
Most programs that you download simply have an “uninstall” feature that comes with them. If you’re like me and you download a lot of free programs or free trials, after a while your computer begins to slow down. That means it’s time for me to remove some of the old programs I don’t use any more (and most I only used once just to see how they work).
To uninstall unused programs from your computer, first click on the Start button on the bottom left, then Programs, then click on the name of the program and Uninstall. If there is no uninstall option, then click on the Start button on the bottom left, then Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs.
Again, if you are unsure whether or not to remove a program, it is best to leave it.
If you follow these instructions, you should find your computer working faster right away.

5) Get A High Speed Internet Connection

If you spend a lot of time on the internet, a high speed internet connection is a must. It is more expensive, but for most people the savings in time and effort is worth the added expense.
There are several advantages of having a high speed internet connection - faster surfing, web pages open more quickly, files download faster, and if you send or receive large files, like pictures or video, trying to open these files with a slower dialup connection is extremely frustrating!
If you’re already spending $20 a month or more for your dialup connection (through your phone line) then you’ll find DSL to be comparable in price, and a lot faster.
A cable internet connection might cost a little more, but it is usually the fastest type of internet connection you can get from home.
High speed wireless connections are available for those who travel a lot. And high speed satellite internet is available in areas where other options are not (check your options first, as this is the most expensive high speed connection).
That’s all the tips for increasing your computer speed and helping your computer run more efficiently. We hope you found these tips helpful!

As you have got to this blog I assume that you are suffering from a slow and sluggish internet connection or are in the market for a new internet connection. With this post I will cover 5 tips that you should follow to pick a better internet service provider.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the amount of data that is downloaded by you using the connection. So if you have a 10GB download limit, you can only download 10GBs of data before facing the risk of being charged for extra bandwidth allowance. Now you may ask, what has this got to do with getting a better internet connection? Well if you keep going over your download limit it will not only cost you more money due to the bandwidth charges but also may mean that the ISP (Internet service provider) may limit your connecting giving you slower speeds and a worse internet connection. So now you may ask, how much bandwidth will I use?

This is a hard question to answer as different people use their internet connection for different tasks. If you are only visiting web pages as well as one or two videos you would be fine with a download limit such as 2GB. But if you are a demanding user and regularly download large files and stream videos you may require much more download allowance. Be careful of unlimited download limits, these normally have fair usage policy which states a usage they consider fair.

Download Speed

This is a key area to look for when looking for an ISP (Internet service provider). The first thing that you should understand is that the speed of the internet connection that you can get depends on where you live. If you live in a more remote location you are a lot less likely to be able to get the highest speeds available. Internet providers will normally use an “up to” speed when stating the download speed. This means that it may not get to the speed stated. To check the download speed your connection is able to get, there is normally a phone number checker which checks the speed that your phone line is likely to achieve.

When considering a new internet provider you have to consider what you use your connection for to understand what download speed you require. To browse web pages and check emails you will really need a download speed not any higher than 512 kbps, but if you download large files and stream high definition video you will need at least a 2Mbit connection. If you are sharing your connection with other users you should also consider a higher download speed so that the connection can cope with the data from all the users.

Contracts

With most internet providers there is some kind of contract that requires you to use their service for a set period of time (usually 12 months). Some providers offer a 1 month contract which is useful as you can cancel the service if you're not happy with it. The details of minimum contract terms as well as important information about the service you will get is stated in the terms and conditions so take time to read them! The terms and conditions will be stated on the internet providers website and you are asked to agree to them when you sign up to a provider.

Freebies

One of my top tips is to not be tempted by internet providers who offer some freebies if you use their service. This will normally end with a large minimum contract period as well as a poor and unreliable service. You may ask, just because they are giving me a free stuff why does that make them bad? If the internet service provider has to give people stuff for them to use their broadband they must not be providing a good service as they need to almost bribe people with free stuff. This doesn't mean that any internet provider that offers free stuff is rubbish, it just means that you should take care and don't be dragged in to a internet provider just because of the free stuff they offer. Customer reviews
I believe that this is the most important advice for people looking for a new internet provider. My advice is to read customer reviews. These customer reviews will provide you with an insight to what the customers of the internet provider think of their service and if they had any problems. What is also important to remember is to not trust just one review, if there is one bad customer review it doesn't meant the internet provider is bad but if there are a large number of bad reviews it is more likely that the ISP is not good.

I hope that these 5 great tips will help you get away from the bad internet service providers so you can have a better internet connection.

Today, the Internet has become indispensable for many. People narrowing down to this option are opting for technological advancements like broadband, ADSL, Wi-Fi etc. However, the slow speed of connection can be highly frustrating at times especially during downloading. There are a number of ways which allow you to optimize your internet speed.

High bandwidth technologies hold extreme importance for tech-savvy consumers. Among such washing ashore are cable modems which are nowadays being used for high speed Internet connection. It also eliminates the need for dialing in every time you want to go online. The users can continue to receive television through the same cable, whereas data services can be shared by several PCs in a home based LAN configuration.

An Ethernet network is managed over a wide geographic area. In case, there are a few users served by a neighborhood node on this network, all the bandwidth will certainly be dedicated to them. On the other hand, if there will be a majority of users availing cable network will lower the speed. Cable providers generally add a node to an area to reduce such congestion. Use of cable modems has shown their caliber resulting into high speed internet connection. This was one of the ways to speed up the connection through cable modem.

Many individuals see GPRS internet connection on PC as the best means to increase speed of the internet. Opposed to this, a broadband connection with mere 256 kbps can be enough to work online efficiently without any disconnections.

Broadband Internet Access, often acronym to simple “broadband”, is high speed Internet access. They are preferred over dial-up modems which are only capable of supporting a maximum bitrate of 56 kbit/s. Broadband connections provide the double of the speed what dial up connections has to offer and without disrupting telephone use.

Broadband is generally termed as high speed Internet connection as it can transmit a high rate of data. Any connection to the customer of 256 kbit/s or more is considered broadband internet. It offers several advantages for business, home users. Along with putting an end to waiting time for downloads, broadband gives fast access to the information the user requires or wants.

There are two measured elements that determine your internet connection speed. They are: The download rate, and the upload rate of data measured in bits per seconds. Usually, it is expressed in Kilobits per second.
A bit is the smallest piece of data that can be stored in a computer. The bit can be either "0" or "1". The byte is eight bits. Example of a byte and bits are the following:
bit= 0 or 1
byte=8 bits
1 byte=10011101 (eight bits)

A single charcter needs one byte or eight bits to be stored in a computer. So, when the data rate is 1 byte/sec, that means one character per second is the rate at which data is transferred through your connection.

This is very slow, and only intended for an example. In order to browse the internet, you must have at least a dial up access with a 56kb/s modem, in order to get a meaningful and practical result.

There are different types of internet connection. First they introduced the dialup connection using your phone line, then the broadband was introduced.

The broadband internet connections are DSL, Cable, or Satellite internet services. They are widely used and expanding due to the high bandwidth.

When you get an internet service, your provider states that your speed will be a certain numbers. They usually give you a good idea, but not an exact one. The common asked questions among internet users is:

How do I know what is my connection speed, and if I am getting what I was promised?.
If there anyway I can test my connection, and do I need to buy expensive software to test it?.
The answer is simple. There are two ways to test your internet connection speed:

1- The manual simple calculation test that you can do yourself without any software or third party services.

2- You can find a service that lets you run a test through their servers, and get your numbers displayed at their webpage.

1-The manual method:

Since I mentioned that the connection speed consist of two numbers, the download and upload speed. So, what you do is download from the internet any free software, and watch the result box with the result that show the size of the file and how many seconds it tool to download.
When you are done recording the download speed, upload a file of a specific size (1 Mb, 2 Mb), and time your watch when you start. When the file is uploaded, check your watch and record the time it took for the task. Then divide your file size by the seconds it took.
If you file was 2 Mb. that took 5 minutes to upload, then your upload speed is 2 Mb./300 sec. or 6.826 KBits / sec. You can run the above test couple times, and then take the average for a better result.

2- You can find a service that lets you run a test through their servers, and get your numbers displayed at their webpage.

In summary, don't settle for numbers given to you by your services, do the tests whenever you can. You enjoy it, and feel that you are getting your money worth.


There are five main types of high speed Internet access: xDSL, Cable, T1 & T3, SMDS and ISDN, each with different speed potential and each with very different costs for installation and use. All free your phone line for the voice transmission you don't have when using the standard 56K modem. Clearly, for most homes, small businesses, and even medium to larger businesses, T1, T3, and SMDS connections are beyond the budget.


ISDN connections run at speeds at either 64K (slightly faster than 56K modems) or 128K, about 2.25 times faster than a 56K modem using both channels on the line simultaneously.


Cable connections run at speeds of about 1.5M, about 26 times faster than a 56K modem. Upload speeds differ from the download speeds. Upload speeds of cable connections run at about 90K.


xDSL or ADSL connections run at a speeds ranging from 640K, about 11 times faster than a 56K modem to 7.1M, about 125 times faster than a 56K modem. Upload speeds differ from the download speeds. Upload speeds for the 640K and 1.7M line run about 90K while for the 7.1M line at about 680K.


T1 connections run at a speed of about 1.6M, about 27 times faster than a 56K modem.


T3 connections run at a speed of about 45M, about 786 times faster than a 56K modem.


SMDS connections run on dedicated lines at speeds of 56K, 1.17M, 4M, 10M, 16M, 25M, and 34M.


High Speed Connections for Small Business


Small businesses today can obtain high speed Internet access within a reasonable budget with Cable or xDSL connections. The highest speed xDSL line offered today even significantly exceeds download T1 speed 7.1M versus 1.6M. while upload speeds are within about 43%, fine for most any service except for Web Hosting, including Virtual Private Networking (VPN).


In fact, for most small businesses, who for the most part obtain information from the Internet and send email, some information and file uploads through the Internet, the low speed xDSL connection of 640K is more than adequate.


In choosing between Cable and xDSL beyond the obvious considerations the method used to physically connect users to the Internet is important as it affects the speed of your connection. Cable connections are through a loop where a significant number of users share a cable and its bandwidth (the amount of activity which can pass through the cable at any particular moment). As the number of users on the loop increases or the activity from the users on the loop increases the speed of the connection drops. The number of users the cable operator allows on each loop will determine just how far the speed can drop. One cable company in the Northeast was apparently greedy enough that they put so many users on there loops that at times users reported speed dropped below that of a 56K modem. This is not typical, but cable users complaining about periodic speed degradation is not unusual. It is important to state here that most Cable Internet providers are cognizant of this problem, and limit the number of users on each loop to prevent speed degredation.


On the other hand, xDSL users have their cable go directly to the xDSL provider. This line is not shared by any other user. At the provider the xDSL lines are interconnected, but on a loop with significantly more bandwidth that the cable loop discussed in the paragraph above. In general xDSL users report little if any period speed drops in there service.


For sporadic file uploading and email the slower upload speeds, as compared to the download speeds are more than adequate. The fact that the download (in to the user) and upload (out from the user) speeds are different generally only comes into play if the user is considering hosting their own web site or using virtual private networking. In both these cases data is to be retrieved out from the user and the upload speed limitation comes into play. Generally if you want to host a web site you need at least a T1 line to get the 1.6M output as well as input. If you're interested in having a connection from a salesman or alike through the Internet into your office through Virtual Private Networking (a secure way of connecting to the office computer or computer network) then the amount of traffic that will generate will determine whether the high speed xDSL line is adequate or whether a T1 line or higher speed line is needed. At 680K though, you'd be surprised just how fast that is. It's generally more than adequate for most small business VPNs.


Another important consideration in choosing which type of high speed connection is whether you will have a static or dynamic address. A static address is one which is permanently assigned to your computer with the high speed connection on the Internet. If you have a dynamic address it is assigned and reassigned periodically by your ISP's DHCP computer server. If you are interested in using Virtual Private Networking (VPN) to allow connection through the Internet to your computer or LAN you would be better off with a static address as it facilitates making setting up your VPN easier. For general Internet access a dynamic address will suffice, but if you can, and if it's in your budget opt for a static address as it will give you greater flexibility at this time.


Broadband is State-of-the-Art Internet Access: How Can a Broadband Cable Benefit You?

We are now well ensconced in a time when the Web is riddled with graphics, animations, sounds, and videos, bringing about a necessity for superior internet access such as that which broadband can provide. The fact is that anything less than the speed supplied by a broadband cable has become inadequate for today's Web users.

Of course, if you use the internet only once every so often, you wouldn't be as heavily dependent upon high-speed internet access as is provided by broadband, however, if you're a regular user, it's virtually a necessity.

But wait a minute?even though you use the internet, it doesn't mean you know exactly what this high focus form of internet access actually is. So lets start there. In essence, broadband is a very fast form of internet connection. Broadband Will provide you with a noticeably faster internet speed than a dial-up connection.

Broadband used to be a challenge only because of it's limited availability, however, today there are many ways that you can have a much faster connection. The delivery methods of broadband have been expanded to the following types of broadband cable:

- Copper telephone wires- Cable TV wires- Radio microwaves from local base stations- Satellite microwaves from geo-stationary satellites

Now lets look at why this faster style of internet access is actually better. The benefits of broadband actually include much more than faster downloads. Broadband is the connection that is always "on". As soon as you start up your computer, it's already connected to the internet. For anyone who has waited for a modem to dial up and connect, the advantage of this is quite apparent. Furthermore, broadband allows you to download movies, music, and web pages that were virtually inaccessible in practical terms when using dial-up.

But the benefits of broadband aren't just felt by individual users. Businesses, governments, schools, and communities can all experience the superiority that broadband cables can provide.
Here are some examples of benefits for each of those types of organizations:

- Businesses will notice an increase in productivity when large data files transfer quickly and directly among local and head offices, no matter the distance between the locations. Moreover, with the popularity of net-meetings and videoconferencing, a face-to-face meeting becomes entirely possible without the travel costs.

- Schools can now offer equal opportunities to their students no matter their location or funding. A student in a remote community is now able to use a broadband connection to receive violin lessons from the same revered instructor as a student in a large city. Moreover, rural students can take virtual field trips and see the same fascinating and educational museums as city kids.

- Local governments are now enjoying broadband benefits that let them provide one-stop shopping for town business transactions, as well as licensing, permits, billing, and utility payments.

- Communities have been quick to jump on the broadband band wagon to promote their local historical and other various tourist attractions. No other marketing resource reaches as far and as effectively as the internet.

There are so many fantastic benefits to a high-speed, broadband internet connection, that it is becoming as "basic" a need as a computer in today's society.


The personal computer continues to be the electronic hub of a typical home. This role that the computer plays is seen as business and educational matters are conducted utilizing the personal computer. Examples of these types of actions include the use of the computer for keeping track of personal finances as well as the children in the home conducting research online for various school projects.

Also, the reality of the personal computer becoming the centerpiece of a home is the role that it plays as the major entertainment focus within the residence. This is witnessed as family members can legally download music, play videogames and watch high-definition television.

In addition, one of the more recent technological advances is the blending of phone service with the Internet capabilities of the personal computer. This phone service is accomplished by taking advantage of a broadband phone company's service. Before delving into a broadband phone system it is important to know what requirements are needed for the broadband phone to operate and to ask a few important questions of the broadband phone company.

Requirements Needed

In order to fully utilize a broadband phone system, the potential customer will need to be connected to the Internet with broadband Internet service. By utilizing a broadband Internet connection, the transference of data will be accelerated. This acceleration or speed of the connection will facilitate a better Internet phone experience.

In addition, if you use a formal broadband phone system you may be required to obtain certain pieces of equipment. For example, there may be companies that require the use of an adapter connected to the Internet modem. This adapter will allow for the connection of the current phone to be matched with a traditional pushbutton phone. Also, there may be software that is required to allow the VoIP, voice over Internet protocol, to be facilitated.

Critical Questions To Ask Of The Broadband Phone Company

It is important to remember that not all broadband phone companies are the same. Therefore, there are certain basic questions that should be asked of the company that is being researched.

One of the most basic questions to ask of the broadband phone is the compatibility of the household phone with the Internet phone service. In most cases the broadband phone service will allow for the current phone to be utilized. However, there are services that require a specific broadband phone.

Another important question to ask is in regards to what phone features are available or are provided. If features like call forwarding, call waiting, three-way calling, caller ID, etc. are wanted, then it is important to ask if these features are available or are included.

In addition, one question of extreme importance is to ask the broadband phone company of the ability to dial 911 in the event of an emergency. Regular landlines were designed to access the 911 system. This may not be true of Internet phone service.

Other questions may include the consumer's ability to maintain their current phone number. In addition, it should be clear as to what the charges will be for utilizing this broadband phone system. Specific charge related questions should be asked regarding long-distance costs, monthly costs, feature costs, actual minutes used, etc.


Does your Internet service choice show your age? It just might. In-Stat recently conducted an online survey among 1,013 North American broadband users. The survey found that the age group with the highest use of cable broadband is the 18-29 year old segment with more than 69 percent choosing cable over DSL. That same age group also had the lowest use of DSL broadband.

Compared to last year's results and that of December 2003, this most recent survey indicates a significant rise in cable broadband use for Generation Y. In February 2006, 56.2 percent of them had cable broadband. And in December 2003, 50.8 percent of broadband users age 18-29 used cable broadband.

In-Stat concludes that the 18-29 age group in North America seems to be finding cable broadband more attractive. Cable broadband has historically offered more bandwidth than DSL, and younger subscribers are considered power users who are looking for service that allows them to download the latest music, videos, and online games.

If you need help choosing between cable and DSL, check out the Comparing Cable and DSL High Speed section.

Availability
Cable
Roughly 80 to 85 percent of America's 68 million cable TV subscribers, which is approximately 55 million people, can get cable high-speed Internet access.
DSL
Only 50 million consumers can get DSL, putting DSL a bit behind cable Internet in availability.

Installation

Cable
If you choose to self-install your Internet, your cable company will provide a self-installation kit. To install your cable high-speed Internet, you will need a cable jack. You will also need a cable modem, which should be included in the kit.
DSL
If you choose a self-installation, your phone company will provide a self-installation kit. DSL requires phone jacks to function. You will need a modem, which should be included in the kit.

Speed

Cable
Cable Internet services on average promise higher levels of bandwidth than DSL Internet services, and this bandwidth roughly translates to raw speed; however, while cable Internet will theoretically run faster than DSL, several technical and business reasons can reduce or eliminate this advantage.
DSL
DSL is fast, but its performance depends on the consumer's distance from the central office. The farther away you are from a central office, the slower your DSL service.

Remember, when comparing cable and DSL, both offer an enormous improvement from standard dial-up Internet service. You will notice a difference no matter what you choose.

After you’ve compared all the above aspects of cable and DSL high-speed Internet, it is time to compare price. When considering price for high-speed Internet, you need to shop around. Though DSL is generally thought to be cheaper, different areas of the country offer different deals, so it pays you to look for the best price.

Do you remember using the Internet back when you had to dial in using a modem. If you are unlucky enough to still be using dial-up Internet access, I feel for you. The internet is a growing and dynamic entity and everyone will have broadband sooner or later.

Naturally companies try to offer access to internet in growing number of ways. Assuming the user has the correct hardware, a wi-fi account, and is in range of the transmitters, the service allows the user to connect to the internet at broadband speeds without the use of cables. Users can log on to the internet at these hotspots provided they have an account with the broadband supplier and the necessary wireless equipment, such as a wireless laptop or broadband-enabled mobile phone.

An extra phone is the only way to get calls that cannot be received due to the dial up connection. Fixed line operators are now incorporating wireless with their traditional phone services providing ease of having one device and one bill for both mobile and fixed line calls. You can take it out of your phone bill.

Broadband phone actually uses voice over internet protocol (VoIP) to carry phone calls through the internet. There are also a number of companies that has VoIP as a free service.

Digital Subscriber Lines, or DSL uses the existing customer phone lines to provide internet or intranet access to businesses and homes using high-speed broadband technology of varying levels. But even with all the technology that has gone into the making of the Internet, there seems to be more to be expected than has been seen. It's easy to understand why; the technology industry defines it in different ways as well.

Just be sure you do not choose an ISDN line (because it is getting obsolete) or power line (because the technology is not mature, and it will be some years before the bugs are ironed out). The cheapest broadband deals allow for such technology to reach our homes for less than $10 per month. Ok, on to the two major broadband access methods, cable and DSL. There is cable access, DSL access, satellite access. Although cable broadband internet is a whole lot faster than dial-up, I usually experience a slight delay when opening a webpage.

Perhaps most people do not notice the latency associated with cable internet, but it got my attention right away. So are cable television modems, which have similar speeds. Approximately 4 million people in the UK use ADSL with an extra 2 million using a cable connection, meaning 6 million people in the UK have an always-on internet connection.

The fact is that anything less than the speed supplied by a broadband cable has become inadequate for today's internet users.

Providers
However it has emerged that broadband providers touting such products are not revealing the full story to their customers. The key will be for broadband providers to develop the services that broadband allows for, and to deliver them to as many households as possible. High-speed Internet services are growing in popularity because intense competition from broadband providers is continually driving the product exposure in the marketplace to new highs, and prices to new lows. Connecting to the Internet for the first time in your home or office is as easy as securing a fixed telephone line (which you probably already have) and signing up to one of the dozens of Broadband Providers, like AOL and others.

Satellite
Bummer indeed, but you still have broadband Direct PC by satellite and it seems to make it through those clouds and so you can surf the NOAA website and get the latest results or watch video streams of the local TV station right. Broadband Internet by Satellite is about the coolest invention in the World and indeed it has helped the unconnected become connected even if they live in the middle of nowhere. Did you know you can get a special satellite antenna hooked up on your motor home or recreational vehicle that will enable you to get the Internet anywhere in North America.

Television
So they are bundling broadband with other products, such as home phone, digital television and mobile. The acronym is used to describe services which broadcast on-demand television programming to consumers, delivered via a broadband connection on normal telephone line to TV screens. Broadband television is a means of providing TV programs via the Internet. Broadband Television is being hailed as the biggest change in the way we watch television since it was first invented.

With the advancement of technology and new innovations in the field of communication, high speed Internet connection is slowly emerging as the most preferred means of Internet access today. High speed Internet connection has not only entered our offices and houses, but the local Internet service provider also offers various Internet access packages and cheap prepaid Internet plans for accessing high speed Internet services.

Modern day people are very busy and also much inclined towards instant gratification. They hardly have time and patience to wait for anything, so naturally in case of accessing the Internet also people do not approve of a very slow process. That is why high speed internet connection is gaining more preference in comparison to dial-up connections.

Now, what exactly high speed Internet service is? High speed Internet service is a fast Internet service that transfers data much faster than the 56K telephone modem.
You can access high speed Internet service with the help of standard telephone dial-up modem which ties up the telephone line. Most notable advantage of high speed Internet is that it is almost five times faster than the standard dial-up connection, and is also cost effective. Today many of the Internet service providers, including AOL and Netscape, offer high speed Internet access without even charging any extra amount.

In case of broadband service, you can avail as high a speed as 70 times than the standard dial-up connection. Moreover, broadband uses Digital Service Line, cable, satellite, or radio towers to access the internet and does not tie up the telephone line while you are on the net. In broadband connection, to access Internet anytime he wants, the user does not require to wait for the modem to dial.

With a high speed Internet access you can certainly find innovative and innumerable ways to enhance the speed of your work. Further, the cost factor also hardly matter, because with various service providers, like AT&T, Cingular, Nextel, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon offering multifarious access packages featuring Internet speed range, cost and facilities the users can avail advanced Internet access in a quite affordable price.

So, downloading videos or a 400MB file, listening to radio in few minutes is no longer a distant dream. With a myriad of prepaid Internet packages and cheap plans you may even expect a lot better performance from your high speed Internet connection.

With the advancement of technology and new innovations in the field of communication, high speed Internet connection is slowly emerging as the most preferred means of Internet access today. High speed Internet connection has not only entered our offices and houses, but the local Internet service provider also offers various Internet access packages and cheap prepaid Internet plans for accessing high speed Internet services.

Modern day people are very busy and also much inclined towards instant gratification. They hardly have time and patience to wait for anything, so naturally in case of accessing the Internet also people do not approve of a very slow process. That is why high speed internet connection is gaining more preference in comparison to dial-up connections.

Now, what exactly high speed Internet service is? High speed Internet service is a fast Internet service that transfers data much faster than the 56K telephone modem.You can access high speed Internet service with the help of standard telephone dial-up modem which ties up the telephone line. Most notable advantage of high speed Internet is that it is almost five times faster than the standard dial-up connection, and is also cost effective. Today many of the Internet service providers, including AOL and Netscape, offer high speed Internet access without even charging any extra amount.

In case of broadband service, you can avail as high a speed as 70 times than the standard dial-up connection. Moreover, broadband uses Digital Service Line, cable, satellite, or radio towers to access the internet and does not tie up the telephone line while you are on the net. In broadband connection, to access Internet anytime he wants, the user does not require to wait for the modem to dial.

With a high speed Internet access you can certainly find innovative and innumerable ways to enhance the speed of your work. Further, the cost factor also hardly matter, because with various service providers, like AT&T, Cingular, Nextel, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon offering multifarious access packages featuring Internet speed range, cost and facilities the users can avail advanced Internet access in a quite affordable price.
So, downloading videos or a 400MB file, listening to radio in few minutes is no longer a distant dream. With a myriad of prepaid Internet packages and cheap plans you may even expect a lot better performance from your high speed Internet connection.

Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jayson_Pablohttp://EzineArticles.com/?High-Speed-Internet-Access—A-Swifter-Means-of-Accessing-the-Internet&id=659943

With broadband now commonplace, internet accelerators have gone out of fashion somewhat with creaky old modems consigned to the bin. However, as broadband speed is often subject to wild variations depending on where you live, who your ISP is, how far you are from the telephone exchange etc, some people might find that there’s still a place for internet accelerators in their lives. Here’s a selection of the top 10 that cover broadband modems, dial-ups and network connections. None of these can guarantee to speed-up your connection and you should contact your ISP if you’ve got serious problems.

Throttle - Boost your internet speed by 200%

FastNet99 - Tweak DNS settings to increase your browsing speed

BeFaster - Optimise your speed online and offline

Internet Speed Up - Tests and configures your connection according to bandwidth

Modem Booster - If you’re still on a modem, this could increase speed by 300%

WorldWebAccess Accelerator - Includes pop-up and spam killers

Internet Accelerator - Optimises internet speeds over network connections

TweakMASTER Pro - Tweaks everything from DNS settings to dial-up modems

NetSpeeder - Optimises your TCP/UDP port settings

Google Web Accelerator - Very simple accelerator that sits in your taskbar

Hello and welcome to the new Broadband Internet Blog, the source for information, insight, and updates about Broadband.
We thought now was the right time to open the door and start a conversation with the Web community about what's happening with the Broadband and their transformation in new era.
We intend to use this blog to:
- Provide authentic messages about Broadband Internet and their querrys for our volunteer community. - Highlight enhancements, both current and future.
Additionally we want to hear from you.
What do you think about Broadband Internet? Why do you use it or what edge do u find to use them on others? Is there something you would like to see fixed? When you've been around as long as we have, some people are bound to have great things to say, while others might have a few choice words based on their personal experience. Either way, we want to hear it :)
We plan on posting every week so grab the opportunity for being updated about latest in the printer world.

Deepti Sharma