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.