Broadband Advice

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What is Broadband?
Other names for the same thing:

1. High Speed Internet
2. ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) - BT; Easynet; etc.
3. Cable Internet (Blueyonder; NTL)
4. Leased Line (often called T1, T2, or T3)

Note: ISDN is NOT broadband. If you still have ISDN then you are likely paying far too much for a SLOW connection

There is a lot of misunderstandings surrounding Broadband. Here we will try to provide an easy to understand guide and advice about where to get it and how to make the most effective use of it at minimum cost.

The best way to understand Broadband is to compare it with a standard (and now old fashioned) DIAL-UP Internet connection:

Dial Up
When you connect to the Internet via DIAL-UP, you must have a DIAL-UP modem installed in your computer. Such modems reached the LIMIT of what they could deliver in terms of speed a few years ago. That is; 56 kilobits. You will know you have a dialup connection, if, when you connect, you hear the typical sound of a touch dial phone number being dialled, followed by the instantly recognisable sound of a MODEM connection "handshake". This is similar in sound to a fax machine, only STRANGER. What is happening here is that YOUR modem is talking to ANOTHER modem at the other end, and they are trying to work out between the two of them if they are going to TALK to each other or not. Thus, the "handshake". Your computer via the modem will also be sending your username and password, while the other computer will be checking these against it's database. Assuming they BOTH agree, you are away and you can now surf the Net and/or check your emails.

Essentially however, what you have just done is make a STANDARD telephone call using a MODEM rather than a telephone. If someone is trying to call you on that line, they will get an engaged signal or "call waiting". You will also not be able to make any calls while you are connected. This is why MANY people have TWO phone lines in their house.

Real World speed of Dial-up
If say your daughter sends you some nice pictures as an attachment in an email (let's consider there are about 6 and the total size is 1 MB [Megabytes]); you are unlikely to obtain a faster transfer rate of more than about 4 kilobits per second (see below). Thus, it may take anything up to 30 minutes for the email with those pictures attached to arrive in your inbox. Some people have no real concept of how big file sizes are, and so may send HUGE image files adding up to 10 or more MB. As should be clear, on a dia-up connection this may take HOURS to send out, and a similar time to download at the other end if they TOO are on dialup.

I occasionally get support calls where people say their email has stopped working. But it turns out that it is NOT that it has stopped working, it is just that there is a MASSIVE email trying to download. Advice: BEFORE you send BIG attachments, ASK the other person; are they on a DIAL-Up connection? And ALWAYS check the file sizes before you send (even on Broadband). As a general rule of thumb, you should not send a combined attachment over 1 MB =1024k). It is not a good way to make friends. To check this, have a look at the file size once attached. It will tell you in brackets after the name.

Note: 56k does not mean a transfer rate of 56k. It equates in real world terms to about 4k per second. Therefore, there are some things on the Internet which are; if not closed to you; certainly PAINFULLY slow. Examples: Running Windows or Mac OS update: Downloading Video clips: Visiting high graphic/animation content websites. Note: What you may NOT know is that very FEW modems connect at 56k. Most connect between 38-48k.

Finally, the other thing about Dial-up is that you may be paying for the cost of your telephone calls on TOP of any subscription you pay to your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Although, many now offer monthly packages where you dial a FREEPHONE number. But consider this: How much are you PAYING for this package? And, if you are ALSO paying call charges; how MUCH do these add UP to per month? Finally, if you have TWO phone lines, how much is the line rental on the second one? For you see you do not NEED two phone lines with Broadband.

Broadband
Did you know that you can frequently SAVE money by moving to Broadband? The average starter package is now between £15-20 per month. Plus there are no call charges. In addition, Broadband does not tie up your phone line. You may even be able to get RID of one phone line if you have two or more.

What Broadband IS
Essentially Broadband is similar to Dial-up except much faster. The average Broadband speed at the moment (although this is fast changing) is 512k. Straight away you can see why this is OFTEN advertised as being TEN TIMES faster than Dial-up. Dial-up is 56k; Broadband is 512k. However; as with Dialup; 512k does not mean transfer rates of 512k. In reality you are lucky to get 100k per second. The average is more like 50-60k. But even so, if you compare this to 4k per second, you can see what a BIG difference it is. And so to use our example from above of a 1 MB email attachment. THIS will download in just a few minutes as opposed to 20 minutes.

Similar to Dial-up, you also need a modem (OR, a router - see below) to access Broadband. But this is NOT the same thing as a dial-up modem. It will usually be EXTERNAL and connect via USB. There is also software to install to make it work (called drivers). Usually the modem will be supplied by the Broadband company. Typically, they will charge £30-90 for this. But in some cases it will be free. They will usually ALSO charge a connection fee. This is because YOUR telephone number has to be "turned on" to accept Broadband at the exchange - in the case of ADSL. (For Cable Broadband; i.e. Blueyonder and NTL; see below). Connection fees can vary from FREE to hundreds of pounds for a Business installation (also see below on Business broadband). But average is £40-80.

Connection with a Broadband modem is much faster. Typically a few seconds rather than MINUTES for a dial-up. In addition, it is designed to be an "always-on" service. Therefore; and because there are no CALL charges involved; you do not need to keep connecting and disconnecting. You simply connect at the beginning of your computer session, and leave it on all day if you wish. It won't make Any difference to your bill. However, there are dangers to this when using a MODEM (See - Why you should get a ROUTER - below).

You will also be supplied with (what are called) MICROFILTERS. These are little white "splitters" which you need to plug into any extension you have in your house, and then plug your normal phone IN to. This is because ADSL broadband uses the SAME copper wire that your phone line is on to CARRY the SIGNAL. But this generates NOISE on the line. Microfilters take care of this. They SPLIT the two signals so that you do not HEAR the noise. Once again; these may be free or anything up to £25 each. Note: If you have a dedciated line for you Broadband and don't use it for voice calls, then you will only need one of these. Even if you have a fax machine on this line, that's fine. ADSL should not effect faxing.

Potential problems with Microfilters
You should know that you can only have ONE Microfilter on EACH extension. IF your extensions were installed correctly by BT, you should have no problems. However, in some cases what you THINK is a proper extension is actually just a cable plugged in via a doubler, and then run to another room. If you plug one microfilter in to the doubler, and another one in at the other end; you have actually got two microfilters on ONE extension. In which case your ADSL will probably not work. To rectify this, remove either one or the other.

Finally, when ordering ADSL, make sure you have a phone socket close to where your Computer is. You should ALSO be very clear (in the case where you have more than one line) WHICH phone number it is to go on. You also cannot get ADSL on a NON-BT number (i.e. Telewest) Note: You cannot take your existing ADSL account WITH you when you move house. You must cancel it and start a new one. Connection charges apply.

Cable Internet
The BIG difference between ADSL (the most common) and CABLE Internet is that it is a HARD WIRED physical installation. With ADSL, you already HAVE the cable in the form of your phone line. Cable requires that they come physically to your house and run a BIG (usually white) coaxial (same type as TV) cable into your house. You must think VERY carefully about where you want this. For it will cost you to have it moved to another room. You also will have no choice in terms of modem. They HAVE to provide the modem and that's that! (Please also see section on ROUTERS - below) Other than that, there is not much of a difference other than the following DISADVANTAGES and ADVANTAGES (although speed may become an issue later on - see below):

Disadvantages
1. You cannot use your Cable Broadband anywhere in the house (unless you go for Wireless - see separate article - Going Wireless). For as I have already mentioned, it is a physical CABLE installation. Whereas with ADSL, you can simply plug it into ANY extension.
2. You are also not as FREE as you are with ADSL to chop and change suppliers as FASTER and CHEAPER deals become available. You can of course CANCEL with cable after a year. But in practise, most people just stay with it.
3. The connection is NOT so easy to pick up as ADSL. All Broadband suppliers have their "outages" (downtime - whether for maintenance or equipment failure). But ADSL will usually pick up the connection again easily. Whereas SOMETIMES with Cable, you have to restart your computer repeatedly and unplug the modem a few times before it grudgingly picks up the connection again. Note: this is not a common occurrence. But I do get a few calls about this from time to time.
4. Quite simply, they may not have got around to running the cables to your street yet. So you can't get it.

Note: Nearly ALL Broadband providers have a webpage where you can check availability at your address. This includes ADSL.

Here are links to them:
Blueyonder

NTL

BT - (if BT offer ADSL in your area, then many other ISP's will too)

Advantages
1. Cable companies often do some enticing combined packages. Blueyonder for instance offer a combined Cable TV, Free local and National telephone calls AND Broadband package for an all inclusive price. Quite tempting, and good value for money.

Why you should get a ROUTER
A router is a replacement for your modem (if you are on ADSL) and an ADD-ON if you have cable. But what is it, and why should I get one?

To explain this, first a few words about how the Internet works:

The Internet is essentially built on top of a "protocol" (an agreed way to communicate) called TCP-IP. The way this works is that any computer or other device which is connected to the Internet must have it's OWN unique INTERNATIONAL "IP number". Think of it as being like your own UNIQUE telephone number. IP numbers have a standard format like this XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX Where XXX is a 3 digit number between the range of 1-255.

Thus, whenever you connect to the Internet via Dial-up or Broadband, you are assigned one of these numbers.

The problem with this however; once you are on an "always-on" Broadband connection; is that you are "visible" on the Internet and therefore vulnerable to unscrupulous "hackers" - amongst other things. Note: A hacker is someone who accesses your computer without your knowledge - either to just cause mischief (just for fun), to try and get your personal details (i.e. Credit card details), or to use it's processing power for other things. But please do not become paranoid. This is not that common. If you think about it, of all the millions of computers in the Internet, what do you think the chances are of you being the one - an actual real live person attacks. Pretty slim. But nevertheless it does happen. I HAVE had a client call me to say his mouse was moving on it's own.

More likely is that you will get what is called a Trojan Horse. A Trojan Horse is a form of virus (see separate article on Virus advice) which installs one or more communication programmes onto your computer without your knowledge which then set about "broadcasting" your whereabouts (IP number) on the Internet in a particular way, once again without your knowledge. Note: EVEN IF you virus software is up to date, the Trojan may install these programmes BEFORE your virus software gut's rid of it. In addition, once these programmes are installed, they may not necessarily be classified as viruses by your virus software. For they can be actual versions of perfectly legitimate software. (ICQ is a case in point) Once this has happened, if you are completely "naked" on the Internet, the chances of your computer being affected and/or "attacked" in some way is far higher. And it need not even be a real live person involved. It could be an automated programme.

This whole subject with regards to hacking and Trojans is a HUGE one. Too huge to enlarge upon any further here. But if you are interested in an example of HOW and WHY people do these sort of things, there is very good article/story here...

LINK to

Suffice to say, it is preferable to have some kind of protection once you are on Broadband so you are NOT "naked" on the Internet. One way of achieving this is to install Firewall Software. Examples of this are Norton Personal Firewall; MacAfee Internet Security; and Zone Alarm. While also with Windows XP and Mac OSX, a basic Firewall is built into the operating system. I don't generally recommend software firewalls - and in particular I really DON'T recommend ANY of the COMBINED suites of security software as mentioned above. They can have a massive effect on the speed/functioning of your computer. If your simply MUST have a software firewall, then ZONEALARM is to my mind the BEST. It is FREE and SLIMLINE. Download it here:

Zonealarm

You can also find the download link on the top right side of this page.

A much better solution to this issue is to get a router. A router (as I said) is a replacement for your ADSL modem (or an add-on to your cable modem). It is a small box which usually has FOUR ports on it for up to 4 computers to plug in (see also separate article on Going Wireless about WIRELESS ROUTERS). There are two types. The ADSL type plugs into the phone socket instead of your modem. While the CABLE type plugs into your Cable modem. The way it works (and the main REASON I recommend them) is that the ROUTER is the device that connects to the Internet, NOT your computer. Thus, it is the ROUTER which is assigned a UNIQUE INTERNATIONAL "phone number". Once your computer is plugged into one of the four "ports", the router then assigns you (what is called) a LOCAL "IP" number. This is a number which will not work on the Internet, and, as a result, you are to all practical purposes "invisible" on the Internet.

In addition to this, most routers have (what is called) a HARDWARE firewall built in. This means that they will be automatically configured (in most cases) to accept and reject traffic based on typical criteria. This is excellent. But it is by far the fact that you are not directly connected to the Internet which is the biggest advantage.

Note: Another advantage to a router is that you can have more than ONE computer SHARING the Internet connection. Something you CANNOT do (well at least not easily) with just a modem.

Note also: Everything I have said here applies to BOTH ADSL and CABLE Internet.

Cost: Routers are now not much more than the cost of a modem. (i.e. From £80 upwards) For recommendations on which ones to buy, feel free to call or email.

Speed of Broadband
As I said earlier, as at the current time (March 2005) 512k is the usual speed. But this is changing very quickly. For instance: My own provider (Plusnet) have just recently informed me that they will be upgrading to 8MB in April. WOW! I currently have 2MB, which I found AMAZING when I initially upgraded from 512K. So what is 8MB going to be like? ;)

Once we get up past 8MB, downloading full size videos becomes a REAL and effective possibility. Bear in mind however, that no matter HOW fast your connection, you are STILL dependent upon the overall speed of equipment on the Internet at large. This is of course being upgraded all the time. But consider (for example) you are trying to download something from a website which is HOSTED (physically stored on their computer) via a humble 512k Broadband connection: There is simply no WAY your super fast connection will make any difference to how fast it can be uploaded from the other end. In addition, if you are trying to access something on a website which HAS a fast pipe attached to it, but 5000 OTHER people are ALSO trying to access the same thing at the same time, well, you can imagine the result.

A note on CABLE Internet: At the current time it APPEARS that the ADSL speeds are pushing ahead FASTER than the Cable speeds. How this changes in the future, as yet, remains to be seen.

Upgrading your Broadband - A warning
Some ISPs will not TELL you that they are now offering a service to NEW customers which is FASTER and CHEAPER than the one you are currently on. This is particularly relevant where you may have had your Broadband for a number of years. For of course prices have come down hugely. So while it may have cost £60 per month for 512k several yeas ago, you can now get it for £15. But if you don't ask them, they won't always tell you. Why SHOULD they? You have been paying them £60 per month all these years. Why should they want to earn less money from you? Personally I think they SHOULD tell you. In some cases (particularly Business accounts) they may even make it DIFFICULT for you to "upgrade" to a contemporary (more for less) account. Forcing you to accept things as they are, or move elsewhere. Something you may not want to do. Hardly FAIR. Advice: If you have a long standing account: Firstly check your ISP's website and find out what they are NOW charging. Then negotiate a better deal. If all else fails, go elsewhere. You could save a LOT of money, AND get a much faster connection.

Business Broadband
Coming soon