difference between dsl broadband
In this article I’m going to discuss some of the differences between different options for methods to connect to the Internet.
First off, let me explain the two main types of Internet connection before I get more in-depth about some of the more specific types within these two general categories.
When when one looks at it as broadly as possible there are two commonplace computer terms which are for different Internet connections: dialup and “broadband”.
Dialup is, as you may know, the older way to get on the Internet, where you use a dialup modem. Dialup modems have been around far longer than most people realize: I bought my first one in the mid 1980s and they were originally introduced long before that.
It was a “1200 bps” (bps is a way to measure of how fast it works) modem that I paid something like $200 for back then. Dialup modems capped out at 56K bps back in the late 1990s, and now go for less than $10 if you go to the right place.
So that would make it about 46 times faster, and twenty times less expensive.
Now you could think to yourself “I think I read somewhere that my computer has a 56K modem in it. That must be pretty fast then!”
If you’re thinking that, you’re mistaken.
Dialup is obsolete technology, and hasn’t been upgraded in about a decade, which means it’s about one hundred fifty years out of date relatively speaking!
So the bottom line is, dialup is very slow.
Lots of computer users are trapped in the dark ages of dialup, either because they don’t see any reason not to, or they don’t have any other option where they are.
What you may not realize is that even if you are still using dialup and are thinking “I’m not upgrading; what’s the point?” — you’re making a mistake.
I’ll tell you why in a moment.
Before I do, I should explain the main alternative to dialup. I’m talking about “broadband”, which generally just means “fast Internet”.
Broadband is delivered in a number of flavors, covering a range of speeds, even the slowest lots faster than dialup.
Beyond lots better, broadband generally doesn’t tie up your phone line, so people you know aren’t annoyed by busy signals when they call you, and you’re able to place phone calls while you’re connected to the Internet.
The two main different types of broadband are cable and DSL. Cable internet comes over the same cable as cable TV, and is available from a variety of companies with a variety of different brands — Roadrunner is one example of cable internet.
DSL actually comes over your phone lines just like dialup, but is much quicker and, just like cable Internet, you can place phone calls while you’re connected.
You’ve got less-common choices such as satellite, which gives you fairly fast connections to the Internet using a satellite dish like satellite TV. It is pretty slow for broadband, but lots faster than dialup. It’s mainly used by people in less developed areas who don’t have a better choice.
What I tend to advise to most computer users is to get DSL, if they can get it where you live. In most cases it’s only a little bit more expensive than dialup is, and in a lot of instances it’s the same price or even costs less!
It’s not generally as speedy as cable Internet, but it’s still fast enough for most people, and lets you do a lot of things that just aren’t possible (or are very very agonizingly sluggish) on dialup, such as watching videos on YouTube or other sites, or downloading big files.
Which brings us to one of the biggest reasons I strongly suggest people stop using dialup and switch to some flavor of broadband — downloading large files.
You might make the mistake of thinking that you never do that, but the thing is… Perhaps you do (or should be) and don’t know it.
First off, people are sending around large pictures (or several smaller images), or even videosvia email all the time now.
Maybe you’re using dialup and you’ve tried checking your email and it never seemed to be able to get the new messages, or it seemed to take forever to do so, you may have become a victim of this.
So that’s one reason.
But there’s an even more critical one: computers need something called “security updates” or “patches” which are critically important to download. It’s important for both Microsoft Windows or Apple’s Macs.
Unless you have these patches, your computer can be vulnerable to infection by viruses, worms, and other threats.
But these security updates (like Windows Update, or Apple’s Software Update) more and more frequently can be very large files.
So huge that it can take hours and hours, or even DAYS to download. And if you don’t download them, your computer is vulnerable.
Which leaves you up a creek if you’re still using dialup.
So seriously consider about upgrading if you haven’t already, and let people know about this who haven’t. And remember there are a number of good sites out there where you can discover computer how to lessons, so make sure you use them if you need them.