Internet Connections and Bandwidth ProblemsInternet Connections and Bandwidth Problemsemail me |
It's no secret that theWorld Wide Web is a rapidly swelling ocean of information. The average Joe of today's internet world is only tapping the narrowest funnels: an ordinary analog line and a PC modem.With web pages growing constantly more complex this trickle of information only gets slower and slower. And so far, promises of faster Internet access have remained just that- promises.
Finally, the World Wide wait may be over. High-speed web access through cable television lines is now offered by all major cable companies. It's only, however, available only to approximately 10 percent of cable customers right now, but cable Internet services are supposed to become available to many more areas over the next year. There is no mystery why this technology is such an attractive option: Cable services can load web pages to you at millions instead of thousands of bits per second. That is approximately 20 to 100 times faster than today's best 56k modems. Another new technology being developed is Internet via satellite, which is less speedy than cable but still up to 8 times faster than a 56k modem. This technology is being used widely, but only through on source, Hughes Networks System.
A cable connection to the internet runs at about $45 American per month through a company called PowerLink. This is much cheaper than offered by other companies which charge around $100 American per month. The only problem with using PowerLink is that it is still only a one way channel. This means that you can download things at disgustingly fast paces, but you can only upload files relying on your good OLD modem connection. back to top
Kbps= kilobits per second
Mbps= megabits per second
* Approximate times
| Connection | Speed | Download 10MB File* |
| Analog Phone Line
ISDN Phone Line Satellite Link DSL Phone Line Cable TV Line ATM |
56Kbps
128Kbps 400Kbps 1.5Mbps 3Mbps 625Mbps |
24 minutes
10 minutes 3 minutes 50 seconds 25 seconds .5 seconds |
Essentially, DSL is the long-overdue digitizing of our telephone lines. Actually, most of the phone network has been digital for years. But the final section leading into our homes is still analog, with our voice calls and data transmissions travelling as audio frequencies over thin strands of copper, or twisted-pair, wiring. Instead of converting digital data to and from these sound waves the way PC modems do, DSL service uses digital signal processing technology tosend and receive data, in binary, over the same copper lines riding frequencies above voice band normally occupied by phone, fax, and modem calls. Since DSL keeps the noraml voice band, it can share the same phone line as phone and fax machines, even while keeping a digital link to the Internet open at all times.
The most common type of DSL technology is called Asymmetric DSL (ADSL), this new data band can split into two unequal channels. The uploading channel is rather narrow, sending data at speeds from 64,000 to 768,000 bits per second. The downloading channel is much wider, receiving data at average rates of 1.5 to 8 million mits per second.
Nobody seems to know quite when this technology with be available, and what it will cost. You'll need a new DSL modem, and so will your phone company. Several firms that make DSL modems say they'll be ready, at $200 to $300 American, later this year. Whether you will be able to install one is up to the phone company's will to want to install this technology on their side. back to top
When the Internet was created 25 years ago, it was called the ARPANET and was used almost exclusively by U.S. researchers and scholars for file transfer and E-mail. The bandwidth (measure of capacity of data transfer mediums) used was from 9.6 Kbps to 56 Kbps, which was sufficient to support activities at that time. Today, individual and corporate users are flooding onto the Internet via the World Wide Web in record numbers. These users demand higher bandwidth-consuming technologies (such as multimedia and voice) to perform electronic commerce. This usage surge is casting serious doubts on the Web's current ability to support electronic commerce. Providing high bandwidth is important because it enables individual and corporate users to use emerging electronic commerce technologies via the Internet. The bandwidth required to provide an adequate level of service for a variety of media support is shown in the Access Speed Table
http://www.tda.ecrc.ctc.com/kbase/doc/brief/bandlat.htm
http://www.ins-net.com/nwork-optimized/nwork-optimizedmain.htm