Internet Connections

When choosing a plan for your dial up or broadband connection it is important to judge how much you will use your internet connection. If your not going to be spending much time on the internet go for a fixed download at a cheap rate. (important tip: always ask around about friends internet connections, how fast are they?, who are they with? etc, as not all companies provide an equal service). If you plan on using the net quite frequently or have a large family of casual surfers, you may want to opt for a unlimited plan. This way you are not penalized by the excess download costs (which can really mount up) and you can surf till your heart is content.

Dial up internet access - Essential dial up is a connection to the internet through a phone line. Dial up is the most popular form of internet access and is extremely flexible as provided you have a phone line in the building, you can connect to the internet. Dial up internet access does have some shortfalls the main one being speed. Dial up is only really suitable for casual web surfing, email and simple tasks (small downloads). Once you start trying to download heavy pages of graphics or multi-media content, such as movies and flash presentations the download capacity becomes too great for a traditional dial up account. Typically a large page of pictures may several minutes, and a short movie hours.

Broadband internet access - Broadband is a separate line into your home provided by most major cable companies. Different to a phone line broadband allows a greater flow of information and greater download speeds. Internet users whom spend a lot of time online almost require broadband as many websites using heavy images, flash presentations and movies are usually the most popular websites surfed. There are many different broadband plans as well as cheaper lightweight plans which are actually quite affordable. Note, many of these cheaper plans post a strict download limit and once you exceed that limit (download too many pages, movies or pictures) you will be charged per kilobyte downloaded, usually at a premium rate above normal broadband costs.

Broadband is generally three times or more the speed of dial up and makes for a far greater internet experience. Being able to surf through more webpages has many benefits and you will really notice the difference going back to dial up. A good analogy would be driving through a 60 mph zone and slowing down to 30mph. Sometimes you don�t feel like your moving at all..