Net directions
At last, the days of 56K modem connections to the Internet are over. There can be no doubt that the Internet has a lot to offer, both for home and business users, and it is also a simple fact that you
At last, the days of 56K modem connections to the Internet are over. There can be no doubt that the Internet has a lot to offer, both for home and business users, and it is also a simple fact that you will never get to experience the best content online if you are limited to the 7KB/sec optimal download speed of a 56K modem. Things like streaming multimedia, teleconferencing, online gaming and file sharing all require bandwidth far in excess of that available through a 56K modem if they are to be properly exploited. The good news is that there are now more connection alternatives available to consumer and business users than ever before, including cable, satellite and the new DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) technologies, and all have the potential to open up the Internet in its entirety for your productivity or entertainment needs.
While this Labs is concerned with broadband Internet connections, there is actually some discrepancy in terms of what broadband actually means. In general terms, broadband refers to any type of connection that can send multiple signals down a single line, although the specific technical definition differs slightly, and it is placed in distinction to narrowband and wideband.
Narrowband referred to mainly PSTN-based connections, like an analogue modem, with a bandwidth of under 64Kbit/sec. Wideband was defined in terms of ISDN lines, whether as a single connection, or as a PRI bundle, and represented bandwidth between 64Kbit/sec to 1.544Mbit/sec. This left broadband as anything that could deliver over 1.544Mbit/sec, such as an E1 (or T1 in the US) or Frame Relay. Today, however, it is not unusual to see any connection rated above 128Kbit/sec called broadband.
This Labs represents a slight departure from the standard PC Authority Labs format in that it deals with services instead of physical products. We have taken a cross section of all the latest Internet connection technologies and run them head to head to see which one is the best for you.
Editor Tim Dean
Staff Writers David Kidd, Ashok Zaman
Contributor Bennett Ring
This article appeared in the August, 2001 issue of PC Authority.
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