How is it that when you login to the website you are unable to access your mail, whereas your friend having an e-mail account on the same website is able to access his mail at lightening fast speed? The problem may lie with your internet connection. Maybe you are using a Dial-up connection while your friend is using a Broadband connection.
So what is the difference between a dial-up and a Broadband connection? Dial-up connections process data with a limited bit rate of less than 56 Kilo bits per second (kbps). Dial up connections are now considered by many internet users as an outdated technology. Broadband internet is widely used by internet users around the world for most of their work online.
Broadband internet provides users with the utility of high data transfer speeds. Unlike Dial-up connections you do not have to necessarily disrupt a telephone connection and you can surf the internet at double the bit-rate speed. However there is no specific bit-rate defined by the industry as to what can be termed as Broadband and so even lower speed connections are marketed as Broadband by many Internet service providers.
In countries such as India, 256 kbps is considered to be the norm for a typical broadband connection whereas in countries like the US, the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) considers the minimum requirement to be 768 kbps.
Due its flexible nature, Broadband internet has converted the average PC into a major entertainment medium.
Broadband entertainment:
Broadband access has transformed the Internet from an ordinary database to an interactive Entertainment forum consisting of songs, TV shows, movies and advertisements. Many websites are now offering internet users, access to a variety of entertainment services either free of charge or for a nominal subscription.fee. This has given advertisers an opportunity to reach out to their target segment in a better way.
Broadband on Mobile:
With the number of cell phone users increasing worldwide Mobile service providers such as AT&T and T-mobile now provide Broadband internet access through the WAP and GPRS services. Mobile Broadband is very essential for people who are constantly moving from one place to another. Also with 3rd and 4th generation mobile phones flooding the markets, broadband internet is now easily accessible to the common man. Mobile broadband is not just limited to cell phones, as you can plug in a portable modem while travelling. Mobile phones such as Blackberry and Nokia N72 are specifically designed to access internet applications such as e-mail and multimedia.
My computer has slowed down:
Many broadband users often complain about not getting the right speed. This may be due to mismanagement in the distribution of Bandwidth by an ISP. Thus many ISP are offering their customers a feature called the Broadband speed test to measure the data transfer rate provided by company.
How do I get connected?
When choosing a broadband connection, Internet service providers are now offering unique plans to their customers such as Volume based plans meaning you are allowed the a fixed usage of internet bandwidth and Time based Plans which is mostly post paid connection.
Author Resource:
R Walker is the author of this article on Broadband .
Find more information about Mobile Broadband here.