Basics of Broadband CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET FASTER, The

Are you connected? For most businesses, connecting to the Internet has become as important as having heat, light, and phone service. In fact, connectivity may be the most important thing, especially if product orders come through the Internet.

And businesses aren't satisfied with just being connected to the Internet, they want the connection to be fast. Trouble is, the amount of traffic running through the connection often keeps growing, and that can slow things down on the information superhighway.

It has been hard to anticipate Internet use because new applications keep appearing, such as streaming video, which allows for Web-based conferencing, and voice over Internet protocol, which sends telephone signals over the Internet. As a result, most businesses eventually outgrow their Internet connection, resulting in ever-slower downloads or uploads, clogged-up e-mail due to huge attachments, and lost productivity while waiting for things to load.

So whether your business is looking for a new location or just wants to have an Internet connection that meets your needs at your present location, it pays to be familiar with the terminology of broadband and whether it is even available in your area.

Broadband is all about speed, expressed in the number of bits per second that can be transmitted. A bit is the smallest unit of digital data, either a 1 or a 0, that all computer and Internet traffic is composed of. In the early days of accessing the Internet, people Were happy to get up to 56,000 bits per second (Kbps) over a phone line. Now access speeds are expressed in millions of bits per second, or megabits, abbreviated as Mbps. Broadband is anything over 256 Kbps that can carry more than one signal at a time.

Hooking up to the Internet has also gone beyond copper telephone lines with the advent of fiber optic cable, coaxial cable such as is used for cable TV, and wireless options such as Wi-Fi and satellite setups.

We will discuss those options, but first, let's talk about the most common levels of service.

Dial-up: The grand-daddy of Internet connections, dial-up service takes up a phone line and sends high-pitched squeaks and squawks, not a digital signal. Speeds are limited to 56 Kbps with some enhancements, basically too slow for many modern Internet applications, but sometimes all that is available in remote areas. At least it is cheap, available for under $20 a month.

DSL: The digital subscriber line, as the name states, is a true digital signal that can share a phone line with voice traffic because it is on a higher frequency. DSL speeds can reach 6 Mbps. The main problem with DSL is that is has a limited range in terms of how far away the subscriber can be from the service provider's main switch, and the farther the stretch, the less reliable the signal. A DSL line is also faster at downloads than it is at uploads, so those who send lots of large files may want to consider that. Monthly cost for a DSL line ranges from $15 to $100 or so, depending on speed.

T-1: The workhorse of Internet connections, a Tier-1 line is a dedicated digital connection that is the equivalent of 24 regular telephone lines. A T-1 line's capacity is 1.5 Mbps for both uploads and downloads, and some of its 24 channels can be devoted to voice traffic. Phone companies also offer fractional T-1 lines for those who don't need the full capacity. T-1 lines can be bundled or bonded together to offer increased capacity. T-1 service is also referred to as DS1. Monthly cost for a T-l line can range from $250 to $1,000.

T-3: Also called a DS3 line, Tier-3 business Internet service provides capabilities that are equal to those of 28 T-l lines. Speed on a T-3 line can reach a tremendous 45 Mbps. The cost of a T-3 line is in the range of $2,500 a month, so once a business is paying for five or six T-l lines, it might make sense to switch to T-3 and have much more capacity at a comparable price. Like a T-l, a T-3 line is dedicated to your company's traffic exclusively, and maintains the same speed for both uploads and downloads.

Gigabit: Capacities for Internet connections reach into the gigabit range (billions of bits per second) these days, but that is beyond the needs of most businesses. Hookups in the gigabit range require special equipment and dedicated fiber optic lines.

OTHER OPTIOnS

Many cable television companies have become active in providing Internet service as well. On the most basic level, the hookup is through the same coaxial cable as the television signal comes through. This is where the main service difference arises, because the coaxial cable is a shared pipeline. That means that other subscribers along the same line could be accessing the Internet at the same time. Eventually, this could result in a slowdown for everyone on the line. Keep this in mind when trying to compare prices and speeds with telephone company offerings such as DSL and T-1.

Some cable companies also offer fiber optic cable connections, which have a higher capacity for carrying signals. This should result in less chance of multiple users causing a slowdown in the fiber. There may also be the option of leasing a dedicated fiber line from the cable company, eliminating the concern about interference entirely.