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What is an ISP?
An ISP, or "Internet Service Provider", is your gatekeeper to the wonderful world of the Internet. You cannot get online without paying one of these ferrymen to take you across the information highway to the great and terrible cyberworld. Plainly put, an ISP is a company that provides consumers and businesses access to the internet.
Dialup: 40-50 kbps
Dialup will serve just fine if all you use the internet for is e-mail, light web-surfing (news, weather, movie times, occasional shopping), small, infrequent downloads (system upgrades, documents like .pdfs, pictures like .jpgs). Incredibly reliable, as long as your phone line is up and running your dialup should be too, it is the best option for the budget-constrained. There are even free or super-cheap dialup ISPs where, in exchange for such discounted service, users agree to view advertisements as they surf. Some dialup ISPs now use caching technology to offer accelerated speeds that, while significantly slower than broadband, do make dialup less of a compromise. This is especially useful to people who, because of geography or other reasons, cannot get broadband service. Many broadband internet service providers include dialup with their packages as an emergency backup.
Broadband: If it's not dialup, it's broadband; that includes DSL, cable modems, and satellite. Broadband services are generally much faster than dialup connections and allow you to use their telephone (including receiving calls) while you surf. For heavy web-surfing, streaming audio & video, larger downloads, and online gaming, broadband service is essential.
ADSL (aka DSL): 128 Kbps-384 Kbps uploads, 1.5 Mbps downloads
Before you can order DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), you need to find out if your telephone line qualifies for service. Most major telephone companies offer their own DSL service, or have partnered with an ISP to provide you internet access, though you are not obligated to use your phone company's internet service provider. DSL service is usually installed by the user, following simple instructions included with the software that your internet service provider sends.
Cable: 128 Kbps - 384 Kbps uploads, 1.5 Mbps downloads
Just as DSL comes through your telephone line, a cable connection comes through the same black, coaxial cable you would use for access to cable television. If you can receive cable television at your location, chances are you can get a cable internet connection. You will need to make sure you have a digital cable connection. There is usually a setup fee involved in making the broadband access channels available to you. Cable connection speeds and stability are comparable with DSL, but unlike DSL a cable connection typically requires the services of a professional installer, supplied by the ISP, paid by you. One advantage to cable ISPs is that they don't generally require you to commit to a yearlong contract, and many of them have a 30-day money back guarantee. You won't find that with your DSL or satellite internet service provider.
Satellite: 40 Kbps uploads, 400-800 Kbps downloads
If you live in the boondocks, or if for any other reason neither DSL nor cable modem service is available in your area, all is not lost. With satellite internet, information is transmitted between your computer and the internet service provider's Network Operations Center (NOC) via a satellite. One restricting qualification to use satellite internet service is an open view of the sky between your satellite and the ISPs satellite in space (for residents of the northern hemisphere, it's the southern sky). Satellite users will often experience connection outages during inclement weather. These factors unarguably make satellite a less-than-ideal option, but for those people and businesses for which it’s the only option available, it is well worth the extra cost.
Corporate Broadband: 384 Kbps - 1.5 Mbps uploads, 384 Kbps - 4 Mbps downloads
For heavy-duty internet users, for high traffic web-hosting, for businesses that rely on internet sales and/or extensive networking capabilities, for all who simply cannot afford downtimes/ interruptions of service, etc., there are many additional options available, including business-class cable (like a T1 line) and DSL (SDSL). Upload speeds with these kinds of connections are incomparable, and invaluable to companies that send out large amounts of data.
Wireless/Wi-Fi: For heavy travelers, or simply for internet users always on the go, there are also wireless or Wi-Fi connections that access the internet through your cell phone or laptop. Though heavily restricted by location, internet access through your cell phone gives you the ultimate in web-mobility. This area of the industry is still young, and promises to expand with virus-like expediency. Laptop users with the right hardware and software, can even hop online via a network hub at one of many public locations, like airports, libraries, and cafes.
See also: How to Choose an ISP
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