Broadband Primer

This was excerpted from email written to a relative inquiring about getting broadband service for the first time in Fall 2006.

BROADBAND SPEEDS
Speeds are typically expressed in terms of "kilobits per second" or "megabits per second." A dialup modem is typically capable of about 50Kbps downloading, and 33Kbps uploading. Until somewhat recently, a typical DSL residential account has been 768Kbps to 1.5Mbps *maximum* download, and upload is typically lower: 128Kbps to 384Kbps.

(Here, I recommended one increment higher than the slowest tier of service from a local DSL provider.) The 1.5Mbps (actual speeds may be much lower - this is a maximum possible figure) speed would get you snappy browsing, and give you some significant speed (20-30 times a dialup modem) for downloading very large files such as software updates, audio or video files. You may not think you have a reason to download audio or video files, but there's an increasing amount of interesting content online (much of it free) which would be awkward or prohibitive to download with lower-speed connections (i.e., a 3-hour download you won't even notice overnight or while out shopping - but a 60-hour download on a slower connection would hog your bandwidth, making Web browsing sluggish for almost three days).

I'm very conservative about recommending how much money someone else spends, but I think it's worth the $7 extra over the lowest-cost plan for the huge performance difference (as much as 6x faster). The faster plans are probably more than you need at this point.

BROADBAND ROUTERS
I'd strongly recommend that you get a "broadband router" to insulate yourself from the Internet. This $30-60 device allows you to connect to the Internet and retrieve data on multiple computers (if you wish) inside your home, but prevents any outside user from getting inside your home network from the Internet. If you get a "wireless" broadband router, you'll be able to connect a laptop or desktop computer through a secure, encrypted connection up to 150 feet from the router. It's quite liberating to be able to carry your laptop from room to room while maintaining an Internet connection. Note that you may require a $30-40 "WiFi card" in any or every computer - most new laptops have this functionality built-in.

Here are the important things a router does for you:

• Obviates (in almost every case) the need for installing any software related to connecting to your ISP. With a router installed, your ISP won't know or care which OS (Operating System: Windows, MacOS, Linux, etc.) you're using. The router makes an agnostic connection to both your computers and your ISP. I should say that they likely won't be able to help you with this aspect of your connection, but there should be no need for their help. Once properly installed and configured (a relatively simple operation), the computer(s) in your home connected to the router (either by wired or wireless connection to the router) simply know they have an Internet connection.
• Your friend will install the router between your broadband "modem" and your computers. The computers should then be configured to generically connect to "a TCP/IP network using DHCP via Ethernet connection," and they should be able to do any Internet tasks: Web browsing, email, voice chat, etc.
  
• Protects you from unwanted intrusions from the Internet by providing a firewall. A "firewall" prevents any access to your computer from the Internet-side of your router. Though perhaps somewhat unlikely, a malicious user or "robot" (a computer doing malicious activities autonomously) could still randomly discover your computer on an unprotected connection.
• Creates a Local Area Network (LAN). An added benefit/feature of installing a router is that it creates a LAN (Local Area Network) within your home. With your computers properly configured, this allows you to potentially copy/share files between computers, and share resources such as printers. (Note that you may not be able to do some resource sharing in older versions of Windows).
• Allows wireless networking in your home. I should have suggested previously that if you're going to buy a broadband router (some companies will call this a "Cable/DSL Router"), and there's any chance that you'll have a laptop computer, you might as well spend perhaps $20-30 more to get a _wireless_ router. This actually is a wired *and* wireless router, and does serve the important functions we'd like you to have even if you only have wired *or* wireless connections between your computer(s) and the router. But wireless functionality would allow you to use any computer, anywhere in your home without running wires to its location. This could include a desktop computer equipped with a wireless "card." Wireless connectivity is very convenient, allowing you to freely move about your home while maintaining a constant Internet connection.

Information about broadband for which you didn't ask:

• Advertised inbound rates are listed as maximums - actual performance at your home could be lower. Some providers list a guaranteed minimum. Upload rates are typically actual maximums.
• DSL uses telephone wiring - usually existing wiring which the customer already uses for voice calls. DSL data uses the copper phone lines concurrently with, and independent of, telephone calls. So you can use the telephone and DSL at the same time. Indeed, the DSL connection is somewhat continuous, or "always on."
• DSL is only available within a maximum distance from pieces of network hardware in the telephone company's physical layout which are referred to as "CO's," or "central offices." It is possible that you many not be able to get DSL service because you are too far from a CO. You may also only be able to get lower-speed plans further from COs, as signal integrity can be compromised by distance.
  
• Telephone companies are often DSL providers (they own the wires), but because of anti-monopoly laws must also allow other providers to sell DSL service over their lines.
• Broadband service over cable television lines is provided by cable providers. Performance is similar to DSL, and sometimes greater.
• In the correct usage of abbreviating, a capital "B" represents Bytes, and lowercase "b" represents bits. So 768 Kbps/8 bits per byte = 96 KBps.
• "ADSL" stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. The asymmetric part describes that the inbound "download" speeds are faster than outbound "upload" speeds. Most consumer services are asymmetric, assuming that users will primarily intake content, and infrequently submit content. Users with high outbound traffic are assumed by bandwidth providers to be professionals, so higher outbound rates are disproportionately expensive. Don't worry about this - [as a consumer] you won't be encountering SDSL (Symmetrical) providers.