CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET

CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET

There are mainly three ways of connecting to the Internet, which are as follows:

     1.    Dial-up Connection

     It is a temporary connection, set-up between your computer and ISP server.
Dial-up connection uses the telephone line (Public Switched Telephone Network-PSTN) and modem to connect to the Internet. The modem connects the computer through the standard phone lines, which serves as the data transfer medium. When a user initiates a dial-up connection, user need to enter the password and specify a username and modem dials a phone number of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that is designated to receive dial-up calls.
The ISP then establishes the connection, which usually takes about 10 sec and is accompanied by several beeping and buzzing sounds.

2. Broadband Connection

The term broadband commonly refers to high speed Internet access that is always ON and faster than the traditional dial-up access. It is the short form of broadband width that uses a telephone line to connect to the Internet. Speed of broadband connection is measured in Mbps (Megabits per second).
          Broadband access allows users to connect to the Internet at greater speed than a standard 256 Kbps (Kilobits per second) modem or dial-up access. Broadband access requires the use of a broadband modem.
Broadband includes several high speed transmission technologies, which are as follows:

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
It is a popular broadband connection which provides Internet access by transmitting digital data over the wires of a local telephone network. It uses the existing copper telephone lines for Internet access.
A special modem is necessary in order to be able to use a DSL service over a standard phone line.
Faster forms of DSL, typically available to businesses are as follows:

·         High Data Rate Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL)

·         Very High Data Rate Digital Subscriber Line (VHDSL)

·         Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)

·         Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL)

Cable Modem
This service enables cable operators to provide broadband using the same co-axial cables, that deliver pictures and sound to your TV set.
A cable modem can be added to or integrated with a set-top box that provides your TV set for Internet access. They provide transmission speed of 1.5 Mbps or more.

Broadband over Power Line (BPL)
It is the delivery of broadband over the existing low and medium voltage electric power distribution network. Its speed is comparable to DSL and cable modem speeds.
BPL can be provided to homes using existing electrical connections and outlets. It is also known as power-band. BPL is good for those areas, where there are no broadband connections, but power infrastructure exists, e.g. in rural areas.

•       ARPANET was the world’s first operational packet switching network.
•       An Internet backbone is a point, where one or more networks are connected.

•        ISP refers to the company that provides Internet connections to the users.
•        Modem stands for Modulator and Demodulator. A modem changes the digital data into analog data and vice-versa at source computer in a format that can be carried by telephone lines. Modem stands for Modulator and Demodulator.
•       Bandwidth is the amount of data that a circuit or a signal can carry.

  Some popular ISPs of India are:

o    Data Communication Ltd.

o    Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL)

o    Airtel

o    Reliance

3. Wireless Connection
Wireless broadband connects a home or business to the Internet using a radio link between the customer’s location and the service provider’s facility. Wireless broadband can be mobile or fixed. Unlike DSL and cable, wireless broadband requires neither a modem nor cables.
The distance between the’ devices connected to each other through a wireless Internet connection does not affect the rate of data transfer between them.
Some ways to connect the Internet wirelessly are as follows:

Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi)
It is a universal wireless networking technology that utilises radio frequencies to transfer data. Wi-Fi allows high speed Internet connections without the use of cables or wires. Wi-Fi networks can be designed for private access within a home or business. It can be used for public Internet access at ‘hot spots’ that offers Wi-Fi access such as restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, airports, convention centres and city parks.

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)

Today, it is one of the hottest broadband wireless technology. These systems are expected to deliver Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) services upto 31 miles (45 km) for fixed stations and 3-10 miles (5-15 km) for mobile stations.
WiMAX It would operate similar to Wi-Fi but at higher speed, over greater distances and for a greater number of users. It has the ability to provide services even in areas that are difficult for wired infrastructure to reach. Also, it has the ability to overcome the physical limitations of traditional wired infrastructure.

Mobile Wireless Broadband Services

These services are also becoming available from mobile telephone service providers and others. These services are generally appropriate for mobile customers and require a special PC card with a built-in antenna that plugs into a user’s laptop computer. Generally, they provide lower speeds in the range of several 100 Kbps.