Too many to choose from?

This subject is very important to you, the Internet user, and covers quite a lot of ground, so this page is rather long. It is definately worth taking time to read it, if you are not entirely sure of the options available to you.

At this time (June 2000) Internet access in Britian is about to be transformed. There are an ever growing number of ways to get on The Net. Let's see if we can't make the choice of a method a little more clear by giving you an over-view of what is available.

Methods.

At the moment, most people use a modem to dial up a phone connection to their Internet Service Provider (ISP). What this means is that your computer's modem connects via the copper wires, currently owned by BT, to a modem connected to a computer owned by your ISP. That computer has a permanent, high capacity connection to a world-wide network of other computers. The Internet.

The slowest parts of the whole thing are the modems. Currently the modems will transfer a rated maximum of 56,000 bits per second (A bit is a 1 or a 0 (zero), each character a, b, c etc. requires one byte, which is 8 bits so the theoretical maximum is 7,000 characters per second. This is referred to as 56 Kbps). They will never actually reach that maximum speed, the best you can hope for is about 52,000, and this speed is not common.

You could use ISDN. What the letters stand for is irrelevant, what it means is faster transfer speeds. Up to 128 Kbps.

The biggest change, which should start to happen in the second half of 2000, is ADSL. Again the words are irrelevant but the important thing is that the transfer speeds for ADSL start at 512 Kbps. Nearly 10 times faster than current modems.

Planned for the near future are satellite links. Your computer would use a standard land line to your ISP, and the data comming back would be sent via satellite at very high speeds. The plans are not yet finalised, but Eutelsat and BskyB are looking to offer £10 per month services in the near future.

Satellite links will not be suitable for anything needing 'real-time' interaction, like games, because of the latency in the system. The time lapse between you requesting an action and that action being returned to your computer will be relatively long. However the transfer speeds could be around 2 Mbps, so downloads could be very rapid.

Means.

Having looked at the methods that the computer uses to connect, let's have a quick look at the means of connection...Telcos, or Telecom Companies.

It is not possible to go into detail about individual companies, at this point, because the packages offerred, and even the companies themselves, are changing on an almost daily basis.

Your choice of access method, sevice provider and Telco must be based on how much money you intend to spend on your Internet browsing. This can range from no money at all, to more than £100 per month. The amount you spend will directly relate to speed of access and the content and services given by your ISP.

Modems.

If you are happy to use a modem at 56 Kbps, which most of us are, then you can get 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7) access that will cost you nothing. Some companies charge an initial sign-up fee, with some you have to buy a router box which must be installed in your house to redirect calls, and with others you have to use a specific telco.

Free access companies do not make as high a profit as the paid-for ones so usually the cost of telephone support is quite high and their Web-sites are not extensive. They do, however, connect you to the Internet, and mostly at reasonable connection speeds, which is what they are there for.

With the paid-for modem connections, you will often get free support, if you need it. The ISP's sites are usually large with sections reserved for their members. This can be an advantage as they will have links to many of the best sites and resources on the Web, as well as having many resources on their own sites.

ISDN.

While BT still own the 'local loop' (the wires from the local exchange to your house), which will not change until June 2001, ISDN lines and equipment can only be installed in your home by them. A number of the ISPs support ISDN access and the cost of installation and rental has dropped dramatically. Currently the installation will cost less than half the price of a standard line and the quarterly rental is around £50.

The main thing to be aware of with ISDN is that in order to connect at maximum speed it uses 2 modem style connections. Therefore you would be making 2 calls simultaneously and will be billed for both calls. So, while the connection speed is doubled and the download times halved (theoretically), the call charges are doubled when the connection is working at full speed.

ADSL.

ADSL is going to change the face of Internet services, it is the fastest connection available, but it is only available in very limited areas. BT will be installing the equipment in it's exchanges over the next few years. If you live in a city, or large town, then ADSL should be available to you within the next year or so, if you live in a small village then you will have to wait several years. There are various connection speeds for ADSL. The cheapest connection is 512 Kbps for downloads and 128 Kbps for uploads. The speeds can go up to 2 Mbps, which is 2000 Kbps.

One of the biggest advantages, and possibly one of the biggest dangers, of ADSL is that the connection is permanent. It is connected 24/7 at the flat charge rate, so there is no waiting for your computer to dial-up your ISP and no by-the-minute call charges. Also, ordinary voice calls can be made over the same line at the same time with no interference between the two, though the voice calls will be charged for in the normal way.

ADSL has been launched by BT with the lowest price set at just under £40 per month. The ISPs will have the option to rent the service from BT at a lower cost and some of them will pass this saving along to their customers, so it is impossible, at the moment, to say exactly how much this service will cost the end user.

Which way to go?.

As you can see, there is a good range of possibllities to choose from. The choice is, of course, yours, and the best advice that we can give is to try to get a rough idea of how much you want to surf (multiply it by 1½), how much you are likely to download (there is lots of free software) and how much you want to spend.

Take into account that nothing much can be acheived in an hour. Searching for a suitable site can take that long, then you need to spend time reading or downloading or playing games or whatever it is that you want to do.

One of your first downloads, if you have a fairly tight budget and are using a paid-for service and telco, should be a call monitor program, there are several available, which will keep track of exactly how many hours you have spent on-line. The time can pass so quickly that it is easy to spend much more on your phone bill than you planned for.