Tutorial Blog 3: Selecting the Internet Service Provider That Best Fits You

The Internet can be a large intimidating unknown force to face without the proper knowledge and guidance. If you don’t currently have internet at your personal disposal I.E. house, apartment, or phone, then this lesson might just help you out. Maybe you’ve started on the long and dangerous adventure that we know as life, and you on your own away from mommy and daddy and you have to become a responsible adult now. You may possibly be and older adult and have finally decided to get caught up with technology. If you fall in any of these categories then this blog post is for you and will be a quick and easy educational lesson on what different types of internet connections are out there, along with those connection types pro’s and con’s, as well as list some of the top internet service providers. Let us jump right in and get started.

To start out we will get you a little more affiliated with the four basic different types of internet connections. Below is a list of those four connectivity types. We will list the types from oldest to newest.

1.      Analogue (Dial-Up)

2.      Cable

3.      Tier Carrier

4.      DSL

I will now explain some of the pros and cons about each internet connection.

1.      Analogue (Dial-Up)

Analogue also known as Dial Up is one of the first internet connections that became widely available. It is very much price efficient as you can find some Analogue (Dial-Up) services for free. Dial Up utilizes a phone line and an ISP (Internet Service Provider) in order to deliver the internet to you. Sometimes computers have a port for a Dial-Up phone line and sometimes they don’t if they don’t you would have to acquire a modem to route your  internet through.

PROS:  The biggest pro to having dial-up is it is very cost efficient. You can find dial-up for services for very cheap and sometimes even for free.

Cons: Dial-Up has a few cons. Dial-Up is extremely slow and delivers poor quality internet. It also ties up a phone line potentially disabling your landline phone services. Also due to the low cost it sometimes does not come with the perks of some of the other connections such as virus and spyware blockers.

A visual example of how Dial-Up works

Picture from http://www.mwcomputersolutions.com/index.php?page=dialup

2.     Cable

Cable internet connects to the internet via a television cable line to a modem to your computer. The cable internet connection uses television channels for data transmission. Coaxial cables are used for this type of connection which has a larger bandwidth in turn providing a fast internet connection.

PROS: Cable internet is fast and provides good quality internet. Cable internet is also highly reliable. Unlike Dial-Up Cable internet does not tie up your phone line.

CONS: Cable Internet can be a bit pricier than dial-up. Not all areas have cable internet access. Also depending on how many people are utilizing the cable internet in your area internet speed can fluctuate.

An example of a cable internet connection and the way it works.

Image provided courtesy of http://www.computertroublesolver.com/Network-Basics.html

3.     DSL

DSL uses copper telephone wires and does not require dialing into an ISP. DSL is always on. DSL is the most popular internet connection used for both commercial and personal use. DSL utilizes phone lines in order to connect to the internet.

PROS: DSL is the most reliable connection on the market. DSL is a very fast internet connection. DSL allows the user to use the internet and the phone at the same time. DSL is a securer connection than Cable because consumers use their own private telephone lines which usually no one else is on.

CONS: DSL is only available in heavily populated areas. Also the further your area of connection is away from the headquarters the weaker and weaker your internet connectivity is.

An example of a dsl set up.

Picture courtesy of http://personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~bb02956/.

TOP TEN ISP’S 2011

1.     Earthlink

2.     AOL

3.     Comcast

4.     MSN

5.     Net Zero

6.     Verizon

7.     A T&T

8.     Juno

9.     Qwest

10.  ISP.com

HELPFUL LINKS

·       http://www.dsl-isp-guide.com/pros_cons_of_dsl.htm  DSL Guide

·       http://isp-review.toptenreviews.com/   A detailed top ten ISP review

·       http://www.computertooslow.com/internet-connections.asp  A website chronicling all the different types of internet connectivity.

Hopefully this blog helps you in your search to find the appropriate internet service provider.