This section deals with connection to the Internet and the problems which can occur.
My connection is slow. What can I do?
Basically singup for broadband. If you haven't got the option of broadband locally then the only option is to move house (though a little extreme). If enough people in your local area do demand broadband access (i think it's around 300) the BT should install the necessary cables. Most phone companies are not that interested in dialup computer connectivity issues these days. Finally if you only have access to dialup then maybe you need to swap companies. Most have free 30 day trials such as AOL. The future of Internet connection is cable/broadband so dialup will just become slower and slower as services on the web become more bandwidth intensive. Broadband overtook dial-up in May 2005, and now makes up 50.7% of net connections in the UK.
Dialup
Until recently the most common type of connection used in the UK. Depending on your modem the best connection speed was about 56K.
Broadband
Most broadband services in the use ADSL technology, the most widely-available type of broadband service in the UK. Broadband offers a number of benefits compared to dialup access, including:
Always connected - no need to dial in everytime you want to use the Internet.
Almost 10 times faster than dial-up if you using a 512 Kbps connection. Some broadband connection are 2000Kbps.
No need for an extra phone line - with a adsl filter you'll be able to use your telephone while online.
ISDN
Integrated services digital network (ISDN) is an international communications standard for sending voice, video, and data over digital telephone lines or normal telephone wires.
Wireless Internet Connections
Wireless Internet, or wireless broadband is currently the newest type of Internet connection. Instead of using telephone or cable it uses radio frequency bands to connect to the Internet. Wireless will provide an always-on connection and can be accessed from anywhere if you are within the geographical coverage area. Based in metropolitan areas currently, expect this to expand nationwide from 2006.
T-1 Lines
T-1 are lines leased to businesses connecting to the Internet and for Internet Service Providers (ISPs). They offer high useage levels with the line containing 24 individual channels, each which supports 64Kbits per second.
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