A recent Time.com commentary suggests several things, all of which are food for thought for corporate IT security people. The writer confesses to the theft of Wi-Fi signals in his apartment. Though he acknowledges that what he did was illegal, unethical or both, he kept right on doing it.

This person is no monster. If he was willing to steal signals, a large group of others will as well. Apparently, it was easy - indeed, he seems to have had a choice between networks. He opted for those whose names apparently hadn't been changed (i.e., "default," "Netgear") over those that had. The owners of the networks who had changed the names were paying at least marginally more attention to security, and so it may have been somewhat more difficult to pilfer coverage from them.

Whether consumers steal Wi-Fi from each other isn't a direct concern to security staffs, but there are good reasons to carefully monitor this issue. An uninvited guest on a home network used for work clearly endangers all the data stored there, including files from the office. IT staffs also must be aware that a poorly protected home network is a red carpet into home corporate networks. Since IT staffs may have limited input into the steps taken in an employee's home network, they must assume that each is insecure and create barriers closer to the internal network.

There is a third, perhaps somewhat less common, potential problem. A recent story in the Guardian begins by pointing out how easy it is to find unprotected Wi-Fi. The danger is that settings can be changed to send people to sites that they do not intend to visit. A hacker potentially can change a domain name server setting and send a user to a fake site that installs keyword loggers or other malware.

Most people would intuitively assume that using somebody else's network is illegal. Not everyone shares that assumption, however. Indeed, this Ars Technica post takes a completely opposite viewpoint: The writer suggests that it is silly to think that such an activity is illegal. His point is that unsecured signals spilling into a person's home are fair game. He makes an analogy to a water sprinkler: If one person waters his or her lawn and some of the water crosses into another person's grass, that person isn't obligated to pay for it and certainly isn't stealing.

In any case, most people don't bother to deal with the ethical complexities of the issue, and "borrowing" Wi-Fi is common.

A recent blog post takes it a step further. The writer suggests that the person whose network is being used may be breaking the law, or at least the ISP's terms of service, by letting unauthorized people use the signal. Nobody is likely to get into much trouble over this, but it certainly shows how confusing and counter-intuitive the world of wireless home networking can be. IT and security staffs must keep this in mind as they help create security policies and authorize equipment.

What would you identify as applications that significantly increase your business needs for internet bandwidth for limited periods of time (i.e. - for a day, a week, a month, 3 months, etc.)? If you can't answer this ... or don't know how to at least start to figure it out ... you might be in trouble.

Off the cuff some examples include videoconferencing, off site data backup, large CAD drawings, enterprise document management, synchronization of databases, new product release advertising campaigns, annual enrollment for employee benefits, seasonal media events like Final Four, Oscars, Super Bowl etc.

Areas of the film production industry require large amounts of bandwidth for short periods of time during production and editing.

Diagnostic imaging for medical services companies also requires a lot of bandwidth in short increments. Due to government regulations, most companies aren't allowed to compress the data they transmit and store. When transmitted and received, these images can consume very large amounts of bandwidth for short periods of time.

Some of these companies employ reserve DS3 bandwidth services that allow them to turn up a pipe whenever they need it. Others like this utilize "burstable" billing options on a larger pipe for cost savings.

Really the list is quite diverse. The easiest way to think of this is in terms of 'objects'. What objects are likely to be delivered or transfered. In the case of media events, then you think to yourself .... "well how well is this event known"? In the case of the Super Bowl, its known by millions so there is a going to be high demand for the 'objects' being transfered .... and therefore large amounts of capacity will be needed to handle all of the simultaneous requests.

I like the idea of considering "objects" and demand. The obvious bandwidth hogs are video conferencing, voice, large file transfers or high transaction rate environments, software distribution, the need to have disaster recovery etc. The hard bit is understanding the variability of demand over time. For example I know of at least one European country's phone network being brought down by TV viewers using a free phone number to vote on a question... the organizers totally underestimated the capacity needed to handle the volume of calls. Caching, traffic shaping, bandwidth on demand, QoS, policy based routing, etc... each have strengths and weaknesses in relation to managing bandwidth requirements.

I guess that the rapid growth in user generated content and social networking is also going to be a big driver for network operators. There is the old rule of thumb that data rapidly grows to fill the network capacity available. Just look at the size of todays PowerPoint presentations... filled with bitmap images etc.

I would also think about the type of bandwidth needed. There are many different types of networks that an organization needs to "feed and clothe"...

High Quality, low latency, time critical Network (High QoS) -

Needed for Voice, Video, certain LAN-based transaction processing type applications etc. This tends to be a scarce and finite resource. It is expensive due to tariffing options at Service Providers and is usually actively managed in an organisation.

This type of network resource is often burst driven - be it short bursts like conference call/broadcast calls or longer things like Month End processing or Data synchronization/replication between sites.

Regular Networks -

The typical WAN in and organisation carries lots of different types of traffic as discussed above. One major source of traffic that has not been identified is the distribution and management of desktop applications and systems.

The regular patching program used in many organisations gives a large amount of traffic point-to-multi-point. This includes Operating Software fixes, Anti-Virus/SPAM/Malware updates. I have frequently been asked to help companies optimise this issue in their network.

Cheaper Low Quality Networks (Best effort) -

These are typical non-time-critical applications like web browsing. The user is expecting the page to load over time - and the odd slow response isn't too much of a problem. This tends to be a background traffic and includes things like e-mails etc. Large e-mails on long distribution lists (to multiple organisations) can be big sources of traffic - especially when marketing efforts revolve around video or sound clips.

In the end predicting and preparing for what may spike your bandwidth needs isn't that difficult. As long as you're prepared via some type of "burstable" capability your enterprise network shouldn't suffer. For help with acquiring extra bandwidth or setting up "burstable" capability, I strongly recommend you use the free services offered DS3-Bandwidth.com.

A T3 line is an especially powerful tool to transport data. The enormous capacity of a T3 line can be properly understood when it is compared with a T1 line.

While a T1 line can carry 24 separate channels thus providing 24 different sets of communication simultaneously, a T3 line can provide 672 channels! That is to say if there is one T3 line, 672 people can simultaneously browse the net at a very high speed.

T carriers do not have devoted channels. That is to say, no particular channel is attached to a particular telephone unit. It is basically a clutch of channels. Whenever a particular channel is used either to transfer data or used as a voice telephone, this channel is temporarily assigned to that activity. As soon as the activity is over the assigned channel reverts to the clutch.

Thus unless 24 people are simultaneously conversing, a user will always find a free channel. It has been observed that a single T1 line can very efficiently cater to 100-150 people in an office.

So, with 672 channels available in a single T3 internet connection, you can very easily realize that over 4000 people can simultaneously access the net at a very high speed or converse with crystal clear clarity.

T3 channels are almost invariably used by the internet service providers. With the data traffic it has to handle with the least possible delay and downtime, a provider has little option other than T3. They use this medium to remain connected with the internet backbone. At times the architecture of the backbone itself is made up of T3 connectivity.

The internet has revolutionized the whole concept of connectivity. With it has come the truly novel concept of e-commerce. Skeptics had earlier pooh poohed the concept of e-commerce. Their argument was that a retail customer will never buy a commodity unless he can physically check it.

But the success of retail portals like Amazon and EBay has stunned them into silence.

With the whole world becoming their marketplace due to the internet, big retail giants are now falling over one another to hike their bandwidths to the level of T3 to take advantage of reaching more customers simultaneously. This wide coverage and access which T3 connectivity can provide has provided them with the opportunity of multiplying their sales many many times over.

Not only the retail giants but capital goods manufacturers also have grabbed of this opportunity. They are now able to contact potential buyers all over the world and through video conferencing are able to demonstrate their products to clients and purchasers situated thousands of miles away – all in real time!

This new world of super fast and crystal clear connectivity has boosted the economies of not only the developed countries but the rest of the world too.

With breakneck competition raging among the service providers, the rates of T3 connectivity have also slid down from their previous forbidding heights. An intelligent comparison of the rates and schemes offered by the competing service providers and ruthless bargaining can further reduce the costs of T3 connections.

OC12 is an even faster connection than OC3. You might be wondering there should be limit of speed. But if you care to ponder on the extent by which traffic on the internet has increased, it is not really a surprise that a faster carrier emerged.

Let us first wade through the technical details of OC12. Though it might not make much sense to non technical persons who are more interested in the benefits accruing to them instead of the nitty gritty of bits and bytes, still it seems a little naïve and out of sync if we are not in a position to mouth a few capital letters when everybody who is somebody is doing so all around us.

Let me tell you one thing. If you find these details completely bewildering and are unable to memorize anything, don’t worry. All those who are doing so are in the same boat as you are. They are showing off!

In fact the service providers are also unable to provide you with a monthly estimate of the usage of an OC12 connection! It is a stark fact, I am not joking. This is still not used by very many commercial establishments dealing with brick and mortar economy.

This is still the near exclusive domain of web hosting companies who are basically mid size internet service customers. Also some smaller internet service providers who act as subcontractors of large internet service providers have opted for this sort of a connection.

They use this connectivity mainly for wide area network connections. However, no large internet service provider will use this as an architectural constituent of the internet backbone.

Anyway, let us brave the technical details.

OC12 connection has a speed which can go up to a maximum of 622.08 Mbit per second out of which payload (i.e. the actual data transferred) will be at the rate of 601.344 Mbit per second while the overhead (i.e. repeater requirement)will be 20.736 Mbit per second.

Well, what does all this mean?

In simple terms, it means that one OC12 connection is equivalent to 4 OC3 connections. Let us jog our mathematical instincts a bit! It works out to 400 T1 connections. One T1 connection is equivalent to 24 conventional telephone lines. So, one OC12 connection is equal to 9600 conventional phone lines all working thousands of times faster than our conventional phones.

Phew! That indeed is one heck of connectivity! The cost for this is obviously going to be a lot more expensive than what you are currently paying but much cheaper in the long run. So, it is natural that other than those involved in the business of providing connectivity, others have not yet ventured very deep into this new facility available in the world of telecommunication.

You are probably familiar with all those drop outs that you have when you are using wireless network. Sometimes its our ISP's fault and sometimes its our router's fault. In this article we will discuss how to minimize those problems. A total elimination is almost impossible since wireless network is basically wireless and problems will always occur.

Limited connectivity
One of the reasons you could limited connectivity if you might be using a wrong WEP, WAP or WAP2 key. Just double check that and make sure the right key is entered. You may also encounter this problem if you have improperly setup your wireless network connection. Try entering your IP address, default gateway and DNS servers manually and see if it works. If it doesn't work try automatic settings.

More than one computer
Often, when you more than one computer, you will have more problems than usual. When two computers are using the same network, they both have separate but similar network IP addresses. It also depends on whether you're using DHCP server or static IP addresses. Using static IP address will likely lead to fewer problems.

Every time you connect to your wireless network, the router assigns each computer different IP addresses. It will never assign same IP addresses because IP address conflict will occur. However, sometimes you might accidentally set same IP address for both computers. Double check this and make sure they're both using different IP address.

Wireless network is unavailable
Oh my god. This error keeps coming up even though I'm freely using the network on my laptop or mobile phone. Ridiculous message and I hate it. But it doesn't mean you have the actual connection. So check that your network is broadcasting and then try connecting. Still doesn't work? Plug the network adapter out and restart your computer and try again.

Some Internet access providers claim to have an all-fiber optic network, but that is not quite true. Every network providers except Verizon actually offers fiber-optic only to the curb; your signal travels into your home through regular copper wiring. Until very recently, fiber-optic into the home was not possible, though most cable providers don't advertise the fact that the fiber-optic connection stops at the curb. Now, with Verizon FiOS, your Internet connection travels over a fiber-optic network all the way to your computer.

This "all-the-way-to-your-home" fiber-optic connection brings Verizon FiOS into your home with connections of up to 50 Mbps or 30 Mbps downstream, depending on your package, and up to 20 Mbps or 5 Mbps upstream. In non-technical terms, Verizon FiOS offers the fastest home Internet access available.

What makes fiber-optic so much faster? We hear "fiber-optic" all the time, but may not know exactly what it means or how it can deliver data so much faster and more reliably. The "fiber" in fiber-optic stands for extremely fine strands of glass fiber. Bursts of light are transmitted through these fibers at amazingly fast rates. These digital signals travel at much higher speeds than analog signals on conventional copper wiring, making your Verizon FiOS Internet connection blazingly fast.

Verizon FiOS is also extremely reliable. Not only does your Internet connection travel over fiber-optic lines all the way to your computer, but you also have the assurance of working with Verizon, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. If you've been frustrated with the service from your cable company when your Internet connection went down, you'll appreciate Verizon's professionalism.

When you sign a one-year Verizon FiOS contract, you'll receive free professional installation; a Verizon technician will come to your home, connect your computer to the Verizon FiOS network, make sure everything is up and running, migrate any voice connections to the new network, and provide you with a welcome kit filled with information and resources for getting the most out of your Verizon FiOS connection.

Verizon believes having the best connection should be affordable. It may surprise you to learn that you can get Verizon FiOS for less than your current cable connection, with fiber-optic all the way to your computer and free installation with your one-year connection. Verizon FiOS starts at only $42.99 per month for faster connections and better service than you're currently receiving from cable.

Your home Internet connection brings you news, entertainment, email, and more. Whether you use it to run a home business or just for information, entertainment and education in your downtime, you need the fastest, most robust, most reliable possible connection. Verizon FiOS gives you the best possible Internet connection at the best possible price.

Now that Verizon FiOS brings fiber-optic connection right to your home, delivering the fastest service, exclusive games and entertainment content, and phenomenal service, you can free yourself from mediocre Internet service. Act now to get your one-year contract and set up your free professional installation of Verizon FiOS.

Though the speed of internet connections continue to rise in line with new technology when we go to download files and WebPages the speed of these downloads is sadly not as fast as advertised it seems and we wonder why faster internet downloads elude us. The reasons are many but there are a few things you can do to increase your download speed quickly.

1. Get a Spyware Remover

One reason you may have a slower than expected internet connection stifling faster internet downloads is spyware. From browsing and downloading you can pick up nasty little buggers called spyware or malware which runs in the background of your machine feeding information back to their masters and slowing things down when browsing. Spyware is a sad fact of the internet and while we can take precautions by using safer browsers like firefox and being careful where we go and what we download we will always attract some. There are many spyware removers on the net you can download however and I suggest you get one to clean up your PC!

2. Change Your Firewall Settings

Many people have firewalls that protect you from unwanted intrusions by hackers and while they can be good things they can sometimes lock down your PC so hard that it throttles back your connection speed to prehistoric levels! Every firewall is different, some are software driven some are stored in your modem or router and you may not even know it is there but by lowering some of the security levels you can increase the speed of your downloads without any significant increase in security risk.

3. Stop Background Programs

Another issue that slows down download speeds and often the entire performance of your computer are programs that run in the background taking up computer power and sometimes are downloading or uploading data as well. Some are more visible than others, if you look at the bottom right of your screen you can see little icons showing some necessary services but if you have a lot there you may want to turn some off like virus checkers, and especially if you do not know what they are! You can also press ctrl-alt-del and go to the "processes" and you will see a large list of programs running. Most of these are essential but some can be stopped to free up your connection for faster internet downloads and computer performance (do not do this unless you are sure of what you are stopping!)

Broadband devices may include and apply broadband antenna, broadband cable, broadband router, broadband modem, broadband phone adapter or broadband satellite dish. These are the main physical broadband devices which permit our complicated communication today become so simple yet are sophisticated.

Cable

Broadband cable is found to be the most famous broadband devices to get high speed internet among users across the globe. Most Americans have TV cable and offer internet service via the cables. In any way, the internet cable is not going to depredate television watching instead adding more excitement by allowing both watching TV while surfing the internet. Traditionally, baseband transmission is availed in computers communication, which means signals are sent one signal per wire. In turn, broadband cable transmission permits one wire to channel many signals simultaneously.

Satellite and antenna

Broadband devices for wireless communication may involve broadband satellite or broadband antenna. Broadband satellite avails a satellite ethernet gateway (SEG), which is efficiently a medium for establishing a satellite link in itself. Thus, the SEG can share the link with other computers that are communicating into it and allow an internet connection to other computers without any additional software installation. Linking computers to the satellite ethernet gateway means the entire computers will have the same satellite broadband instantaneously.

A broadband antenna is a broadband device designed to suit for spread spectrum systems and fast frequency hopping applications. One of the most popular broadband antenna products today is the 2.4-2.5 GHz / 5.1-5.9 GHz Reverse Polarity-SMA Dual Band Rubber Duck Wireless LAN Antenna HyperGain HG2458-5RD-RSP. This antenna provides many applications, like; 2.4 GHz ISM applications, WiFi applications, WiMax applications, bluetooth applications, public wireless hotspots.

Router

A broadband router is a mechanical broadband device that permits participation of multiple computers to the same internet link. The network address translation technology behaves as router firewall, which sustains network safe from hackers. Broadband router indeed works as a cable, a modem, a hub, and a firewall all in one.

A broadband router is also equipment that catches several computers and allows them to ingress the internet using the same internet service provider address. Internet Service Provider (ISP) routers also function as firewalls and network hubs. Most people utilize routers every day when accessing the internet in public locations, such as at work or at the library. As a frequent internet cafe with laptop, one has availed a wireless broadband router to engage the internet, without even recognizing it.

The exclusive thing about obtaining a wireless broadband router is that most of today's computers developed wireless empowered, especially the laptop computers. This implies that if we set up our house for a wireless network, we should not have worry obtaining our computer compatible. If our computer is not allowed with a wireless card, it is quite simple to install one, extended our operating system is updated enough to function a wireless network.

Accelerator

A broadband accelerator is intentionally designed as broadband device to reduce delay consequence when interacting over the internet. This broadband device is located between that of broadband link and router. Broadband accelerator avails DHCP and consumes an IP address which is generated by the router.

The Google Web Accelerator for instance, is applying the power of Google's global computer network for making our internet connection eminently faster. This Google broadband accelerator is excellently very simple for installation and usage. The functions of Google Web Accelerator work in varieties thruways including;

1. Catching in advance, storing, and/or sending pages requests through Google machines that are dedicated for handling Google Web Accelerator traffic,

2. Download only the updates if a web page has changed slightly since last viewed,

3. Managing your internet connection to reduce delays and by compressing data before sending it to your computer.

Phone adapter

The myth of impractical perception on making telephone calls over television cable is now a fable. It is now a realm of industry standard. With a broadband device namely broadband phone adapter, it is possible for making calls over broadband internet connection. The new utilization of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) has encouraged many people turned off their regular phone lines and switched to broadband phone adapter to niche their local and long distance phone calls over the same line that offer them a broadband internet affiliation. This is generated through either their cable company or their phone company's DSL.

There are several easy ways to understand broadband. Technically broadband means any wave signal which includes or plies a broad range of frequencies. Broadband scope of signals is broad as the word implies. As to compare with radio signals which enrapture a very narrowband Morse code, broadband carry much more applications including speech and music.

Broadband is better to understand by looking at it as of wide frequencies applications which involves simultaneous data transmissions over wireless or cables connections. In short, broadband is likely means a communication delivery technology that consists of data transmission such as internet access, voice on demand, video services and interactive transfer of information.

Broadband equipment

Broadband apparatus may include;

1. broadband antenna
2. cable of optical fiber
3. broadband modem
4. broadband accelerator
5. phone broadband adapter
6. broadband router
7. satellite dish

As of broadband concerns is communication, then broadband network is the utmost reason for switching to broadband. Broadband network is basically involves of multi-media, multi-point and multi-rate. Multi-media include communication audio, data, still images, full-motion video, or even a combination of any of these media. Multi-point call in turn, consists of the setup of connections among that of more than two people, and these connections could either be one way or two way communications. And, multi-rate network is related to allocation of transmission capacity flexibility to connections, and has to support a broad range of bit-rates demanded by connections.

Broadband connections

The selections for broadband connections, in turn, depend on need. There are three distinct solutions options for customers:

1. Sharing a broadband connection using Microsoft Internet Connection sharing, this is most suitable for home and small office users. One of important benefit of this broadband connection is that it is easy to set up and does not require much hardware. Therefore, the cost is much cheaper comparatively.

2. Sharing a broadband connection using a dedicated broadband router, which is ideal for small businesses and homes requiring more flexibility

3. Sharing a broadband connection using a Linux router, which is the most sophisticated solution because it's facilitates the most control over security and has a broad range of other features as well.

And, these selections indeed depends on the kind of broadband connection thruways as per say. Broadband connections are either;

1. broadband cable connection. Broadband connection using cable is likely the most popular option since most consumers have TV cable and provides internet service through the cables.

2. broadband wireless connection. Broadband wireless connections are used in cellular networks and wireless broadband internet by utilizing low-powered radio waves for channeling data between devices. WiMax is the leading wireless broadband technology so far.

3. broadband satellite connection. It is the future of the internet broadband connection. The main selling quality of this element is that it does not need any additional software installation. This means owning satellite broadband extremely simple and hassle-free. It can even bring broadband internet to the most remote of coordination across the globe with little effort and little connectivity challenges.

Broadband network

A broadband network comprises primarily of compound items like multi-media, multi-point and multi-rate. A multi-media call consists of communication audio, data, still images, full-motion video, or even a mixture of any of these media. Multi-point call in turn, includes of the setup of links among that of more than two people, and these connections could either be one way or two way communications. A multi-rate network is related to allocation of transmission capacity flexibility to connections, and has to support a broad range of bit-rates demanded by connections.

A broadband network is grown so important nowadays due to many disadvantages that come with traditional networks namely noisy and inefficiency drawbacks for large amounts of data communication. Broadband network is also benchmarked an economy of sharing, and this integration eludes the requirement for many overlaying networks, which will only trigger network management complication and reducing flexibility standard in the introduction and evolution of services.

Another great benefit of a broadband network is that of considerably cheap. This is as such when referring to infrastructure costs, transport costs, regulatory compliance costs, taxes and fees. Broadband network does not have the same infrastructure costs as ordinary network or traditional network namely central offices, long distance switches, transport lines, and wiring into location.

In relation of transport costs, broadband phone services avail the internet as their fundamental transport, thus there is no additional costs generated in such situation. As for regulatory compliance, broadband phone services are not classified by regulators to be likely the same way as the traditional phone networks. Rather they are assorted as data services therefore many of the same terms do not apply to them. Broadband phone services are also assorted as data services, thus they are not subject to many of the local, state, and federal taxes which are imposed to most traditional networks.

Living in a remote part of the world can be both tough and inconvenient. Not only must a resident of such secluded areas travel miles for simple things like groceries and entertainment but are almost always limited in the types of internet connections available to them. Furthermore the connections made available in isolated parts of the world are often inadequate for even casual users. Most residents will find that dial-up is the only way they can access the web and while a lucky few will be given access to DSL, Cable is a mere fantasy to those who reside in less populated communities.

There are of course alternatives to dial-up internet connections which consist of mainly no connection at all or one may opt to look into satellite internet services. Internet connections through a satellite provider have been around far longer than one would expect. In fact satellite internet first became available before the turn of the millennium and the late 90's saw many of today's satellite companies plant a firm foot in the ground. In these days however satellite connections were a last resort as they were often plagued by extremely limited bandwidth restrictions, horrid ping rates, and in many cases users would find themselves repeatedly being disconnected.

Living in rural areas and utilizing satellite internet services no longer means that you'll be beleaguered with the myriad of problems that were once prevalent in the world of remote connections. The majority of satellite internet providers these days have worked hard to eliminate such issues and have done so with great success. In testing satellite connections side by side with Cable and DSL connections satellite has fared well and regularly measures up to its two successful cousins. As satellites have become far more powerful than they once where more and more people are choosing satellite internet services over dial-up and rightfully so.

Aside from making its mark in the private community, satellite connections are becoming commonplace for businesses who set up shop in these same remote areas. In many cases it is because of the improvements in satellite services that those who once stayed out of desolate areas, are now beginning to do business within them. Without satellite internet services many areas would be unable to grow economically and would continue to remain "off the map". Things are changing rapidly however as business can also be taken on the road should a user utilize a satellite connection. There's no doubt that the improvements in satellite internet services have allowed us not only more opportunities but allow us to be productive, even when on the move.

Back when the household PC was something of a social status marker and internet connection on top of that was very classy indeed, there were not many suppliers and therefore not much in competition within the internet provider market. However nowadays with our streaming TV, downloadable music and movies and online gaming there are more than a hundred broadband and dial up internet providers in the United Kingdom alone.

BT reports that 99.6% of people in the United Kingdom can receive broadband in their area, but there are a surprisingly large amount of people who are still using dial up internet. There seems to a misconception that it is cheaper to use a dial up modem, but nowadays it is actually more likely to be cheaper if you decide to use a broadband supplier. Unless you only use the internet for less than an hour a week you should probably look into a "light use" broadband that is designed for just browsing the web a few times a week and emailing.

You can find a typically light broadband package for around fifteen pounds a month, and it is an impressive ten times faster than dial up internet. What's more is that you no longer block the phone lines for the whole house hold when you connect to go online and the speed of pages loading and downloads are so much faster that it is possible you will want to use the internet more than you do at the moment.

With the internet currently being the most widely used medium in the world there have been many advancements over the past few years, but they only show their true benefits when used via a broadband internet line. For example there are several broadcasting companies offering free re runs of Television programs but they are only available to stream. This means that a small part of the program is downloaded just before the computer plays it. It then removes the information it has already played to make up space for what is yet to be downloaded. This requires a steady internet connection if you don't want to be paused to wait for five minute blocks to play out.

Other than downloads being much quicker, and the speed of browsing usually instant, there is also the ability to use wireless networks for broadband, so that everybody in the household can access the internet at one time. If you get a decent connection you shouldn't notice them using it at the same time either.

If you are still using dial up internet, it will most likely be worth looking into what offers are currently available from broadband providers. With the demand for internet connection you should be able to find something suitable for your needs.

Ask almost anyone to describe the internet and they'll almost certainly paint a picture of the World Wide Web. What most people don't know that, right there alongside the familiar mix of web pages sits another service thats even older and just as large - UseNet. Every day millions of users all over the world connect to UseNet via usenet servers such as Easynews or GigaNews. These services provide a web or newsreader interface to Usenet that is an alternative to peer to peer (P2P) services such as Limewire or Kazaa. The main benefits of such wed based services are many-fold:

1. Generally faster - because you are not relying on a distributed set of peers, you know that all of the parts of the files are right there on the usenet server just waiting for you to download them. The only barrier to spped is generally the speed of your ISP connection.
2. Multiple downloads are supported. Using software such as Flashget or FileZilla these services allow you to download multiple files simultaneously to achieve better speeds than torrent or P2P services
3. More secure. Because they use standard HTTP protocols (some services offer https if you are really paranoid) you can employ the same security standards as you do for general surfing suck as anti-virus, firewall and anti-spyware software
4. Automatic thumbnail previews and autounrar. The one drawback I have found in my many years of using binary new services is that, in order to speed up uploads, many posters have had to spit large files (such as movies) up into smaller parts that then have to be joined when downloaded. The commercial services, such as Easynews, however do this job for you automatically nowadays and even provide handy thumbnail previews of the file so you can judge quality etc.

Usenet is very well established, for example Easynews has been providing premium, high quality access to Usenet for 11 years, and I myself have been a subscriber for over 7 years continuously - so good is the quality of service. It is the only Usenet service I know of that provides a web interface which means you do not need anything special to access it - just a standard web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox will do just fine.

People use Usenet for a variety of reasons. You can take part in one of millions of text based discussions on every topic under the sun (and a few you have never , ever thought of - I promise). Alternatively, you can use a subscription based service such as Easynews to download files such as movies, music, mp3s, pictures, and software.

The amount of data stored on usenet is also mind-boggling. For example the Easynews web site contains every file posted to every Usenet newsgroup in the last 25 days. That's over 8 million files with hundreds of thousands of new files every day.

The only downside with these services is that, of course, being commercail there is a subscription fee to pay. Typical rates are about $10 for 20 Gigabytes or 30 days, whichever comes first. This is only to be expected, however for the level of service being provided.

Of course you use the Internet for business and take advantage of the availability of news and other important information. But everyone needs to take a break and have some fun occasionally, even you. With the online entertainment options available from Verizon FiOS, you'll find something for everyone in your home to enjoy.

If you're a gamer or have a gamer in your household, Verizon FiOS is a great way to feed your habit. With the Verizon Arcade, you'll have access to the hottest games on demand from Verizon. You'll also get the latest game reviews to keep you up to date on what's coming, and gaming industry news so you'll never be out of the loop. And if you're not a gamer now, you may find yourself drawn to gaming after you see what's available from Verizon FiOS.

Games are only the beginning of the entertainment features from Verizon FiOS. Movie buffs will love the reviews and trailers available on Verizon, and the exclusive interviews with stars and directors. With Verizon Fios, you'll have all the information you need about your favorite stars, directors and movies.

And if you love music, you're going to absolutely love Verizon FiOS. Log on for great music videos from your favorite artists, as well as an extensive selection of music reviews. Find new music or find out what the critics are saying about the newest releases. And while you're checking out music, take a listen to features mixes exclusively from Verizon.

Verizon FiOS's entertainment content is only one reason you should switch to this new service, of course. With Verizon FiOS, you get fiber-optic Internet connection all the way into your home. Cable Internet offers fiber-optic only to the curb; only Verizon brings it all the way to your computer. This means you get much faster Internet access.

Because Verizon FiOS's signal travels exclusively on fiber-optic lines, you'll also have much more reliable Internet access, so whether you're using the Internet for work or fun, you can count on Verizon to get you online and keep you online. You'll appreciate this if your Internet provider is prone to outages; Verizon is simply more reliable.

Verizon FiOS is also cheaper than cable or DSL, with monthly rates starting at only $42.99. You'll no doubt agree that paying less money for faster, more reliable service just makes sense. Given a choice, who wouldn't want to get more for less?

With your one-year contract, Verizon FiOS installation is free. A professional Verizon installation technician will come to your home at your convenience, install the wiring and software in your computer, get you on the Internet, install any necessary wall jacks and port your phone service to Verizon FiOS if necessary, and make sure everything is working correctly. You'll get a welcome kit with answers to all your questions about Verizon FiOS, and you'll be ready to go before the tech leaves your home.

The internet plays an important role in most people's life but the truth is that we are not getting the same speeds as other countries. Many customers complain about the service they get from their provider and expect faster connection speeds.

Many experts also say that if there was an improvement in broadband speeds and they were present in most homes in the UK, it would have a significant impact on the economy and let's face it, if something is going to help the economy we should be doing everything we can to push it through. It is estimated the economy could see a £16 billion turnaround if the new technologies reached our homes.

As people become more technology savvy, broadband will be increasingly used. As well as increasing speeds, Internet Service Providers are being encouraged to improve their level of service in an attempt to keep customers happy. These new technologies are being encouraged to be taken time on as they need to be introduced correctly and not rushed through.

It is easy for customers to see what speeds they should be receiving as they can simply take the broadband speed test where you enter your postcode and the test calculates what speed you should expect. A time period has been set of 3 to 5 years for the technologies to be implemented and for them to be in 80% of UK homes. The reason 3 to 5 years has been suggested is because if it is left longer there is a good chance that there will be a new type of technology that will allow faster speeds. The idea is to get the UK up to speed with the rest of Europe.

For now though, we will have to deal with the speeds currently available. Customers can compare broadband deals by going online and comparing the various providers' deals to find the best offers available.