18 reasons to go broadband

Why should you switch to a high-speed Internet service? Tony Brisciani has all the good reasons.

Broadband is the currently the buzz word for the Internet in Australia. More and more Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are offering it and an increasing number of Australians are signing up. But why is it better than the old dial-up connection you’ve been using?

What is broadband?
Broadband is basically a faster and more reliable Internet connection than dial-up. With broadband you’re always connected to the Internet and you can surf the Web and download files at a lightening-fast pace.

The most common way to get broadband at the moment is by an ADSL or cable connection. ADSL (which stands for Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) connections use your existing phone line to provide a high-speed Internet connection at up to a whopping 1.5 megabytes per second. Cable broadband does a similar job by connecting to the Internet via the same cable network that provides your pay TV (not available for satellite cable users).

If you have a normal 56Kbps dial-up connection, you’ll be able to get a data transfer rate of around 4 to 5 bits per second, meaning it will take you around four hours to download a 100 megabyte (Mb) file. If you have a broadband connection with a 512Kb download speed, this same 100Mb file will take around 30 minutes.

Why switch over?

Stay connected and save money
Having an “always on” Internet connection is the ultimate convenience. When a program wants to update itself or you need to check some information on the Internet, it’s there waiting for you – no need to go through the process of dialling up and connecting. You can use the Internet the same as you would your television – whenever you want it.

An always on connection will also save you money as you no longer have to dial in each time you want to access the Internet.


Use your phone
One major headache for people using dial-up Internet connections is that you have to tie up at least one phone line while you are online. This leaves you out of touch, unless you have a separate line or a mobile phone. With broadband you no longer have to worry about this.

If you get a cable broadband service, then your Internet is brought to you by the same cable that provides pay TV services. You can even watch TV at the same time, using the same cable. If you choose ADSL, then your Internet is delivered by your normal phone line, but because of the ADSL technology you can use that same phone line as normal to make calls, send faxes and so on. It does this by using “splitters”, which connect to your phone line and prevent your voice or fax signal interfering with the ADSL, so you can remain online at all times.


Avoid connection troubles
The most noticeable difference with broadband is that simple surfing of the Internet is blindingly fast and Web pages simply leap up onto your screen.

You may also notice that connection problems become a thing of the past because broadband connections tend to be more robust than dial-up connections.

Although we are not saying you’ll never have a connection trouble again, broadband is far superior as most of the problems like line noise, interfering devices and all the other things that can cause dial-up disconnections are no longer a problem, simply because you’re “always on” the Internet.


Download at lightning speeds
Have you ever tried downloading a large amount of data from the Internet on a dial-up connection, for example a large program or movie or music file? Then you’d know how long it can take to download them. Some game demo versions can take days to download on dial-up connections.

With broadband you can download the same large files in a fraction of the time, sometimes at up to 10 times the speed of a dial-up Internet connection. An added benefit of downloading on broadband is that connection drop-outs are rare so you’ll hardly ever lose a download.


Get new software and buy online
With the really fast download times that broadband has to offer, a new way of obtaining software has emerged. You can now legally download full copies of software that you have purchased. This software is usually cheaper as there are no boxes or CDs to produce and no shipping costs.

Online shopping also becomes a lot easier with broadband. You can purchase music online from places like www.itunes.com and groceries from www.shopfast.com.au.


Expand your email horizons
Sending out larger files via email on a dial-up connection can be a nightmare as people can not download the files fast enough and their mail server subsequently times out (stops receiving the file) before the message can be retrieved.

With broadband, this becomes less of a problem as you can download things faster, meaning you can receive larger files via email. Imagine being able to send and receive video via email, not just small still images!

Although broadband users can download faster, do remember not to send larger files to dial-up users as they still have to deal with these download problems.


Make the most of the Internet
Having broadband allows you also to take advantage of the latest Web technologies that add to your Internet surfing experience. As connection speeds increase as a whole, more feature-rich content can be displayed on Web sites, such as 3D models and interactive content. This is because the speed of broadband allows you to transfer more data in a shorter amount of time. You can see the beginning of these technologies at www.cult3d.com/gallery.

Many manufacturers now use these technologies to provide 3D models of their products on their Web sites, so you can actually see and manipulate the products before you buy them. Mobile phone giant Nokia (www.nokia.com.au) provides 3D models of its phones so you can check them out thoroughly without even visiting a store.


Deal with spam and viruses
As the amounts of spam (unsolicited commercial emails) and viruses increase, we all need to improve our levels of defence and the weapons we use to combat them. These days most anti-virus and anti-spam software vendors include automatic updating services, which allow your computer to automatically log in, download the latest virus definitions and protect itself.

With an always-on broadband connection, your computer can log in and download updates as they become available, giving you the best possible protection against the nasties found on the Internet.


Listen to the world
If you like to listen to the radio, this is an area in which broadband really shines over dial-up connections. With a fast broadband connection there will be next to no interruptions, as the stream is downloaded to your computer so quickly. Not only can you listen to your favourite Australian radio stations, but you can also listen to commercial and amateur radio from all around the world. You can even listen to fire and police radios from some parts of the globe. All you need to do it is a sound card, speakers or headphones and Windows Media Player, which comes standard with most computers.

To listen to the radio, just open your Windows Media Player and click on the Radio Tuner button.


Watch what you want
Just as you can listen to the radio online, you can also watch movies and shows. While not of as high a visual quality as television itself, these shows can be viewed on news sites such as www.ninemsn.com/news, or you can be entertained by viewing many of the short movies available from www.shockwave.com.

These movies are “streamed”, meaning they play from the Web site’s remote server, not your machine. On a dial-up Internet connection watching movies would be like watching a slideshow.


Broadcast your own show
Want to star in your own show? Having a broadband Internet connection and a Web cam is the easiest way to do it. By using one of the many free or paid-for “Webcasting” programs available on the Internet, you can make and broadcast your own show from your living room.

Some people have become quite successful with their Internet shows – you can watch some of these at www.webshowguide.com.

You can also set up a live Web cam from your computer to your own personal Web site. Instead of an image uploading every few seconds, as it would on dial-up, making for a jerky broadcast, you can have a live video feed.


Chat face-to-face
Chatting online takes on a new dimension when connected by broadband. No longer are you limited to just voice or text chatting. With the addition of a Web cam you can converse with other broadband users in real time using video and audio.

You can also take advantage of virtual reality chat programs, like Outer Worlds (www.outerworlds.com), which allow you to chat and interact with people in a virtual world. You can even build your own virtual world and invite people in to talk and play inside it. Such fast-paced transmissions are nearly impossible on the slower dial-up connections.


Keep an eye on things
Home security is another plus with broadband. With a few Web cams you can monitor anything you like from any Internet connection around the world. Most Web cameras also support motion detection, so you’ll receive an email at work or wherever else you are when your Web cam detects movement at home. You can then log on to the Internet to find out what’s going on.

This has already been successful in catching a pair of burglars in the act – unfortunately they escaped! See www.geocities.com/osz/rob2/wanted.htm for more.


Play games
In the early days of broadband in Australia, it was mostly gamers who subscribed to high-speed services as it allowed them to play multiplayer games online against people from all over the globe.

Today there are thousands of people from all over the world playing games of all types online with and against each other. You can now play nearly any game online, from board games like chess and backgammon to massive role playing games with literally thousands of people inhabiting a single 3D world. Having a broadband connection means you greatly reduce any “lag” you experience on dial-up connections, which slows the games down.

Broadband also allows you get the latest patches and files quicker for your games of choice, and you can even connect your Playstation 2 (www.playstation.com.au) or Xbox (www.xbox.com.au) gaming console to the Internet via broadband.


Work from home
Imagine a world where you don’t have to spend time each day travelling to and from work. A world where you can work in your pyjamas all day. Well that world is becoming a reality as broadband Internet and other technologies make working from home (or telecommuting) far more common.

Telecommuting is possible thanks to broadband and services like Windows XP’s remote desktop feature. This feature allows you to login and work on your home or work computer from anywhere in the world. It loads the desktop from the remote machine, which can be your computer at home or at work, allowing you to work the machine as if you were actually sitting at it.

Having broadband at home will also help the rest of the family working at home. Students can get quick access to information from around the world such as text, images and video footage. Parents also can enjoy the benefits as it makes researching health, financial and legal topics a breeze. There is really no limit to what you can do. Waiting for things to download is no longer an issue and the information is truly at your finger tips.


Develop your Web skills
Anyone who has built a Web site knows how annoying and frustrating it is to wait for a site to upload or to simply gain access to a site' workings to make a quick change with a dial up connection.

With a broadband connection you’ll be able to upload and make changes in half the time, giving you more time to concentrate on your site building and designing skills.

You could even take advantage of your extra speed by uploading video or music content for your audience. If you tie in some Web casting from your Web cam, then you are well on your way to having your own multimedia empire.


Share the Internet
If you have more than one computer at home or in your office and you want to have Internet access on all of these computers, then your only connection choice is broadband as it can cope with having more than one user on the Internet at the same time. Sharing a dial-up Internet connection for such a task would be nothing short of pointless — as soon as one person starts surfing, the Internet connection is pretty much all used up by that one person.


Get faster Internet in the country
When broadband was first launched in Australia, our rural residents missed out because broadband Internet was only available to those who lived in areas where cable TV was provided. But now thanks to Telstra (www.telstra.com.au) upgrading its exchanges, most of the Australian population can use the new ADSL broadband services.

This is great for people in rural and regional areas, as they have better access to online shopping, education and health services, as well as being able to keep in touch with family and friends across the country.

Even if Telstra has not upgraded your local exchange, you can make a request. If enough people ask from your area, then it will be done. You can do this at www.telstra.com.au/demand/index.cfm.


So how do I get broadband?
To get broadband you firstly need to check which services are available in your area. If you have cable TV that is provided by a cable (not a satellite dish), then you can use that for your Internet. You will need to call either Telstra (www.telstra.com) or Optus (www.optus.com) for an account.

You can see if ADSL is available in your area by visiting bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc-exchange.cfm and entering in your phone number. After you have done this you can choose what you want as you monthly spending limit and it will search and display all the suitable plans from our local broadband providers.