guide-to-isp.com

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Video driven bandwidth demand has risen significantly over the past year. And it seems that the video is starting to kill the ‘Internet’ star, that is if internet service providers does not come up with a solution to the eve increasing demand for high bandwidth and fastest download speed. But other peer to peer technologies like BitTorrent thinks it can help with the growing problem. It is common knowledge that videos consume huge network resources than any other multi media available on the net today. The smallest and poorest video quality available in You Tube today consumes a huge amount of bandwidth than email, music downloads and voips. What more if you throw in a full length HD video in to the scenario. It greatly depends on compression used. For a fact, 1 HD video stream can consume 20mbps of bandwidth. So more users tend to subscribe to the fastest speeds available at home . While the video sites like You Tube continue to come up with all kinds of videos to feed the growing demands. And to top all that, it is estimated that by 2013, video viewers will reach a whopping 1 billion users.

The popular wireless technology used in home networking,video games, mobile phones and many others. Wi-Fi technology is supported by almost every modern personal computer, advanced game consoles, laptops, printers and other peripherals. Wi-Fi was developed primarily to simplify connections, the long wire connections of LAN cables and the likes. This is done through enabling wireless access to applications and data. Wi-Fi ensure compatibility of connecting devices. And to eliminate numerous plugs, adapters, pins and connectors. Wi-Fi has a number of effective uses such as your pc , game console, mp3 players or mobile phones can connect to the internet when you are within range of a wireless network connection. Wi-Fi also allows connection through peer-to-peer (ad-hoc) mode, which allows devices to connect directly with each other.This connectivity can be useful in gaming applications.
As of this writing, Wi-Fi technology had spread mostly within the industrial, as well as business sites. and will continue to enjoy wide usage in the coming years.

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To the majority of people, satellite Internet service offers the answer. Satellite Internet access enables most everyone, anywhere to have the ability to surf the Internet with lightning-fast speed. There are two types of satellite Internet access, “one way” and “two way” systems.

Two way satellite systems send and receive information from your satellite dish over the Internet and deliver it directly to your computer. The biggest benefit of a two way setup is that you’re able to receive high speed Internet access without tying up your phone line. Two way satellite Internet service also gives you an always on system. Browsing and download speeds can be as high as 1.5mpbs with upload speed about 128kbps.

If you are going to be uploading lots of information then two way satellite Internet service may be best for you. Conversely, for the average to moderate Internet browser, one way satellite Internet service offers high speed that is reliable and much less expensive than two way access. Because of the ease and dependability, one way satellite Internet systems are not regulated by the FCC. This gives you the ability to make a choice of professional or self installation.

The advantages of a power-line network:

It’s inexpensive. It uses existing electrical wiring. Every room of a typical house has several electrical outlets. It’s easy to install. A printer, or any other device that doesn’t need to be directly connected to a computer, doesn’t have to be physically near any of the computers in the network. It doesn’t require that a card be installed in the computer (although there are companies working on PCI-based systems). The new PowerPacket technology provides a couple of other advantages as well. It is fast, rated at 14 megabits per second (Mbps). This speed allows for new applications, such as audio and video streaming, to be available throughout the house. There are some disadvantages to connecting through power-lines when using the older Intelogis technology:

• The connection is rather slow — 50 Kbps to 350 Kbps.
• The performance can be impacted by home power usage.
• It can limit the features of your printer.
• It only works with Windows-based computers.
• It uses large wall devices to access an electrical outlet.
• It can only use 110-V standard lines.
• It requires that all data be encrypted for a secure network.
• Older wiring can affect performance.

New power-line networking products are based on Intellon’s PowerPacket technology.

According to Intellon, PowerPacket technology eliminates many of these concerns, citing the following advantages:

• It is very fast, rated at 14 Mbps.
• It “avoids” disruptions in the power-line, maintaining the network’s connections and speeds.
• It does not limit the features of your printer.
• It can be compatible with other operating systems (depending on driver availability).
• It may have the necessary circuitry embedded within the device, necessitating only a standard power cord to access an outlet.
• It works independent of line voltage and frequency of current.
• It includes encryption.
• In tests, it showed no signal degradation due to older wiring.

via [Plugtek]

Wireless Broadband is a fairly new technology that provides high-speed wireless internet and data network access over a wide area.

According to the 802.16-2004 standard, broadband means ‘having instantaneous bandwidth greater than around 1 MHz and supporting data rates greater than about 1.5 Mbit/s. This means that Wireless Broadband features speeds roughly equivalent to wired broadband access, such as that of ADSL or a cable modem.

Technology and speeds

Few WISP’s provide download speeds of over 100 Mbit/s; most broadband wireless access services are estimated to have a range of 50 km (30 miles) from a tower. Technologies used include LMDS and MMDS, as well as heavy use of the ISM bands and one particular access technology is being standardized by IEEE 802.16, also known as WiMAX. WiMAX is highly popular in Europe but has not met full acceptance in the United States because cost of deployment does not meet return on investment figures. In 2005 the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Report and Order that revised the FCC’s rules to open the 3650 MHz band for terrestrial wireless broadband operations. On November 14, 2007 the Commission released Public Notice DA 07-4605 in which the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau announced the start date for licensing and registration process for the 3650-3700 MHz band.

Initially, Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) were only found in rural areas not covered by cable or DSL.[4] These early WISPs would employ a high-capacity T-carrier, such as a T1 or DS3 connection, and then broadcast the signal from a high elevation, such as at the top of a water tower. To receive this type of Internet connection, consumers mount a small dish to the roof of their home or office and point it to the transmitter. Line of sight was usually necessary for this type of technology, but technologies by Motorola have not adhered to this general rule.

Mobile wireless broadband

Wireless broadband technologies also include new services from companies such as Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T Mobility, which allow a more mobile version of this broadband access. Consumers can purchase a PC card, laptop card, or USB equipment to connect their PC or laptop to the Internet via cell phone towers. This type of connection would be stable in almost any area that could also receive a strong cell phone connection. These connections can cost more for portable convenience as well as having speed limitations in all but urban environments.

via [Wikipedia]

Comcast.net, owned by the Comcast Corporation which is the largest cable tv company and second largest internet service provider in the USA, was hacked for several hours last Wednesday, May 29. The hackers left a cryptic message on the site saying that they had “RoXed” Comcast. Spokeswoman of Comcast, Jennifer Khoury, stated late Thursday morning that the problem was solved but some Comcast users were still unable to access their accounts. Khoury explained that the hackers seem to have seized control of the Comcast.net domain name at registrar network solutions and had it redirected to other servers.

A small scale broadband internet service provider targeting a single subdivision or neighborhood is the Neighborhood Internet Service Providers (NISP). Often using rooftop antennas, they are built to provide internet to residents in the community.

It is advantageous as it can easily cost less than the traditional DSL and cable lines with a right number of subscribers. To monitor the quality of service and maintain network integrity, a local network engineer is needed.

Second level ISP is a type of anonymous internet access providers which gives a secure and anonymous internet access using two main technologies: Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and SSH tunnel or port forwarding.

Since most ISPS now log all incoming and outgoing data including upload and downloads, email and files transferred and even passwords, some deemed it as violating the right to privacy. Some of the personal privacy reasons are: to access anonymously financial institutions and online casinos, to bypass any kind of internet censorship and to anonymize internet activities. Meanwhile, business reasons are: to have an all-in-one secure remote access to the company’s computers, protect employees while on travel and protect the company from government intrusions or competitors.

With anything that is good comes the bad side and prepaid internet is no exception. Here is a list of the disadvantages of prepaid internet:

1. It is slow and not up to par with broadband or dsl connection. Its standard dial-up speed is only 56kbps making it painfully slow to view images or stream music or videos.

2. When you run out of prepaid internet, you need to buy another card or recharge your account or else you will not be able to continue with whatever you are doing. This is hard especially if there is only little time left in a file you are downloading.

3. Forgetting or losing your access number is another big problem. Once it is gone, you will not be able to use the card anymore.

4. It is not economical if you are a heavy internet user. A montly plan is more advisable than using prepaid cards.

Now that you know what prepaid internet is, here is a list of its advantages:

1.) Prepaid internet is most suited for a light internet user – one who occasionally just logs in to check the email or the weather.

2.) It is also helpful for travelers as all you need is a phone line to access the internet. Wherever you may be, you can easily access the internet.

3.) It is also good for people with credit problems as you get to monitor and budget how much you will spend on minutes to surf the internet.

4.) Last but not the least, it is a good way for parents to monitor and control the internet usage of their child.