RWAP Services review of Broadband (Cable and ADSL) Internet Access

Broadband and Dial-Up Internet Access

Other RWAP Websites
RWAP Software
(supporting the Sinclair QL, Cambridge Z88 and ZX Spectrum)

Internet Business Angels
(Providing advice to small business)

Speed Boost Your Dialup
Increase the speed of your dialup connection by 7x - GPRS speed by 10x
For PCs and Mobiles
£1.99pm
www.onspeed.com

Free ADSL Broadband
Use TalkTalk on your BT phone line and get up to 8Mb Broadband for Free !
www.talktalk.co.uk

All the ADSL Connection Equipment you'll ever need
Filters, modems, routers, wireless networks
www.dsl-warehouse.co.uk

When connecting your computer to the internet, you generally have a choice between narrowband internet access (dialup) and broadband high speed access. To some extent your choice is limited by where you live and who provides your main telephone line.

If your telephone line is provided by a Cable company, then you are generally restricted to their broadband packages, whereas if your telephone line is provided by BT (British Telecom), then you have access to a wide range of ADSL Broadband suppliers, which can often provide cheaper access due to the increased competition.

Many companies offer package deals, such as digital television, broadband and telephone services all from one provider (such as the packages offered by BSkyB) but it is often worth considering the levels of customer service and other issues, such as the speed of services provided.

Dial-Up Internet Connections

Dial-up internet access is quickly becoming a historical means of accessing the internet, with download speeds limited to 56Kb (57,344 bits per second) and monthly subscription prices at about the same price as entry level broadband packages. If you have a cable telephone, you will need to note that not all internet service providers (ISPs) will work with the service, so you need to check this out first.

The main bug bear with dial-up internet is that whilst your computer is connected to the internet, you cannot use the telephone line to make telephone calls. Some people also tend to find that they keep losing their connection (drop-outs) or they have problems connecting to the service. You could always look at installing a second phone line, but at £75 for the installation alone (or at least that is what BT quoted), it is hard to justify this expense.

Taking into account the frustrating download speeds (even with internet accelerators such as the excellent Onspeed) people soon see dial-up internet access as only good for very occasional use and would rather upgrade to the higher speed broadband packages.

There are plenty of dial-up internet providers, all charging different amounts, depending on whether you use pay as you surf or all inclusive internet providers. They all have their various pros and cons, but most are fairly reliable (gone are the days when small unknown companies were offering free internet access). We currently use one of the best known dial-up internet connection providers, AOL, who offer built-in parental controls, email filtering (for spam and anti-virus), internet accelerator, firewall and pop-up blockers. AOL can be used as a dial-up connection over cable networks (special connection numbers for these networks are chosen when you configure the software), as well as the standard BT network - the program automatically finds the most appropriate numbers for connection when you install the software, or you can use the AOL keyword "bestnumber" to configure your computer once on-line.

However, the inherent problems with dial-up internet connections, remains the quality of the phone line, the time it takes to get a connection (this can be as much as 30 minutes sometimes) and the speed. This is where Virgin Media's cable network excels, in that because you connect to them using a cable phone (normally), the line quality is generally much better than over a standard BT line, and it is also rare that you are left waiting for a long time to connect.

Some providers have tackled the problem over using the telephone line, by upgrading the system to handle V.92 capable modems (most modern 56K modems can be upgraded to V92 by downloading the latest drivers). Not only do these type of modems enable you to connect even faster. This also incorporates a Modem-On-Hold feature, whereby if you have call-waiting set-up on your telephone line, if you receive an incoming telephone call whilst using your modem, your internet connection is put on hold for 4 minutes, enabling you to deal with the telephone call in this time. At the end of this time, your computer modem will attempt to re-establish data-transfer with the internet server, without having to dial up again.

If you want additional speed to access the internet, we have tried several programs which profess to substantially increase the data rate over a dial-up modem, and can safely say that the only program which we have found which makes a noticeable difference is the OnSpeed Internet Accelerator.

However, if you are serious about needing additional speed, then you will have to consider a Broadband connection.

Why Switch to Broadband

The current in-word when talking of internet connections is Broadband. This type of service generally offers much higher transfer speeds and no need to dial-up for a connection (it is "always on"). All broadband is amazingly fast when compared to traditional dial-up modem internet connections and is a must for anyone who wants to use the Internet for serious work, or for downloading videos or music. However there seem to be various connection speeds available to the user, depending on the way in which the broadband connection is made and the service chosen. A broadband connection also has the bonus of freeing up your line for telephone calls, which means that you do not have to go to the expense of having a second phone line installed and paying line rental on a line which is exclusively used for internet access. Bearing these savings in mind (and the other benefits), the costs of a broadband connection seem to be easily justifiable.

Indeed, some of the slower broadband packages, can be cheaper than a standard monthly subscription dial-up internet connection !

TalkTalk and BSkyB have put the cat amongst the pigeons by offering free broadband (up to 8Mb) for their telephone and satellite television customers. There are however, various catches, and the service is only available to homes within a certain distance from the telephone exchange. Some exchanges do not yet house the equipment, meaning that you may not be able to receive the packaged service in any case. There is also generally a download limit, which will impact on you if you intend downloading a lot of movies or music online, but you can always upgrade to a more expensive package, if you need to download more than the set limit.

The only downside to free broadband, has been that the companies appear overwhelmed by its success which can lead to long delays in getting the broadband equipment installed and poor customer service. However, both TalkTalk and BSkyB are working hard to resolve these issues.

A word of warning....

Due to the fact that Broadband is an "always on" service, your computer is open to virus and internet attacks whenever it is switched on. It is therefore imperative that you look at getting some System Protection, such as provided by Norton Internet Security (possibly the most well known internet security package). Although Windows XP Service Pack 2 contains its own built in firewall, this is not ideal as it is not updated as often as Norton's own Firewall, and is also renown as being a main target for system hackers.

P2P and Downloading Music

Many people also want Broadband to allow them to download music and video off the internet quickly for their personal use. Although there has been a lot of press about this in the past, and prosecution of internet pirates, there are now several sites appearing which offer perfectly legitimate music downloads for around 69c to 99c per song.

Using this method of downloading music ensures that the artistes still receive a royalty for performing the song (and therefore an incentive to produce more music), whilst allowing you to pick and choose which songs you actually want to burn onto a CD compilation. Two of the best sites for this type of download has to be Tower Records and Rhapsody.

You can also consider using the ever-popular Kazaa Media Desktop which sets up a P2P (peer to peer) network - this is basically a piece of software which allows all of its users to share various files with other users on the network. This works fairly well, but it is all too easy to find the title you want and start downloading it, only to find that the person on who's computer it is stored has deleted the file or switched off his PC!! As a result, many users find it infuriating and the speed of download depends not only on the speed of your connection, but that of the person's computer where the file is stored and how many people are trying to access the file at the same time. Also, the free version of Kazaa includes quite a bit of pop-up advertising to slow down your PC even more!

Are there any Disadvantages??

The main disadvantage is of course if you intend to use your computer away from home, where the broadband connection may not be available. You will need a standard modem and a dial-up service for this eventuality. Availability is also an issue. For cable services, you will need to be inside their cabled area, and even BT users may have problems with installing broadband. At present, BT still need to upgrade a substantial number of its exchanges to work with ADSL (particularly to provide the higher speed services).

OK - I want Broadband - do I go for Cable or ADSL?

There are advantages and disadvantages to using a cable broadband connection or an ADSL broadband connection, with the main drawback for cable, being that you have to be in a cabled area.

BT's ADSL service allows you a lot more choice for your service provider, and does not normally require any new cabling to your house (it uses your existing BT phone line if you have one), although you will of course need a phone line to your PC. However, this is always supplied as a self-install package and you will need to plug everything in as required. On the other hand, cable broadband will invariably necessitate an engineer calling to install a new cable box in the room where your PC is located (you cannot use the cable phone line), unless you choose the self-install option, where you will need to run a cable from your digital TV set-top box to the PC.

Although ADSL boasts at least a 512Kb connection speed, there is a 50:1 contention ratio, which means that you share the same network with up to another 49 people - if quite a few of those 50 people are downloading large files at the same time, then connection speeds are affected. This does not happen with cable broadband which has a 1:1 contention ratio. You may also wish to compare upload speeds (generally 256Kb on ADSL) and you also have to bear in mind that the further away that you are from the BT exchange, the slower your connection speeds will be (again this does not apply to cable).

With the release of the new 8Mb ADSL from TalkTalk (which is free for users of their telephone service, after payment of a £29.99 connection fee) this may be an incentive to stay with broadband via a BT service. The upload speed of 400Kb is also attractive, especially with a 33:1 contention ratio. However, the availability of this service depends on your distance from the local loop exchange - TalkTalk estimate that it will work up to 2Km away. It is also subject to a quasi-cap in that they reserve the right to end your service should you exceed more than 4GB transfers per day regularly.

One of the issues with ADSL Broadband connections, is how much it affects the quality of the standard phone line, despite the use of filters to allow sharing of the phone line between the computer's modem and the telephone receiver, plus because the broadband modem connects as soon as it is powered up, the quality of the phone line is affected even though you are not using the internet!! Further problems also arise with connecting ADSL broadband to a PC, in that you need a filter to split the signal on each phone in your house. However, the connection on the filter for the modem line is the smaller modem socket, which can cause problems if, as in our case, you have a telephone in a different room to the PC in which case, you will need extra filters (one for each telephone and one for the telephone socket where you connect the modem's line). The ones supplied by AOL cost around $15 each (so can prove quite expensive), although a quick search of Kelkoo reveals other makes are available for just under £7. We can also supply a high quality (BT spec) DSL filter, which does not have a fly lead, for £5.50 including UK post and packing. If you are looking for one of the AOL type filters, or want to setup a wireless network to make full use of the broadband connection, we would recommend that you check out the DSL Warehouse which forms a one stop shop for all this type of equipment at highly competitive prices.

By comparison, cable broadband does not suffer from this interference at all and leaves you with crystal clear phone lines.

You may also find it difficult to install broadband on an older computer - many of the modems provided connect via USB, although an ethernet connection is preferable (and quicker) if available. Much of the software will require Windows 98 as a minimum also.

Broadband Packages

There are now various packages available from numerous providers, depending on how fast a broadband connection you want and how much you want to download - standard broadband connection is 10 times faster access (512Kb per second service) and costs from £9.99pm, but there are providers who advertise up to 24Mb download speeds (over 400 times faster than dialup access). Some providers, such as BSkyB and TalkTalk even offer free broadband provided that you take other services from them as well.

On the other hand, BT charges £26.99pm for up to 8Mb per second connection option. However, installation fees apply and you also need to purchase the modem. Other non-cable providers are available which provide a broadband connection over the BT network at varying monthly costs (from £19 to £35pm), although the installation and modem charges remain pretty much the same. You also need to bear in mind that an ADSL connection over the BT network will not use high quality fibre cable over the full route, and as a result the service is never going to be able to promote itself as "always on", unlike a cable connection. Further, it has to be said that Blueyonder's reputation as an ISP is hard to beat.

Although all of the companies offering Broadband only quote prices for one computer connected to the internet, they appear to only mean one computer directly connected to the modem - this means that you can set up a home network where one computer is connected to broadband and is acting as a server. However, some people have already taken note of the fact that broadband is an "always on" service and considered using this to turn their home computer into a server, hosting their own web-site in their home. However, the various broadband companies have already foreseen this, and unfortunately prevent it, by using a dynamic TCP/IP address, which means that the IP address of your computer on the internet is constantly changing.

Overall

If we had a choice, we would always go for cable broadband, due to the lower contention ratio and fact that the speeds can be increased relatively easily, without any need for changes in equipment on your computer. Those who have taken the plunge to switch to the Broadband system have been extremely pleased with the service and have encountered no real problems once it has been installed, except possibly how to deal with the lost opportunity to make a cuppa while software and files were being downloaded! Perhaps the one area where some providers fall down, is the current lack of any built-in access controls for children (such as that provided by AOL), although this can easily be provided by the purchase of the excellent Cyber Patrol parental controls software by Surfcontrol plc which offers more facilities than the AOL software.

Cyber Patrol offers a wide range of functions to protect internet usage for users of all ages, with the ability to black list sites and email addresses (as well as those automatically identified by the software), regular updates of questionable sites, identification of questionable text and images, as well as blocking emails with links to phishing sites, spyware, and criminal activity. This software is by the World leading company, Surfcontrol plc and is constantly being improved to tackle the changing internet environment and to keep all users of the internet safe.

If you are uncertain whether broadband is for you, or which supplier to go for, we recommend that you consider looking at the ADSL Guide which provides a wealth of information on ADSL Broadband suppliers.