It is the year 2006, why are you still stuck using Dial-up? Dial-up or 56k V90 is without a doubt slower than a snail. You should consider switching to broadband. But why should you? You are pretty patient as it is, waiting and waiting and yes waiting. With broadband you can do more browsing and you don't even have to worry about being disconnected! So why haven't you switched? Your only excuse for not having broadband could be that it may not be offered currently in your area.

What exactly is broadband? For one of those computer nerd (technical) definitions, broadband is a word that refers to a signal or circuit which includes or handles a wide range of frequencies. This essentially means that the wider the range of frequencies the more information that can be controlled (more upload and download). It can be a bit confusing but it just means simply that 56k (or Dialup) can't support much information so that's why it is slower.

What can you do with broadband that you can't do with dialup? You can do everything you do with dialup but faster. You can send and receive pictures from friends or family in a matter of seconds. You can play online games (if you want) faster. You can even check your email without having to wait minutes upon minutes. I promise you, that you will not regret leaving dialup...except for that funny noise that it makes when connecting. Broadband doesn't feel like a snail is walking faster than you are browsing.

So where can I get broadband? You can obtain broadband from a variety of sources. If you have satellite, they offer broadband; if you have cable they also offer it and even your telephone company offers broadband. I would have to recommend going through you're cable provider for broadband if it is available in your area. If it isn't, you should usually check with your telephone company and inquire about DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). Satellite broadband costs a little more than DSL or Cable. After stating that, there are three kinds of service offered by Satellite companies.

The three kinds of satellite service available are One-way Multicast, One-way with terrestrial return and finally Two-way (which is the best). One-way Multicast is pretty much not worth looking into. You can view the web, but you can't do much more than that. One-way with terrestrial return is a bit interesting since you use a dialup-like system. What sets it apart from basic dialup though is that downloads are sent from a satellite and not from the telephone line. Those speeds are nearly as fast as those with broadband! The third kind is called Two-way, it transmits to a satellite and than to a hub.

I respect that the decision is up to you if you want to switch to broadband. But if you spend a third of your life in the bathroom, as well as a third sleeping, wouldn't you prefer to spend the remaining third doing something else other than waiting for a webpage to load?

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Broadband