Internet access Wikipedia. This article is about Internet access, including broadband Internet oi access. For telecommunications signaling methods, see Broadband. Internet access is ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, mobile devices and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Various technologies, at a wide range of speeds have been used by Internet service providers ISPs to provide this service. The actual speed will be affected by the users device, technology, network and software used, network configuration and coverage, usage levels and extraneous factors. Cable and fibre optic broadband both offer superfast speeds and all kinds of other benefits. But whats the difference Our expert explains. FierceTelecom covers the latest news on telecom companies, backhaul, ethernet, IPTV, and other trends driving the telecom industry into the future. Internet access was once rare, but has grown rapidly. In 1. 99. 5, only 6. United States,1 and consumer use was through dial up. By the first decade of the 2. Mbits. 3HistoryeditThe Internet developed from the ARPANET, which was funded by the US government to support projects within the government and at universities and research laboratories in the US but grew over time to include most of the worlds large universities and the research arms of many technology companies. Use by a wider audience only came in 1. Internet to carry commercial traffic were lifted. In the early to mid 1. Internet access was from personal computers and workstations directly connected to local area networks or from dial up connections using modems and analog telephone lines. LANs typically operated at 1. Mbits, while modem data rates grew from 1. Initially, dial up connections were made from terminals or computers running terminal emulation software to terminal servers on LANs. Download Sims 3 Babies Strollers. These dial up connections did not support end to end use of the Internet protocols and only provided terminal to host connections. The introduction of network access servers supporting the Serial Line Internet Protocol SLIP and later the point to point protocol PPP extended the Internet protocols and made the full range of Internet services available to dial up users although slower, due to the lower data rates available using dial up. Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just broadband, is simply defined as Internet access that is always on, and faster than the traditional dial up access89 and so covers a wide range of technologies. Broadband connections are typically made using a computers built in Ethernet networking capabilities, or by using a NICexpansion card. Most broadband services provide a continuous always on connection there is no dial in process required, and it does not interfere with voice use of phone lines. Broadband provides improved access to Internet services such as In the 1. National Information Infrastructure initiative in the U. S. made broadband Internet access a public policy issue. In 2. 00. 0, most Internet access to homes was provided using dial up, while many businesses and schools were using broadband connections. I used to pay 60 per month for a bundle of TV service and broadband service from Comcast. I decided I didnt want the TV part anymore, so I canceled it. Learn about cable modem technology, read cable modem reviews and compare prices and features on popular modem models. Cable Access Solutions. Learn how you can transform your business with the Cisco Infinite Broadband solution. Download the Ebook. In 2. 00. 0 there were just under 1. OECD countries1. By 2. In 2. 01. 0, in the OECD countries, over 9. Internet access subscriptions used broadband, broadband had grown to more than 3. The broadband technologies in widest use are ADSL and cable Internet access. Newer technologies include VDSL and optical fibre extended closer to the subscriber in both telephone and cable plants. Fibre optic communication, while only recently being used in premises and to the curb schemes, has played a crucial role in enabling broadband Internet access by making transmission of information at very high data rates over longer distances much more cost effective than copper wire technology. In areas not served by ADSL or cable, some community organizations and local governments are installing Wi Fi networks. Wireless and satellite Internet are often used in rural, undeveloped, or other hard to serve areas where wired Internet is not readily available. Newer technologies being deployed for fixed stationary and mobile broadband access include Wi. MAX, LTE, and fixed wireless, e. Motorola Canopy. Starting in roughly 2. G and 4. G technologies such as HSPA, EV DO, HSPA, and LTE. AvailabilityeditIn addition to access from home, school, and the workplace Internet access may be available from public places such as libraries and Internet cafes, where computers with Internet connections are available. Some libraries provide stations for physically connecting users laptops to local area networks LANs. Wireless Internet access points are available in public places such as airport halls, in some cases just for brief use while standing. Some access points may also provide coin operated computers. Various terms are used, such as public Internet kiosk, public access terminal, and Web payphone. Many hotels also have public terminals, usually fee based. Coffee shops, shopping malls, and other venues increasingly offer wireless access to computer networks, referred to as hotspots, for users who bring their own wireless enabled devices such as a laptop or PDA. These services may be free to all, free to customers only, or fee based. A Wi Fi hotspot need not be limited to a confined location since multiple ones combined can cover a whole campus or park, or even an entire city can be enabled. Additionally, Mobile broadband access allows smart phones and other digital devices to connect to the Internet from any location from which a mobile phone call can be made, subject to the capabilities of that mobile network. Data rate units SIUnit Symbol. Bits. Bytes. Kilobit per second1. Bs. Megabits1. Mbits. Bs      Gigabits1. Gbits. 1,0. 00 Mbits  1. MBs      Terabits1. Tbits. 1,0. 00 Gbits  1. GBs      Petabits1. Pbits. 1,0. 00 Tbits  1. TBs       Unit Symbol. Bits. Bytes. Kilobyte per second 1. Bs. 8,0. 00 bits. Bs. Megabytes1. MBs. Bs      Gigabytes1. GBs. 8,0. 00 Mbits      1,0. MBs      Terabytes1. TBs. 8,0. 00 Gbits      1,0. GBs      Petabytes1. PBs. 8,0. 00 Tbits      1,0. TBs      The bit rates for dial up modems range from as little as 1. V. 9. 0 and V. 9. Bramble Report 1965 Pdf. Dial up connections generally require the dedicated use of a telephone line. Data compression can boost the effective bit rate for a dial up modem connection to from 2. V. 4. 2bis to 3. V. However, the effectiveness of data compression is quite variable, depending on the type of data being sent, the condition of the telephone line, and a number of other factors. In reality, the overall data rate rarely exceeds 1. Broadband technologies supply considerably higher bit rates than dial up, generally without disrupting regular telephone use. Various minimum data rates and maximum latencies have been used in definitions of broadband, ranging from 6. Mbits. 1. 6 In 1. CCITT standards body defined broadband service as requiring transmission channels capable of supporting bit rates greater than the primary rate which ranged from about 1. Mbits. 1. 7 A 2. Organization for Economic Co operation and Development OECD report defined broadband as having download data transfer rates equal to or faster than 2. And in 2. 01. 5 the U. S. Federal Communications Commission FCC defined Basic Broadband as data transmission speeds of at least 2. Mbits downstream from the Internet to the users computer and 3 Mbits upstream from the users computer to the Internet. The trend is to raise the threshold of the broadband definition as higher data rate services become available.