Mumbai:

Dialup has many disadvantages, especially in India, where local calls are expensive. About 20 years ago, local telephone calls were billed per call, and not on the time taken per call. Today, however, telephone costs send the cost of dialup access through the roof.

Apart from that, dialup connections through modems and telephone lines are very slow, which means you cannot enjoy the full range of media available on the Net. Cable has several advantages over a dialup connection. In India, cable is cheaper than dialup for heavy users. However, cable is shared bandwidth between users; a lot of your speed depends on how many users are on your node.

The digital subscriber line (DSL) telephone service is more reliable and not dependant on the number of users on the node, but it is typically more expensive than cable, thus more suited to corporate customers.

A fibre-optic connection is the best and fastest possible connection that anything can give you. But it is expensive, complicated and difficult to maintain.

As you browse, so shall you choose: As a customer, the connection you choose depends on what your Internet use profile is.

Moderate use, browse, email and chat: Dial-up modems are the best solution, as they are the cheapest deal in the market.

Heavy use, fast download and video chatting for home use only: Cable modems are suitable for such applications and cheaper compared to DSL.

Fast download and running business servers: DSL is preferable as they are of higher capability than that of cable modems.

Corporate business and/or Internet service provider: Fibre-optic modems are the most suitable as huge volumes of data are transferred.

The history of increasing bandwidth
300 bps - 1960s through 1983 or so (Only text)
1200 bps - Gained popularity in 1984 and 1985
2400 bps
9600 bps - First appeared in late 1990 and early 1991
19.2 kilobits per second (Kbps)
28.8 Kbps
33.6 Kbps
56 Kbps - Became the standard in 1998
ADSL - Theoretical maximum of up to 8 megabits per second (Mbps). Gained popularity in 1999.

The Internet connection supermarket
Dialup: Connection through a conventional modem to any Internet service provider (ISP) through telephone lines. They can communicate at the maximum speed of 56 kbps.

Cable: A cable modem enables you to hook up your PC to a local cable TV line and receive data at about 1.5 Mbps. This data rate far exceeds that of the prevalent 28.8 and 56 Kbps telephone modems and the 128 Kbps of integrated services digital network (ISDN), and is about equal to the data rate available to subscribers of digital subscriber line (DSL) telephone service.

Typically, the cable modem attaches to a standard Ethernet card in the computer. All of the cable modems attached to a cable TV company coaxial cable line communicate with the local cable TV company office. The actual bandwidth for Internet service over a cable TV line is up to 27 Mbps on the download path to the subscriber with about 2.5 Mbps of bandwidth for interactive responses in the other direction.

In addition to the faster data rate, an advantage of cable over telephone Internet access is that it is a continuous connection. The big clincher is where you live. Since cable is shared bandwidth between users, a lot of your speed results depend on how many users you share the link with.

LAN: An increasingly popular method of accessing the Net in thickly populated areas of Indian metros. A ‘cable’ provider takes a leased line, wireless or other high-speed connection to the Net and redistributes it to several homes in the area. This connection is typically slower than true cable Internet, but it’s cheaper, and provides ‘always-on’ access. Customers who browse for more than two-three hours a day find this a cheaper method of access than dialup.

DSL: A digital subscriber line (DSL) connection squeezes more information through a standard telephone line, and lets you make regular telephone calls at the same time. There are several variations on DSL technology.

Asymmetric DSL (ADSL): The download speed is greater than the upload speed. It works because most Internet users look at, or download, much more information than they send, or upload.

High bit-rate DSL (HDSL) - Providing transfer rates comparable to a T1 line (about 1.5 Mbps), HDSL receives and sends data at the same speed, but it requires two lines that are separate from your normal phone line.

ISDN DSL (ISDL) - Geared primarily toward existing users of ISDN, this is slower than most other forms of DSL, operating at fixed rate of 144 Kbps in both directions. The advantage is that customers can use their existing equipment.

Multi-rate Symmetric DSL (MSDSL) - This is Symmetric DSL that is capable of more than one transfer rate. The transfer rate is set by the service provider, typically based on the service (price) level.

Rate Adaptive DSL (RADSL) - This is a popular variation of ADSL that allows the modem to adjust the speed of the connection depending on the length and quality of the line.

Symmetric DSL (SDSL) - Like HDSL, this version receives and sends data at the same speed. While SDSL also requires a separate line from your phone, it uses only a single line instead of the two used by HDSL.

Very high bit-rate DSL (VDSL) — Extremely fast, thus able to even support digital television and video-on-demand. VDSL is asymmetric, but only works over a short distance using standard copper phone wiring.

Voice-over DSL (VoDSL) - A type of IP telephony, VoDSL allows multiple phone lines to be combined into a single phone line that also includes data-transmission capabilities.

Wireless Internet: A wireless local area network that uses radio frequency technology to transmit and receive data over the air, minimizing the need for wired connections. Thus, wireless LANs combine data connectivity with user mobility. However, a wireless connection usually requires a clear line-of-sight between the local transmitting satellite and the receiving dish antenna.

Wi-Fi: Short for "wireless fidelity”, it''s a term used to describe wireless networking technology. Wi-Fi is a wireless network that uses a broadband connection, an access point and a Wi-Fi card inside of a computer to allow users to surf the Internet within a specific geographic range.

A wireless access point remains hooked up to your wired network (broadband connection). If you have the right PC card, your laptop, PC, or personal digital assistant (PDA) can get the signal. Certain cafes, airports, and universities let you tap into their wireless network so you can get Internet access on your Wi-Fi-equipped laptop.

Airborne Internet: This is not a Mile High Internet browsing club, but a means of providing an Internet connection from the air by placing aircraft over hundreds of cities. The US-based Angel Technologies is planning an airborne Internet network, called High Altitude Long Operation (HALO), which would use lightweight planes to circle overhead and provide data delivery faster than a T1 line for businesses. Consumers would get a connection comparable to DSL. Another company, Sky Station International, is planning a similar venture using blimps instead of planes.