eNew Egypt
Got Bandwidth?
By
Vince Lotito
Wednesday, February 16, 2000
In the ever-expanding myriad of jargon used in and around the
Internet, it's no wonder how many of us may be confused. You might have heard
the terms, 56K, ISDN, DSL and cable modems at one time or another. Simply put,
it all has to do with bandwidth. So then what is Bandwidth?
Bandwidth, according to the dictionary, is the difference
between the upper and lower frequencies of a band of electromagnetic radiation.
However, in relationship to the Internet, bandwidth is the amount of data that
can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time from one computer to another.
Similar to traveling in New Jersey, the Internet information
highway has many roadways and interchanges, each of which has their own
capacity and speed limit. Imagine driving to Atlantic City, if you're in a
hurry you can take the Parkway. Conversely, you wouldn't jump on Route 35 where
the speed limits are slower, with only one lane South bound and you are more
likely to run into traffic. Like highways for cars, bandwidth for your Internet
connection determines whether you fly or crawl.
So then the big question what bandwidth options is available to
us here in New Egypt? This answer is not an easy one and as you can see while
there are a many options, not all of them are available to us here in New
Egypt. From the options that are available, we will see that like cars and
highways, there is a premium to pay for the faster alternatives.
The most common bandwidth choice is the dial up 56
kilobits/second (Kbps) modem. 56Kbps modems require a clean, straight through
telephone connection to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This option uses
analog phone lines to transmit data to and from Internet Service Providers
(ISP) or Online services. While this options is capable of 56Kbps, phone
company line amplifiers, PBX switchboard systems, and other telephone equipment
can alter the phone line signal and force 56Kbps modems to fall back to speeds
of 33.6Kbps and slower. Additionally, the FCC doesn't allow 56Kbps modems to
use the full range of signals available due to static interference inflicted to
other phone lines when these modems operate at those speeds.
The cost of a 56Kbps connection may include the cost of the
modem, the cost of the telephone (especially if you need to add a second line)
and the cost of connecting to your ISP or Online service, which typically
ranges from $16 to $30.
Another alternative is Integrated Services Digital Network or
ISDN. ISDN is a high-speed, fully digital telephone service. Just as compact
discs have made recorded music digital, ISDN upgrades today's analog telephone
network to a digital system. ISDN can operate at speeds up to 128 Kbps, which
is five or more times faster than today's analog modems. ISDN can dramatically
speed up the transfer of information over your Internet connection, which is
especially effective with rich media like graphics, audio and video
applications.
It cost about $100 to install ISDN, plus the cost of running
additional inside wiring. One advantage of ISDN is that it runs over your plain
old phone lines, however, you will need an ISDN modem in use it. ISDN modems
are 2 to 3 time more expensive than 56Kbps modems. Additionally, there are per
minute charges for ISDN (.01 to .02 per minute per channel), and the phone
company does offer packages that can be tailored to your the level of usage.
These packages range in price from $35 to $250 per month. Beware, you will need
to pay more for your ISP account. As I mentioned earlier, the added bandwidth
of ISDN has it's premium.
There are other new technologies, which have emerged to fill the
need for affordable, high-speed bandwidth access. Among these emerging
technologies are Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) and cable modems, neither of
which currently available in the New Egypt area. As these technologies become
available, I will discuss them in more detail. Until then, God Bless.
Quick Clicks
www.ddfl.org/tips.html
- this is a resource for better pet care. Find out about pet behavior,
basics of training pets, and grooming suggestions.
www.classicar.com -
"Where Car Lovers Click". This site if a resource for information about
automobiles greater than 25 years old, car clubs, where to find old car parts,
and you can chat with fellow classic car enthusiasts. Online greeting cards -
these are great sites for sending online greetings, as well as paper cards.
They have great selection to choose from and many are free.
Nielsen Net Ratings claims the best online greeting sites are:
www.bluemountain.com,
www.americangreetings.com, and
www.egreetings.com.
Vince Lotito is President & Founder of Internet eBusiness
Solutions Center, a business and technology firm based in New Egypt. Have any
questions you want answered but were afraid to ask? Drop me an email at
eNewEgypt@mainstreetsusa.com or call 758-8858 |
