Best Broadband Internet Provider:

Now that dial-up is virtually dead and AOL is struggling to keep their 15 million users, most Internet surfers have moved on to DSL or Broadband connections to speed up their online experience. There are so many high speed internet offers out there where you get the first 6 months for $19.95 and then the price is set at $42.95 (through Comcast) that I can't believe all those people paying $20+ for dial up having switched. My gut feeling is that they don't know that broadband Internet is not that much more expensive that dial up and they can now keep their email address so they are not being held captive anymore by AOL. The broadband internet services like BT, Comcast, AOL, Roadrunner, Adelphia, and Insight are offering speeds 7 times faster than DSL and you can pay a monthly fee on Comcast to get speeds at 8 Mpbs. With todays Internet offering video downloads, large picture files, and online game playing, you need a broadband connection to exist. Why pay $29.99/month for DSL when you can get more than 5x's the speed for a little over $13 more a month. Broadband will save you time which in the long run has got to be worth money to you.

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You may ask why we are pushing broadband so much, it's not because we are resellers for broadband internet providers or services, it's because it doesn't make sense to be on anything less in terms of "getting your moneys worth". With all the comparisons of DSL vs Broadband, there is a clear winner and that is broadband. High speed internet access even with DSL is not bad, but having a cable modem and zipping around the web in the speed of light makes it a whole new experience. Watching video in real time with broadband connections and playing online games with players around the world at the same moment is amazing. I'm sure in the next 5 years things will only get faster and faster online with improved computer abilities and fiber optic lines that promise 40 Mbps for almost the same price as we pay for regular broadband access right now. If we had to choose the best broadband internet provider it would be Comcast since they have package deals where you can get broadband phone, cable, and broadband Internet service all in one. You can see their latest high speed internet offers online at Comcastoffers.com. I recently switched over to their broadband phone service and it saves me at least $10/month over what Qwest was charging me and I also save on my 2nd phone line and cable bill. Bundling all 3 products into one is the way to go. I've had maybe 10 hours of down time over the last 5 years while on Comcast Broadband and there are few companies that can match a record like that.

Wireless Broadband:

I recently purchased a new Dell laptop so that I could access the Internet in my house via a wireles broadband connection. I have a Dell desktop in an upstairs office that is hard wired to the Internet via a cable modem and a Linksys router connects our 2nd computer to the Inernet. The new laptop came with a wireless card so that I could access my broadband connection anywhere in my house and outdoors for that matter. I had heard that some wireless connections in houses was not strong enough to warrant using a laptop, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that my laptop was able to instantly find the broadband connection upstairs and log me on to the web in seconds. The connection speed varies but is always ample enough to download web pages, files, and keep me moving along without having to wait more than a second or 2. Most desktop computers come with a wireless card and all laptops do so that you can get on the Net almost anywhere with wireless Internet networks located all over (Starbucks, airports, train stations, etc.). I was recently on a family vacation up in the mountains and didn't have a true Internet connection at the rental house so I went outside with my laptop and tried to find a wireless network to log on with and sure enough I was able to. Having a wireless card in a laptop is the best investment I ever made. I live near Portland, Oregon and the city has plans to offer free wireless Internet access to everyone in the coming years. There are 2 ways to look at it - it's wonderful to have constant Internet access wherever you go and at the same time you could say "it's information overload" and you can't get away from being "connected".

Broadband Modem and Router:

When you get hooked up with a broadband internet connection you need to either own your own cable modem or rent one each month from the internet service provider. Cost is about $5/month to rent and to own is only about $60. Most likely you will save money in the long run if you buy your own broadband modem instead of renting. The top selling modems on Amazon are the Linksys BEFCMU10 EtherFast Cable Modem ($65), Motorola Surfboard SB5100 Cable Modem ($55), SB5120 Surfboard Cable Modem ($57), Toshiba PCX1100U High Speed Cable Modem ($60), and the D-Link DCM-202 USB/Ethernet Cable Modem, DOCSIS 2.0 Certification ($50). If you keep your modem for over a year then you automatically will save money. Check out Amazon or your local electronics store for the latest cable modems. A router will allow you to have multiple computers on your broadband connection at the same time. With so many wireless connections today, we suggest getting a wireless router for about $50. The most popular are the Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Router, Linksys BEFSR41 EtherFast Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port 10/100 Switch, and the Netgear WGR614 802.11g Wireless Router.

Broadband Speed Test:

When you do get a broadband internet connection you will want to test your download or upload speed to make sure you really are getting at least 3 Mbps from your broadband provider. I periodically go to a few broadband speed test sites to measure my exact download speed and see how accurate Comcast is when they say 3-6 Mbps on average. The best site for seeing how fast your broadband connection to the Internet is at http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/. My download speed was always near 5 Mbps and my upload speed was consistently at 384 kbps. There are other broadband speed tests online at www.dslreports.com/stest or www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/.

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