Dial-Up Modem vs DSL

[stewey]

I am still using a 56k modem and thinking of switching to DSL. Is it a lot faster? Also, my wife wants to know, will we be able to use our telephone if I am on the Internet. Right now she cannot make or receive calls if I am busy on AB!

[pug100]

Broadband is usually 10 to 20 times faster than dial up, assuming 1Mb connect speed. Most ISPs offer up to 8Mb! Nobody I know who has had both dial up and broadband would ever go back to dial up, broadband is brill.
Depending on the type of router / modem you get you can connect up to 5 PCs to the internet at once and still leave the phone free for incoming calls.
ISP comparisons are here
http://www.broadband-finder.co.uk/compare-broa dband/compare-broadband.html

If you already have Sky TV, they do a free broadband service (no monthly subs) but there is a connection fee and a 2Gb download limit.
Cable companies may also offer an all in on package, I know Virgin are doing one at the mo, tv mobile and tinternet.
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/bundles/i ndex.html

[fo3nix]

Yes and yes. Go for it!

(BTW, in the UK it's usually ADSL, but you can think of it as the same thing.)

[rojash]

Welcome back fo3nix, good holiday?

[vehelpfulguy]

Comparing dial up to broadband is like comparing riding a push bike to driving a car if you were going on holiday.

Would you rather peddle you push bike all the way to Cornwall, or drive a car ?

Plus with Broadband you do not need to "dial up", you turn on your computer and the interent is there.

Go for it.

[stewey]

Thanks, all of you, appreciate it: will change within a few days. One more quickie: are Broadband and DSL (or ADSL) the same thing?

[pug100]

As far as domestic services are concerned they are the same, a more in depth explanation is here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_subscribe r_line

[fo3nix]

neil... ADSL has never been dial up...

stewey; broadband is the general type, just relating to the fact that a comparatively large amount of data can be transferred over a connection. Narrowband would be the alternative, such as your dial-up connection.

ADSL, etc. are the technologies that provide the broadband. When people talk about them, they mean the same thing though.

DSL etc. usually has approximately the same upload (computer to internet) as well as download (internet to computer) speeds. ADSL is asynchronous DSL, meaning that the speeds are different -- download speeds are much faster than upload speeds. For most users that's ok, as they spend more time downloading than uploading data to the internet.

rojash: yes thanks, I went to a summer school, and forgot to add my AB password to my flash drive.

[stewey]

Thanks again, all of you. Some of it got a little complicated to me: but, the gist of your answers has convinced me to change.

[rojash]

fo3nix, great that you had a good holiday, though I think it may have addled your brain temporarily: I'm sure you meant to say that the A in ADSL means Asymmetric, not Asynchronous.

[fo3nix]

I did indeed! Ooops.

Stewey: if you already have cable TV, then their broadband package is probably the best bet. If you don't, then you may either be able to get free broadband through Orange (if you use them as your mobile phone operator) or Sky (if you have Sky TV). I'm using Tiscali at the moment and find them to be good value and works all the time.

I'd stay away from BT if you can; their prices are a ripoff.

[ACtheTROLL]

Fo

I hate to argue .... but ....
DSL is a technical generic term
broadband is a marketing term .... now part of the language .... so while not "correct" it is right!

ADSL is indeed a dialup connection
Basically most punters are restricted to a single "number" - a specific MTU controlled by their ISP (the HG number)
.... so dialup is just a technical term
Switch off/on ... and you'll see the modem dial and negotiate - exactly as it would if over analog pstn.

lol ... and
BT do provide by far the best service .... and bandwidth
or perhaps .... to put it another way .... it's not as bad as many of the others

[rojash]

ACtheTROLL, I too hate to argue, but DSL stands for Digital subscriber line: There is no modem involved (although fro convenience the device is referred to as a modem). What you see if you turn it on and off is the negotiation of a connection, but there is no dialling involved. Turn off your (non-internet-connected) switch or router and you will also see negotiation, but I'm sure you would not argue that there was any dialling involved. Broadband is a vague generic term for any kind of high speed connection. DSL (whether A or S) is a specific technology for providing broadband over a telephone line.
Think about it, when configuring your DSL router/modem, at what point do you enter a telephone number?

[ACtheTROLL]

rojash

I know exactly what you mean and it's difficult trying to use exact analogies almost trying to define slang (innit!)

modem = modulator/demodulator. A communications device that converts one form of a signal to another that is suitable for transmission over communication circuits

digital is a bit of a misnomer
copper telephone lines don't like digital signals
(that's why ethernet is restricted to 100m cable lengths)
so the connection is actually analog
(digital only kickes in once the exchange equipment connects to the fiber backbone)
in this case ... analog type frequency modulated transmissions suitable for long lines -> tcp/ip digital pulses suitable for networking
..... so modem is in fact an accurate term

the "phone number" ... obviously isn't a number ... think of a website's "phone number"
you type ... www.website.com
dns translates to ip 60.254.254.6
the network transport sends 1011101001000100001001001100100 ........

For dsl ... the "number" is the mtu address
[email protected] + Password

turn on a switch or "real" router ... and the device just becomes a device on the network ... which deals natively with digital data no one (but an admin) will conciously use the device

most punters (subscribers) only connect ..... so they are just using a single shot (auto dialled) connection verification logon/password protocol .... entered once each session
(a bit like having connections are configured to auto connect when IE is opened)

I use vpn enabled dsl connections ... which are routable
And I do have a "dialling" list to establish different "B" end connections (a bit like dialling an STD code) depending on the data
to establish either a fixed single "B" end ... or fanned arrays.

with your phone ... you

[rojash]

But at no point is a number dialled! Transmitting routing info is not the same as dialling, so it ain't a dialup connection.

[ACtheTROLL]

so what is diallup info but routing info?
in both cases the transmission medium is tone mudulation

I suppose you are too young to remember when the letters on a dial were used to transmit routing data (whitehall 1212 was whi1212) - so even then a phone number wasn't exclusively numeric

If you had a need you could get a circuit that allowed dialup connections (an extension of the old private network concept) - uses dsl technology and is fully routable in exactly the same way as telephony.

I do work in this area ... and dsl is regarded as an extension of telephony.not as a networking medium.

the only difference between having BT, virgin, orange etc etc "broadband" is the "number" you dial .... the equipment co-exists on the same shelf - change your isp ... you get a new "number" to dial - nothing else changes

routing info .... call it whatever you want
It's like the old manual board where an operator made the connection ... (voice activated "dialling"?)
with most dsl it's just you are restricted to a single number ....

but it's not worth falling out over .....