When you’re looking for the right type of internet connection, your ultimate choice will depend on how you plan to use the internet and by where you live. Some rural locations, for example, still use dial up web connections, meaning that the signals travel over people’s regular phone lines. Sometimes this means they can’t use their phones whenever they’re on the web, but it also means the transmission of data is very, very slow. This can hinder quick online access to photographs and other large files, and can make downloading and uploading an exercise in futility, thus making it completely redundant for businesses.
Broadband internet was introduced fairly early in the web revolution, and gradually began to replace dial up systems because of the much higher speed. The first form of broadband introduced to the public was a type of transmission called a Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL. This continued to use phone lines, but using a technology that moved the data much more quickly. But soon afterward, the cable companies got into the game and began to offer web services as well. What does a secure web connection actually do data transfer speeds, not just the choices expanded but the things people could actually do online changed too.
The two main broadband choices for most people remain DSL and cable, though other kinds of internet connection options are now beginning to appear on the scene. In many cases, using one or the other is simpler and more convenient, by virtue of the fact that most homes already have a phone line and cable connection. Either of these network services is available without adding a lot of extra equipment or requiring new hookups.
But other types of internet connection alternatives are rapidly gaining ground and may eventually threaten both DSL and cable as a means of getting online. Internet and video services are now offered, for example, through wireless connections or even via satellite. Each of those, of course, has its own challenges that are still being worked on, given that they are newer technologies. Satellite reception, for example, can be interfered with when there is precipitation. But development continues with all of these technologies in an effort to make your web connections both easy and reliable.