Internet Speed

The internet has been around since 1972 and has been publicly used since the mid-1990s.  Over time, computer programmers have developed different internet speeds by which to browse the web.  Some methods are faster than others are, as well as more reliable.  Let us look at various forms of Internet speed and weigh their benefits.

Dial-Up

There are actually two different types of dial-up modems.  There is 28.8kbps, which is a slow dial-up modem and 56.6kbps a fast dial-up modem.  The slow dial-up modem was the first method, which people used to access and surf the internet.  The way it worked is a modem would be connected into a phone jack and the user would connect by having his modem find and dial a ten-digit number to connect to the internet with.  There is not a lot of internet speed associated with this method.  Connecting to the internet took five to ten minutes.  If connecting to the internet was bad enough, surfing the internet was even harder.  Some websites were quicker to load than others were.  Any website with a complicated graphic or flash intro would take at least five minutes to load.  Then if someone would happen to call then the internet user would be kicked off line because of the incoming call.  Considering that internet speed is measured today in seconds this was not a very popular method at the time.  Over time computer programmers developed a faster version of the dial-up modem.  The 56.6kbps or fast dial-up modem was a vast improvement over the slow dial-up modem.  This modem was the first modem to provide internet speed.  Customers could connect to the internet in half of the time.  The internet speed of this modem was also improved.  Customers could access almost any website without having to wait endless minutes for their page to load.  Unfortunately, incoming calls would still be able to knock people off line.  This all change with the coming of DSL.

DSL or Broadband

DSL was first introduced in 2002.  This was by far the modem with the most internet speed.  While the DSL modem still had to connect to a phone jack, there was only one number to dial for the area.  Connecting to the internet took mere seconds instead of minutes (Unless too many people were trying to access the internet at one time, then it could take a while).  Surfing the internet was a lot faster too.  People could access a website easily regardless of complicated graphics or flash intros.  However many computer programmers began developing more complicated websites which slowed down the DSL modems.  Today that problem has almost disappeared with the wireless modem.

Wireless Modem

The wireless modem is the fastest method of connecting to and surfing the internet.  The internet speed with a wireless modem surpasses the DSL modem or the old dial-up modems.  People can connect to the internet instantly and visit almost any website without problems.

Internet speed is something that is still evolving.  The need for internet speed depends on how you use it.  If you are just using it to check emails, you do not need a lot of internet speed.  If you are conducting business online, then you might need to have a modem that has the capability for internet speed.  It all boils down to preference.