Broadband the ultimate online upgrade

For those who live a double life online, you must be familiar with the drill when it comes to connecting to the Internet through dial-up. You hook your phone into the modem, double click your dialer icon in Dial-Up Networking and mouth a little prayer while crossing your fingers that you connect as soon as possible with the least amount of tries. Of course that hardy is even the case and after your umpteenth dial-up try, you finally get to visit the website of your choice only to suffer a common annoyance online surfers powered by a 56k modem endure – the speed, or lack thereof.

Dial-up’s relatively low speed, especially during peak hours, turns the Internet from your best friend to your worst enemy as you sit on your chair helplessly anticipating for a website to load, a software, song or video to download; and your personal files to upload until the waiting eats up all your credits or you get unceremoniously disconnected for unfathomable reasons. If you have suffered enough from these dial-up mishaps, fret no more because there is a solution in sight. It is called broadband and it will take you to places you couldn’t go before.

Compared to the sluggish horse buggy that is the narrowband dial-up, broadband is a high performance supercharged sports car that zooms through the Internet with lightning fast speed and efficiency. With a broadband connection, surfing, downloading and uploading data becomes dramatically faster. It also allows users the pleasure of watching more videos, listening to the radio, collecting more MP3s, playing online games and availing a wide array of online services you can’t possibly experience with dial-up.

To the uninitiated, broadband may be a leap of faith. If requires more commitment than faithfully purchasing a prepaid Internet card at your nearest 24-hour convenience store. You will need to subscribe to a service, install new hardware and software and tweak your PC setting. But once you’re all hooked up, you can surf to your heart’s content because you’re always online. You can even use your telephone while on the Internet. With broadband, your PC will instantly transform from a pansy dial-up damsel into a lean, mean online machine.

To help you make up your mind, here are four broadband options that can fulfill your need for speed.

DSL or direct subscriber line is the most popular broadband service in the country and for a couple of good reasons. The speed ranges from 128 kbps to 3 mbps, at least double what you get from the 56 kbps your modem manages to sputter out on a good day. It uses existing phone lines without hampering phone use to transmit data so you won’t have to spend extra for wires and cables crawling towards your house. Also, DSL is competitively priced and some even throw in free email and other perks. However, installation is a drag with ISPs taking a couple of weeks to a month to get you online. But some DSL service providers like PLDT myDSL offers a Quick Install Kit to get you up and running in as little as five days.

Cable modem does a similar job to DSL except that it utilizes the same cable used for your cable TV for transmitting information. It is also fast and efficient with speeds comparable to DSL. However, using a cable modem means you will have to share the bandwidth with your fellow cable modem subscribers, thus causing congestion especially during peak hours when most subscribers surf simultaneously. Your Internet session may start fast but eventually, the online traffic takes a toll on your speed, slowing it down significantly as the cable modem tries to accommodate more and more subscribers logging on and eating up the bandwidth.

So now that you have the lowdown on broadband, find out it your need for online speed is worth the switch from dial-up. You must also remember that broadband is fast but it isn’t impervious to glitches, lagging and breakdown brought about by a computer virus, faulty hardware or ISP problems. As long as your PC is in top form and your broadband delivers reliable and consistent service, all you have to do is sit back and brace yourself for great virtual ride.

There are many brands of high-speed Internet available for an Internet user, but it is generally best to apply for PLDT myDSL as they have the widest coverage area. Applicants can call 171, visit their website at http://www.msn.pldtmypad.com, or go to the nearest business office. PLDT myDSL is also offering free trial of both their traditional DSL and their more advanced WiFi services in selected areas, giving users the chance to try before they buy."