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THE NEED FOR SPEED
Waiting for slow Web pages to load can be torture.

Granted, Internet access these days is relatively speedy. If you were an early Internet user, you probably remember the days when a 2,400–bits-per-second, or bps, connection was considered lightning-fast; today, 56 kilobits per second, or kbps, is the standard (bps is a measure of network throughput speed; kbps refers to units of 1,024 bits).

But as Web sites offer more e-commerce services and more graphic appeal, throughput speeds can slow down to a crawl. Downloading software, such as an updated version of your Web browser, can literally take hours.

There is hope, though. Two technologies that are expanding in availability can improve access speeds significantly and help you get the most from your time online.

High-speed cable. You can connect to the Internet using the same cable that is currently providing you with dozens of television channels. Typically offering speeds of at least 500 kbps, a cable connection can increase your Internet access speed more than 10-fold compared with a 56-kbps modem connection. Cable access also offers a continuous connection so that you will no longer have to dial up each time you want to get on the Web.

A cable connection generally costs about $40 per month, depending on where you live, plus an installation fee. You also will need to lease a cable modem from your service provider; your old modem will not do the job. Although cable television is widely available in most parts of the country, cable Internet access currently is limited to larger metropolitan areas.

One more point to keep in mind: you will share the same cable with your neighbors, so access speeds will diminish as more people subscribe to the service.

Digital subscriber line. A digital subscriber line, or DSL, connects you to the Internet using the copper lines already bringing telephone service to your home or office. A typical DSL hookup can offer speeds of up to 384 kbps, or at least seven times the speed of a typical modem, over a continuous connection. Typical DSL connections also allow the transfer of voice and data over the same line.

Many Internet service providers are offering DSL service for about $50 per month, plus an installation fee. You also will have to purchase a DSL modem. Like cable access, DSL is not currently available in all areas of the country.

DSL differs from cable in two significant ways. First, your connection speed is not affected by the number of other users online because you do not share the line with anyone. Second, the farther you are from a central telephone office, the slower your connection will be owing to distortion in the lines.

QUESTION OF THE MONTH ONLINE
To gain a wide range of opinions, JADA’s Question of the Month will now be posted on ADA ONLINE. You can access the Question of the Month at two locations in the ADA Publishing Co.’s content area: on the JADA home page ("http://www.ada.org/adapco/jada/j-menu.html") and on the News Daily page ("http://www.ada.org/adapco/daily/today.html"). Simply fill out the form and click the "Submit Form" button to send your response directly to JADA via e-mail. New questions will be posted at the beginning of each month.

Joe Hoyle, electronic media editor, ADA Publishing Co., Inc., hoylej{at}ada.org

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content