When the Internet first appeared, the only way to access it was by using a computer to dial up a connection to your Internet provider using a modem and your phone line. This was great when the internet first emerged as web pages were very simple, businesses used it mostly for email, and it was not used by much or by many people. Once the internet started to grow, you could now access your business computer from home, watch online videos, and access social networking sites, dial-up started to become a thing of the past.

Dial-up Internet had some drawbacks that would eventually cause people to ditch it for faster Internet connections that wouldn’t block your phone line, cost you a local call when you wanted to connect, download web pages, emails, etc. They offer much more flexibility when it comes to networking and being able to travel and access the Internet at the same time. The new types of connection were then called broadband, since the connection was faster (bandwidth was greater). Broadband is basically a marketing term and there are a few types of Internet connections that fall under the “Marketing Term” Broadband.

dsl – This type of Internet connection uses an ADSL modem that connects to your phone line, downloads anywhere from 6 to 400 times faster than dial-up, but doesn’t clutter up your phone line, meaning you make and receive calls while accessing the Internet. There are many providers offering ADSL and a few different speeds available. The two types of ADSL are ADSL 1 and ADSL 2+. Be sure to shop around if you’re looking to get an ADSL or ADSL 2+ connection, as different providers will offer different speeds at different prices, which may surprise you how much it varies.

wired internet – This type of connection is only available in areas that have dedicated Cable Internet wiring installed. This type of connection uses a dedicated cable from the street, only provided by Telstra or Optus that does not need a telephone line and downloads at speeds similar to ADSL.

Mobile Broadband or Wireless Mobile Broadband– This Internet connection uses the mobile phone network and can be used anywhere you get mobile coverage or where your provider provides coverage. There are a few providers you can choose from that offer different coverage areas as well as different prices, so once again, shop around and ask about both coverage and price. This type of connection can be expensive and vary greatly in speed, I would only recommend it as a second internet connection if you need internet on the go or when cable or ADSL is not available.

There are other types of Internet connections that are used, but these are the most common types that are used both at home and in businesses today. When choosing an Internet connection type, be sure to look at all of your options and find out exactly what kind of speeds you’ll get, what kind of download limit, and how much.

I hope you find this useful and feel free to comment in the section below.