Broadband: Section 2

On the previous page, we gave a specification for a modem as 56kbps.

kbps stands for kilo bits per pecond (1000 bits of data a second) and is a measure of the amount of data that can be received in a given time.

The higher the figure, the quicker any information takes to download.

Although 56kbps was once thought of as being state of the art, it now seems very slow indeed.

This is where a broadband connection comes in. Standard broadband services offer download speeds of around 512kbps, ie something like 10 times faster than the modem.

There are a variety of companies offering Broadband access through a BT phone-line. These range from 256kbps up to 4096kbps (from 4 to 40x faster than dial-up). Packages vary; lower speeds usually come with unlimited access and higher speeds usually have a capped monthly usage limit.

At higher speeds, web pages appear almost instantaneously.