Unit 2 Assignment - Access Technologies

Kaplan University

IT530

Abstract

Access technologies are technologies used by customers to access the Internet. Access technologies include but are not limited to DSL, Cable, and Satellite Internet services. Each of these are widely used in rural and city residential settings. Each technology has its advantages as well as disadvantages; some of which include cost, data download speeds, upload speeds, and availability. To determine which access technology is best a person must research each option and decide based not only on cost but also on need.

The Internet

Over the last decade or so the Internet has gone from a luxury to a common household item. According to Internet World Stats (2011), between the years 2000 and 2010 the number of Internet users in the U.S. nearly doubled from 124,000,000 user to 239,893,600 users.

This is likely due, in part, to the numerous types of Internet services or access technologies being made available to users in all areas. Three of the most popular access technologies are: DSL, Cable, and Satellite. Each of these access technologies provides Internet service, via an Internet Service Provider (ISP), to urban and suburban residential communities.

Each of these access technologies has advantages as well as disadvantages over the other. Determining the best access technology may take a bit of research and consideration. Some considerations include accessibility, cost, need, and upload/download speeds. When considering accessibility one must understand that not all technologies are available in all areas. When considering cost, not all technologies offer the same types of plans for the same prices. When considering need, one must determine what type of use the access will be used for. As far as upload/download speeds, these are usually included in the consideration of cost and need.

DSL Internet

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is just one of several types of access technologies used to access the Internet. DSL offers many advantages to an Internet subscriber. First, DSL is considerably faster than its predecessor, dial-up. While dial-up Internet only offered speeds up to 56Kbps (Kilobits per second) DSL can offer speeds up to 8Mbps (Megabits per second) or more depending on the area and plan (ScoutingAround.com, 2008).

DSL is considered broadband Internet and while it is accessed through a home telephone landline it will not tie up the phone line as dial-up would. One advantage to DSL is that it offers speeds fast enough to handle anything from simple tasks such as web-surfing to more intense tasks such as live video conferencing and playing online games (Global Com, 2012).

Another advantage to DSL is that it offers high bandwidth; this is due to the fact that telephone lines contain a lot of room for data transfer. This is the reason why DSL allows users to be on the phone and on the Internet at the same time. The high bandwidth also allows for multiple users to have access at the same time. DSL is also a good choice for people who live close to the service provider as this ensures a stronger and faster connection.

As with anything there are disadvantages alongside the advantages and DSL is not immune to this. One person's advantage is another's disadvantage; a person who lives close to the provider gets better speeds and connection while a person who lives further away gets not so good speeds and connections if they get service at all. Users who live too far away from the service provider may not even qualify for service in their area. Another disadvantage to DSL is that it does require the user's home to have a landline connection available. If the home does not have one preinstalled it could cost a couple hundred dollars just to have it installed.

One of the considerations in choosing which type of access technology is cost; which can include upfront costs, if any, as well as monthly subscriber costs. DSL prices vary from provider to provider and is also dependent upon the access data package. DSL can be available for low prices; however, the downside is that with low prices comes low speeds. For example, in the Denver area of Colorado, the only DSL provider is CenturyLink (formerly Qwest). CenturyLink offers several DSL packages ranging from 1.5Mbps for $40.00/month up to 40Mbps for $65.00/month (CenturyLink, 2013).

These prices are only for monthly access and do not include installation charges, if any, as well as monthly lease charges for the equipment, such as modem and/or gateway. CenturyLink does offer the option to purchase the modem for a one-time fee of $99.99, which reduces the monthly cost by about $5.95 a month.

Other companies may offer DSL packages for cheaper, even CenturyLink offers new customers special discount promotions. While CenturyLink is the only DSL provider in the Denver area, making the choices for DSL very limited, it is not the only ISP available. Other than DSL there are the options of cable and satellite.

Cable Internet

Cable Internet services would most likely be the best competitor to DSL Internet services when considering between DSL, cable, and satellite, in terms of cost and quality. Cable Internet is an Internet access technology provided by cable television companies. Cable Internet is brought into the home using the same cables as cable television services. Cable Internet offers its own set of advantages and disadvantages and these too should be taken into consideration when determining the best type of access technology.

Just as with DSL, cable Internet download speeds vary greatly on provider, service area, and data package. Cable Internet speed options can be anywhere from 512Kbps to 20Mbps and up. While availability may be limited in some areas, if a person currently has cable television services, chances are they may qualify for Internet services through their cable company as well. An advantage to this is that because the Internet data is transmitted through the same cables as the television service there is usually no additional installations needed as far as cabling is concerned.

Another advantage of cable Internet is that a person is not as limited to certain locations as with DSL, meaning that they can be further away from the cable provider's service center and still maintain a good connection. An additional advantage to cable Internet is that if there are not very many users on a single modem or node a user can get extremely fast download and upload speeds.

This advantage also leads into a disadvantage; if there are multiple users on a modem or service node then the speeds are greatly affected (MyRatePlan.com, 2013). Another disadvantage is that in many cases a customer's cable line is exposed at some point in the overall installation. An exposed cable can easily be cut or damage which will cause a complete outage of both television and Internet services. Not to mention if there is an outage in between the service center and customer's home the customer may lose some if not all connection. In fact, if there is an outage of this category, many customers could be affected all at once.

Just as with DSL, cable Internet has costs to consider. There are a number of cable Internet providers around the U.S., however; in the Denver area Comcast is the only option for cable Internet services. Comcast offers a variety of Internet speeds and packages, both with and without television services. In the Denver area Comcast offers three stand-alone Internet packages. The first and lowest package offers download speeds of 20Mbps for an introductory, new customer offer of $29.95 a month for the first 6 months and then doubles to $59.99 a month for months 7-12. The next package offers 30Mbps download speeds for $74.95 a month. The last package offers download speeds of up to 105Mbps for $199.95 a month (Comcast, 2013).

While these prices do seem a bit high, especially when compared to the prices of DSL, they are better than the costs of satellite Internet when comparing monthly costs and download speeds.

Satellite Internet

Satellite Internet is just that, it is Internet services provided through the use of satellite signals received by a small satellite dish located at the customer's home. Just as with DSL and cable, satellite Internet has its own handful of advantages and disadvantages. When compared to DSL and cable, satellite Internet may not be the first choice for some customers yet for some it may be the only choice.

Some customers do not have the option to choose DSL or cable Internet due to location. For example, many rural areas do not have access to DSL or cable because they are too far from the service stations to maintain a connection or cable lines have not been installed in that area due to the lack of need for it. For whatever reason, some customers have only one option, satellite.

Satellite Internet's main advantage is that it allows customers in such areas to have Internet access. Another advantage of satellite Internet is increased portability. Unlike DSL and cable, satellite Internet requires the use of a satellite dish. As long as there is clear line of sight to the sky in the direction the satellite is required to point and the dish is aligned properly a signal is made and maintained. This means the dish can be taken on the road or moved around a home for better alignment. Also, because the signal is coming from a satellite to a dish, a customer does not have to share a signal with anyone else outside of their home, unless they choose to do so.

Another advantage to satellite Internet is reliability. Although satellite may not be as reliable as DSL or Cable a customer does not have to worry about loss of signal due to an outage at a local service center. However, satellite Internet can and will suffer the same disadvantages as satellite television and unfortunately not a lot of people really understand or realize that some of these disadvantages cannot always be avoided.

One such disadvantage to satellite Internet is loss of signal due to bad weather. Cable and DSL Internet usually rely on their signals being passed through cables buried underground. This is why these two types usually maintain a signal in bad weather as long as the home maintains power. Satellite Internet can be negatively affected by bad weather. Heavy storms and clouds can absorb, scatter, and even fully block the satellite signal. Ice and snow can build up on the satellite dish essentially rendering the dish unusable.

High winds from hurricanes and tornadoes can bend or turn a dish out of alignment. If a dish is placed in an area where a large tree may become overgrown during the spring the tree branches and leaves can interfere with the overall signal strength. A poorly mounted dish on a roof can damage a roof and allow water to leak through. A satellite dish must be properly grounded; if this is not done it can cause electrical problems which could burn out the modem or the electrical equipment at the dish itself.

Another disadvantage of satellite Internet is cost. Satellite Internet is usually much higher in cost than DSL and Cable and usually has lower speeds. Satellite Internet also has to abide by the Fair Access Policy which may limit connection speeds drastically if a customer reaches their monthly threshold. The two major satellite Internet companies that are available in the Denver area are HughesNet and WildBlue and each offers their own pricing and packages.

HughesNet's packages offer a bit of a different set up than WildBlue. HughesNet offers three different data package, each with different upload and download speeds and different monthly data allowances. The cheapest package is $59.99 a month at the normal price and offers a download speed of up to 10Mbps, and upload speed of up to 1Mbps, and a monthly data allowance of 20GB before hitting the threshold. The next package is $79.00 a month, has the same download speeds as the previous package, increases the upload speed up to 2Mbps, and increases the monthly allowance to 30GB. The third and last package is $99.99 a month, offers download speeds up to 15Mbps, upload speeds up to 2Mbps, and a monthly data allowance of 40GB (HughesNet, 2013).

WildBlue offers a different variety of packages. With WildBlue all three available packages offer the same speeds, up to 12Mbps download and up to 3Mbps upload. The difference with their packages is the monthly data allowance. The cheapest package is $49.99 and offers a data allowance of 10GB a month. The next package is $79.99 a month with a data allowance of 15GB a month. The last package is $129.99 a month with a data allowance of 25GB a month (WildBlue, 2013).

There is quite a difference in costs and available packages between the two. One thing they do have in common is that they do offer special discounts to new customers. Given the choice between the two HughesNet appears to be the better value; however, one or the other may not necessarily offer services in a certain area.

Satellite Internet may be able to handle basic Internet needs such as online shopping, reading blogs, visiting social media sites, and sharing pictures but it is not the most reliable type of access technology for uses that require a much stronger and faster connection. In some cases it is not the best choice for streaming media, VPN access, online gaming, and video conferencing. It may be able to handle these to an extent but with lower monthly data allowances it can run out of bandwidth and speeds quite quickly.

Conclusion

DSL, cable Internet, and satellite Internet are only three of many types of access technologies. Access technologies are technologies used to connect to and gain access to the Internet. Each offers its own set of advantages and disadvantages and proves that not all access technologies are created equally nor are they all suitable for the same data and pricing needs. DSL offers fast, reliable speeds for relatively affordable prices. Cable Internet also offers fast, reliable speeds for affordable prices but can suffer when too many people are connected at the same time. Satellite Internet offers reliable services, although not as reliable as DSL and cable, to customers whom are unable to subscribe to DSL or cable due to the lack of services in the area, albeit at a much higher cost.

Depending on a customer's needs, area, and budget, there is almost always an option for access technologies available. A customer should do research to determine not only what is available in the area but also what data speeds fits his or her needs. If a customer only needs access to the Internet to do light tasks then an expensive, high-speed data package would be overkill and a customer who is looking for Internet access for streaming media or online game play would not want a cheap, low-speed package.

References

CenturyLink. (2013). CenturyLink High-Speed Internet/DSL Service. Retrieved from http://www.centurylink.com/home/internet/#

Comcast. (2013). Comcast High-Speed Internet. Retrieved from http://wwwb.comcast.com/internet-service.html

Global Com. (2012). The Battle of Internet Connections: Dial-Up vs. DSL vs. Cable vs. Satellite. Retrieved from http://www.globalcomsatphone.com/hughesnet/compare.html

HughesNet. (2013). Plans and Promotions. Retrieved from http://www.hughesnet.com/index.cfm?page=Plans-Pricing#gen4

Internet World Stats. (2011). United States of America Internet Usage and Broadband Usage Report. Retrieved from http://www.internetworldstats.com/am/us.htm

MyRatePlan.com. (2013). Compare Internet Access - Broadband, DSL, Cable Modem, Satellite and Dial-up. Retrieved from http://www.myrateplan.com/internet/

ScoutingAround.com. (2008). Internet Connection Types and Speeds. Retrieved from http://scoutingaround.com/technology/networking/96-internet-connection-types-and-speeds.html

WildBlue. (2013). Packages and Pricing. Retrieved from http://www.wildblue.com/options/availability