Service Options

Introduction
In this article, we look at what options are available to receive internet access in the Hunter. We also review the various data speed options that are available when choosing a preferred broadband package.

Broadband Options
Currently in Australia we have four main ways to receive broadband internet access, namely:

• ADSL
• Satellite
• Cable
• Wireless

ADSL is by far the most common option for broadband internet access in Australia as it uses existing telephone infrastructure. It is also clearly the main option in the Hunter Region at this time.

As it works from existing phone lines, a large number of Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) are potentially able to provide ADSL. This gives consumers a large number of choices with respect to choosing an ISP and a speed/data package that best meets their specific needs.

Speed Options
Within the ADSL category though, there’s still several options to consider. Most ISP’s offer packages with varying levels of data transfer speed. Due to the restriction of using an analogue transmission over existing phone lines, the maximum speed possible with dial-up internet access is 56 kbps.

The speeds that ADSL can provide are substantially faster – extending from 256kbps up to 1500kbps. This increased speed obviously provides significant advantages to individuals and businesses using the internet.

The A component of ADSL stands for Asymmetrical – this refers to the uneven data capability of the service between downloads and uploads. In most cases, broadband normally operates with a larger capacity for downloads compared to uploads.

Speeds are therefore generally expressed as two separate figures, reflecting the potential download speed and also upload speed of data transfer. For example, a speed expressed as 512/128 would indicate a potential download speed of 512kbps and upload speed of 128 kbps.

The three most common data speeds currently offered by ISP’s are:

• 256/64 kbps
• 512/128 kbps
• 1500/256 kbps

Not surprisingly though, the quicker the speed ... the higher the cost. Users need to determine their likely demands and requirements for their internet access to determine their preferred data speed relative to the cost of a potential package. Someone playing Doom 3 on-line until the early hours of the morning would obviously have different requirements to a casual internet user.

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