Learning How To Navigate High Speed Internet

Learning How To Navigate High Speed Internet

Nowadays, everybody wants to have high speed internet. We all use the internet daily, and, for many of us, it is hard to believe we once relied on dial-up at all! If you want to get a faster connection, whether it is because you are still on dial-up or because you’re ready to switch providers, then it is important that you follow the following tips first.

1. Check Who Can Provide Internet Service in Your Area

First of all, you need to find out which service providers are available in your area. If you were to switch on the TV, you will be bombarded with advertisements from internet service provides all promising to be super fast, but they may not be accessible to you. Hence, start by doing a bit of research and narrow things down from there.

2. Check out the Different Plans

Once you know which providers are available to you, you have to look at the plans that they are offering. Generally speaking, the higher the speed of the internet, the higher the price of the package. Hence, you need to find out just how much you are willing to spend. Others put other types of restrictions in place, such as giving you faster speed if you sign up for a longer period of time.

Now that you know which providers are available and the plans that they offer, it is time to start comparing everything. Try to consider what you want to have in an ideal world, not just in terms of speed, but also in terms of type of connection, length of contract, prices, and so on. Essentially, it is about finding the best value for money that is out there, which may not be the cheapest overall price.

3. Investigate the Extras

Another thing to remember is that the internet service providers need you. Without you signing up to their packages, they won’t be able to exist. Hence, they are likely to present you with a number of offers to entice you to sign up with them. Those can be incredibly interesting, such as a 50% discount for the first few months of your package. You do have to work out, however, whether the total price you would pay for the duration of your subscription will actually be cheaper than that offered by someone else.

4. Break Through the Myths

Last but not least, when you shop around for the best deal, you have to make sure that you’re not being driven by one of the many myths that are out there. You need to know what’s true and what’s not, so that you can actually get the best overall deal. Let’s take a look at some of the key myths out there.

Myth 1 – You can get high speed internet through dial-up.

This is 100% impossible. There is simply no technological method to take a modem connection and make it lightning fast. A “high speed” dial-up connection has simply been enhanced somewhat by compressing graphics and texts, so that they can be transmitted a bit more quickly. It also means that certain files that you come across often will be downloaded permanently, so that they don’t have to reload each time. However, this does not mean you actually have high speed internet.

Myth 2 – High speed internet tests are 100% accurate

It is important to perform a high speed test to see whether you are getting the kind of speed that you have been promised. However, you do have to understand that the speed you are given will depend on the path that the data will have to take. Sometimes, the intersection is particularly busy, which could skew your results. Hence, although these tests are useful, they are not the be all and end all of the internet.

Myth 3 – Your computer doesn’t matter

A lot of people have an old computer or laptop laying around somewhere and decide to hook it up to the internet. They then suddenly find that things don’t load as quickly and believe the issue is with their connection. In reality, however, the issue is completely with the computer. If your computer does not have the power and capacity to download and upload information rapidly, then even the fastest internet will appear slow. Hence, do make sure that you have modern equipment available if the speed of the internet is truly important to you.

Myth 4 – You can “uncap” a cable modem

If you are on cable, you may have heard the rumor that they are withholding some internet speed from you intentionally. All they want you to do is pay more, and you will get a better speed. This was true a few years back, when broadband first became available. Today, however, you can’t run a software program on a broadband modem to suddenly make it go faster. And even if you could, you would get found out.

Myth 5 – If you don’t have a home network, you also don’t need a router

Not too long ago, routers were expensive pieces of technology that only big businesses were able to afford. Today, you can pick them up for the price of a Big Mac from most stores. Thanks to a router, you can allow multiple computers to use a single connection. However, you should have a router in place even if you only use one computer. This is because it acts as a firewall, keeping you protected from the huge amount of unwanted online traffic that is out there. Furthermore, today’s routers do a lot more as well, such as offering parental control, being a Wireless Access Point, blocking content you don’t want to see, enabling restricted access in place, linking up to smart devices such as TVs, TiVos, and game consoles, and more. If you want to get the most out of your high speed internet, you need to have a router in place.

Hopefully, the following information will ensure that you get the right connection for you, at a price that you can afford, and in such a way that is actually appropriate to your needs.