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To connect to the Internet you need an account with an Internet
Service Provider. The primary task of an Internet Service Provider,
or ISP for short, is to connect users to Internet via a selection
of Internet Protocol datagrams. The most common forms of datagrams
are DSL (broadband), dial-up, cable modem, dedicated interconnects
or a wireless connection.
Once the datagram form is decided, the ISP then has to dictate
the speed a user can connect to the Internet, the bandwidth limit
a user can upload or download, and the hourly, daily, weekly, monthly
or annual expense it will cost to use their service.
ISPs can be categorised into a range of tiers. The top being Tier
1 ISPs, who do not buy access to the Internet and have only customers.
You then have Tier 2 ISPs who need to purchase upstream access from
Tier 1 ISP, and at the bottom are virtual ISPs, who buy all their
infrastructure and services from another ISP and only provide access
for the end user.
As an end user, it is extremely complex to decipher which ISP is
at which tier, but it's commonly believed that AT&T, Qwest and
Sprint are Tier 1 networks, amongst others. Many large telecom companies
in Europe are not Tier 1 ISPs, such as BT and France Telecom, who
are believed to buy their upstream IP access from the Sprint Nextel
Corporation and are Tier 2 ISPs.
The UK has a wide selection of Internet Service Providers, which
all differ in the connection packages they offer. Some of the things
you should consider for when choosing a Internet Service Provider
are,
- How much it costs monthly or yearly to connect.
- The cost of support if things go wrong.
- Connection speed.
- Reliability.
- Online support and features.
- Their bandwidth and fair usage terms.
To switch broadband providers you will need a MAC
code.
The Change to Broadband
Broadband overtook dial-up (May 2005) as the most popular datagram
in the UK. Broadband usage has nearly doubled to 8.1 million, from
the year's start of 2005 to June 30th. The main reason for the change
is speed, dialup had a limited speed of around 56k. Whereas basic
broadband speeds are between 512K (10 times faster than dialup)
and 8Mb (160 times faster than dialup).
There are a few different types of broadband, but the main two
are DSL (connection over your existing BT telephone line) or cable
(a cable provided by providers like NTL or Telewest Blueyonder).
In 2009, the UK has slipped down the league for broadband speed.
Of developed nations, the UK lies 20 out of 30. This has led a prospective
Conservative government to promise a nationwide superfast broadband
network, with a speed of 100Mbit/s to most homes by 2017. Currently,
in 2009, BT cannot even promise a speed of 2Mbit/s to most homes.
Below is a list of some of the most popular UK Internet Service
Providers,
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