Beginners Guide
Any connection to the internet, dialup or broadband, is limited by its bandwidth - this is similar to how the width of a road determines how much traffic can travel along it. The wider the road, the faster and greater the flow. A normal dialup connection goes through your computer's modem, and your telephone line - both are limited by technology. Normal dialup modems cannot get any faster than 56Kb, as this is the maximum that this technology will allow. Broadband on the otherhand allows you to go much faster, up to 8Mb - this is like a motorway, compared to a street road which can represent dialup.
Why get Broadband?
Broadband is not only much faster than dialup, but it also an always on connection. This means that rather than having to connect to your phone line each time you want to look at a website or check your email - thus adding to your telephone bill (as with the case of pay as you go) - with broadband you pay a one-off monthly subscription for constant access. This allows you to enjoy surfing the internet, download music, play online computer games with other people, or even listening to the radio or watching films, broadband makes all of these vastly easier, and allows you to do it when you like. More and more people are joining the broadband bandwagon every day, joining the other millions of people in the UK that already use it.
What do I Need?
The first thing that you require, is a telephone line - this can be a BT line, or a non-cable line.
The next important thing you require is a computer, this needs to have a USB or a network connection to use a broadband modem, as unfortunately dialup modems will not work with broadband. Any computer purchased within the past 7 years have USB connections as standard, and within the last 3 years have a network connection. These allow you to use either a USB modem, or a router modem respectfully. Don't worry if you do not know where to get a modem from, as we can supply you with one. See more information about different types of modem, and other equipment.
The final thing that is required, is a method of payment - this can be either a credit or debit card.
What is a Usage Cap?
This can also be know as a bandwidth cap. Basically, continuing the car analogy, every month you are given so much petrol, the more petrol you have the further you can go. In terms of internet usage, the more usage you have, the more you can download. According to several sources, 90% of broadband users use less than 2GB a month. We only offer unlimited broadband, so you do not have to worry about any usage caps - which give you piece of mind when online.
Further information can be found within the 'Why Broadband?', and broadband frequently asked questions (FAQs) section. If you need any more help, please contact us.