Types of Internet Services

When it comes to getting online, there are different types of Internet services. Each have various price points depending on the amount of speed or how fast you connect to the Internet. The way in which people get online today is much different than it was in the past when only dial-up was available.

• Dial-Up Internet Service. This type of Internet service was the first one known to anyone that had a computer in their homes in the early part of the 1990s. This connection went through your phone line and was extremely slow. At one time, it was the most popular way to connect to the Internet, but it was also the only way to get online. Today, it is still used by those in rural areas, but it is the least popular way to connect.


• Broadband via DSL. The DSL Internet connection was the first type of “high-speed” Internet access. In the early days, it was quite expensive simply because it was the latest technology. It also connected via the phone line, but there was a splitter so that one half of the line was for telephone and the other for the Internet. This allowed a person to talk on the phone while being online at the same time. It was also the first “always-on” connection.


• Cable Modem or Internet. As the advancement of high-speed or broadband Internet connections progressed, cable television began their own way to connect in a much faster way than DSL ever could. This connection is via fiber optics and therefore, there is no need to have a landline telephone, which many people no longer have due to cell phone usage. This is probably the most sought after type of connection if it is available in the area in which a person lives.