You'll love it Tami. I do.
Leslie

I sure do! I just wish my eyes would read faster and my fingers type faster, now!

Tami

What is broadband DSL? Who provides it?

It is great!! but GW and KT is having a slow connectivity day today.

We don't get DSL in the boonies. *sigh* I have a relatively fast Internet connection, but I am paying through the teeth for it (satellite broadband).

Welcome to the fast lane, Tami. The phone company messed up my lines years ago so that I can't get dsl, but I have cable.

Shirley

I'm dreaming of that day....out here in the boondocks.

DSL is a broadband service that is provided through your home telephone service. It goes through the same line as your telephone but you don't need 2 separate telephone numbers to use it because the broadband is a data transmission. Whereas, your regular telephone is a voice transmission.

*boo hoo* I'm out in the boonies too and can't get it yet.

We got verizon dsl about a year ago, finally! anyone who doesn't have it yet, if you go to the verizon.com website and type in your phone number, it will tell you if you can get it or not. I HATED dial up, couldn't watch Africam or videos on youtube etc. Hope some that still have dial up get a nice surprise if they type their phone number in.
Merry Christmas

Katlan

Welcome to the world of higher speed. Isn't it great?
I have what my local electric company provides and calls Wireless Broadband.

Below is a link to check your speed.

I just checked mine and it was 495 Kbps...not the fastest I'm sure, but a very pleasant speed compared to dial-up with accelerator.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Free speed test

Life is grand with high speed!! Enjoy it!!

My provider is Comcast Cable. I tried the speed test - 2.4 Mbps

so is that megabytes per second? Seems fast to me.

I can get up from the computer and fold laundry between each page i click on. And i do! Atleast laundry is getting done.LOL!

Im green with envy!!!

OK, I am so woefully computer ingnorant, and I've TRIED reading and taking classes, really I have. I know somebody did try to answer my question but I guess I should have asked something more specific. I thought broadband and DSL were two different animals. I know there is cable broadband and wireless broadband and other kinds too or maybe I just do not understand what I read. I have DSL through my phone carrier and it plugs into the phone jack with an adapter, and I only get 100 mbps when it is working and not 'stuck' going nowhere trying to load. Even with my dsl I have to try to load a page, then fold laundry, check back, go peel potatoes, check back, scrub sink, check back, oooh there it is now...... I thought dsl was suppose to be fast. Maybe I got the wrong kind? The dsl I have is slower than my WEBTV and I could kick myself for getting rid of my WEBTV and geting this instead.

YAAAY!! for you Tami. I know you're loving it. I cannot possibly go back to the frustration that was dialup. If I ever have to, please just shoot me. LOL

Bud_WI, broadband simply refers to the rate of data transfer. All of the methods for providing internet access at a higher rate of the speed than dial-up are considered broadband. There are protocols/minimums for measurement in kilobits per second to distinguish them apart. For example, dialup transfers at only somewhere between 53 and 56kbps, while broadband must transfer at a minimum 200. Some are more, such as cable, for example, which transfers at a higher rate than DSL. And, there are those that transfer faster than cable. So long as the rate is at least 200kbps, the method is considered broadband.

The problems you describe are not at all common to DSL, so I think you should call your provider and tell them as you told us. There are many things they check for and correct. From their office, they check your speed. Although your speed might be slower than someone else with DSL, it still should not cause all those problems. The location of your center (forgot the technical term) might be a factor in your rate of speed. If you're far away from it, your transfer rate will be slower than someone just two or three blocks. But the difference is entirely unnoticeable if you have nothing to compare it to. I lived about 4 blocks from my center. When I moved to a nearby city, my new center is located on the other side of the new town. I could tell the difference after moving, but it was only slight. You have no opportunity for comparison, and nothing but dialup should be as slow as you describe. Saying "when it is working" and "stuck going nowhere" and all the others you say are not problems you should experience with DSL. There is something wrong, and your provider needs to know about it. It is likely something they can fix from in the office. If you have static in your phone conversations or any other weird activity, those are clear indications. Or, it can just be isolated in your DSL connection. Be sure to speak with the DSL department. If you just call the phone company and tell the agent that answers, they will try to help you with no knowledge of what they should be checking for. They also don't have at their disposal all the everything to be checked.

Here is the number to DSL directly
877-722-3755
Good luck with that

Correction.....
So long as the rate is at least 200kbps, the "it" (not method) is considered broadband.

Been doing that so much lately. Sorry

I've been gone since I posted this! Thanks for answering Bud wi's questions. My connection is thru the phone company, and they consider it to be Broadband, but is basically DSL. It's supposed to be about 512kbps, lots faster than the 44kbps or slower that I had with dial up. And, DS can be on the phone while I'm on line!!!!

Tami

and i wonder why i waited so long! dh used to get really upset when he couldn't reach me on the phone, (when i was home recouping) so was delighted when i signed up...

Yep, it's great. I would never go back to dialup.

bud_wi,

Yes, there is for sure a problem somewhere. You shouldn't be having such a wait time, or having it getting 'stuck' on going nowhere.

I had that happening with mine here recently. In fact, it was soooooo slow I went back to using the dial-up with accelerator as it was faster and pages didn't just stop in 'mid' load. I never called to report it though, as I had not buried the drop wire running from to the house foundation, through a flower bed, to the pole with the receiver thingy on it. I feared the drop might be damaged and I wanted to make sure it was all OK b4 I called them.

Anywho, all of a sudden it just started working as it was supposed to, so I guess the problem was on their end, and they discovered and fixed it.

I'm wondering if there might be some other cause of the slowness though...like maybe your computer.
Do you know how much memory you have? That's one of the first questions they always ask at the Computer Help Forum when someone has a slow computer.

What browser are you using? Maybe Internet Explorer7? I read of a problem with it when I did a search at CH for slow computer.
I'm also wondering if maybe there is possibly something trying to do an 'automatic' download that is big and slowing things down, that maybe never gets completely done.

I'm guessing from a post of yours at CH that you have cleaned and defragged.

If your browser is slow, try this. Close all your windows. Delete all your cookies and temporary internet (links). Don't forget to empty your Recycle Bin as well. Then, reboot your system.

Most of the times, this seems to clean up well and my system is back to normal speed.

Congrats, Tami! We switched from dial-up to Axcess Mobile thru our Alltel cellphone last July and I pretty much love it. It's so much faster than our dial-up, I used to get 28kps on that, it was miserable. Now I zoom around at 400-600 kps, so it's quite a difference. Not as fast as the cable high-speed at work, but it suits me fine! I can watch videos, listen to music, etc. Pages load almost instantly, it's wonderful! You're going to love this!

Thanks for all the tips and explanations guys. I've already explored the usual suspect things, but then again I am not an expert. So far SBC, has sent me a corrupted disk that was part of the problem, (AND their website was down at the time so it could not be downloaded) and then it turned out they did not have one the router switches correct on THEIR end flipped, but that seemed to have only been part of the problem. I will never recommend dsl to anyone thinking about getting it. Since this is not the Commputer Forum I don't want to hyjack the thread, and I forgot to say 'Congrats Tami' on the new dsl.

Your problem could be hardware, Bud. What are the specs on the computer you use?