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Introduction
ISPs stand to make a lot of money from
Broadband. How can you distil the sales & marketing information into knowledge
upon which you can make a decision? This article aims to separate the "hype"
from reality and gives a list of key issues to think about before buying
Broadband in the UK.
Buying broadband is a big commitment. You’ll be paying, on average,
£24/month and sometimes signing up for a minimum of 12 months.
Rushing into buying the first package that comes along might leave you with a
product that doesn’t do everything you had hoped which you could be stuck with
for the duration of the contract. Understanding some of the variations of
technology and what they mean will give you a better chance at getting a package
that will satisfy your needs.
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Top 10 Things to Know/Ask an ISP
1.) Fixed or Dynamic
IP?
About
When you connect to ADSL, you are given an IP
address. This can be either:
Static - it doesn’t change between power downs of the modem
or
Dynamic – it is given a different IP every time you switch on
the modem. For dynamic IP, DHCP is used
at the ISP end to automatically assign
your IP.
Why it's Important
If you want to run any kind of server on your ADSL connection, you need
to have a fixed IP. To explain why, imagine you run a web server. You want
to connect to your home server whilst you’re at work. It’s no good having
an IP that changes all the time (how would you know the new IP if, for
example, your home computer/ADSL modem suffers a temporary power failure
and restarts?). |
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About
There are two types of IP address:
-Public (or real) – An address that anyone on the
Internet can see and connect to. These are unique and each one specifies an
individual machine connected to the Internet. More expensive (business) ADSL
packages sometimes give you several real IP addresses so that you can
connect more than one computer directly using the same ADSL device. NAT is not
required in these packages.
-Private – Addresses that are reserved for local
area networks (LAN)s. These addresses can be used over and over again on
different LANs and, because they have no context (i.e. are not recognised) on
the Internet. These addresses are non-unique and only have context in
the LANs in which they operate.
The Internet is running out of public IP addresses. One way around the problem
for ISPs is to use, for example, one public (real IP and connect this
to several private IP addresses. NAT can
be used for this. A typical configuration for ADSL NAT might be one real
IP mapping (or connecting) 10 private IP addresses. In a NAT configuration you
will have a private IP address.
Why it's Important
NAT is not all bad. NAT does usually offer a limited firewall
capability. As you are on a private network, hacking attempts from the
Internet may be blocked. Check with the ISP if they offer this as part of
NAT. NAT does not work well with certain software. Some software and Internet
services need to be able to use your real IP. For example, MSN
gaming zone needs your real IP. Microsoft Netmeeting and ICQ also
have known issues with NAT. If you want to run a server of any kind, any ISP NAT connection will have
to have Port Forwarding enabled. Port Forwarding is a way of routing
incoming requests from the ISP to your server. Not all ISPs have this
feature enabled, so it is worth asking if you intend to run servers. |
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3.) Port Blocking?
About
Some ISPs do not allow you to run
servers. Most say this is not allowed in the written terms of contract. Some
go further and physically block the parts of connection that relate to
servers.
Why it's Important
If you want to run a web, FTP or mail server you will need ports 80, 21
and 25 respectively enabled. |
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4.) USB or Ethernet?
About
There are 2 ways of connecting an ADSL device to your computer:
-USB - Single user ADSL packages usually connect to your
computer using the USB port. The advantage is that you don’t need to spend
extra money on a network card. You do need to run a USB aware operating system
(OS) and have appropriate USB software drivers.
-Ethernet – You need a network card. The ADSL device
connects to your computer through the network card. Ethernet has the advantage
that you don’t need a USB aware OS. Ethernet is generally a little quicker
than USB.
Why it's Important
If you run an OS that is not USB compatible (e.g. MS Windows NT4,
Windows 95,Windows 3.x, earlier versions of Linux), you need to get the
Ethernet version. Early versions of USB drivers have proved to be unreliable but should
mature (improve in reliability) in time. Ethernet is a well-established
technology and is generally more stable and slightly faster than USB. |
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5.) Web Proxy
Why it's Important
Proxies are great when they work properly. ISPs provide proxies
(caches) in one of two ways:
-Optional – The ISP leaves it up to you as to whether or
not you want to use a proxy server for web browsing.
-Not Optional (Forced) – Sometimes referred to as a
"Transparent Cache". The ISP will automatically route your web requests
through its proxy server. No problem if the ISP proxy is working
correctly, but totally unacceptable is the proxy server has resource
and/or configuration problems. Broadband-Help strongly recommends you
avoid forced web proxy options. |
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6.) Support(24/7)?
About
Most ISPs offer support as part
of the package. Some say that telephone support is available 24 hours, 7 days
a week. What is usually missing is exactly how this support is implemented.
"Support" can have any number of definitions to different ISPs so here are
some specific questions to ask:
 | What Operating Systems do you support? |
| What are the current telephone queue time delays? |
| If there are ADSL network issues beyond my control, do the appropriate
faults personnel work 24/7 or are they (usually typical) only available
Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm? (This is very important to establish. It’s no
good having "24/7" telephone support if the people who can actually
fix the problem only work a standard day.) |
| Do you have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) in place for
non-availability of service? |
Why it's Important
This is perhaps the most important question to ask. Broadband
technology is very immature and problems are inevitable. You need a
support service that will quickly recognise and fix any network issues at
any time of the day or night. |
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About
Contention Ratio is nothing
new. It has been around for many years in the networking world. With ADSL it
has become more apparent as everyone is concerned about sharing their
bandwidth with others on the ADSL network. Single user (USB) packages usually
come with a Contention Ratio of 50:1. More expensive options are rated at
20:1.
Why it's Important
There are no hard and fast answers to
Contention Ratio. Ratios are assuming everyone is using maximum
bandwidth all the time (e.g. everyone is downloading a 300MB file at the
same time). Clearly, this situation is very unlikely. Most people will be
using a fraction of their available bandwidth at a given time (e.g. web
browsing, reading web pages, playing games etc). A lower ratio (20:1) may help if you run a business and frequently
download large files. For most people at home, they would not notice the
difference between a 50:1 or 20:1 ratio. |
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8.) News Groups?
About
News groups (or USENET) are like web discussion forums, but have been
around for considerably longer. There are many gigabytes of messages/postings
flowing around the Internet every day. Downloading files over USENET is
usually very quick as the server is located close to you (in the
ISPs data centre).
To get access to newsgroups, you need access to a news server. Most ISPs run
news servers but most throttle the number of groups and messages to save
bandwidth and disk space.
Why it's Important
If you frequently use USENET to download binary files, having a full
and complete message feed is essential. Check with the ISP about the
number of newsgroups they carry. Check around on newsgroups or web
discussion forums as to what existing users of the ISP feel about the news
feed.
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9.) Other services-portal, special broadband services?
About
Broadband is the thing that every ISP
wants to offer. As more broadband ISPs become available, there will be more
choice for users as to which ISP they select. ISPs will need to come up with
extra service as part of the ADSL package as an incentive to attract & retain
customers.
These extra services might be anything from a customized portal page (e.g.
similar to what Freeserve is doing now for dial up) to hosted services (such
as web based e-mail).
Why it's Important
It’s not. Generally speaking, these are "bells and whistles" offerings.
It’s really up to you whether you think these extras add sufficient value
to decide between ISP1 or ISP2, but at the current stage of development of
Broadband in the UK, it is probably wiser to go for a package that works
and has good support arrangements.
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10.) Price Basis & Contract Duration?
About
Price is obviously a big factor. When comparing packages, you need to
compare on a like for like basis, so here are some suggested questions:
| Are your prices inclusive of VAT? |
| What is the minimum period for taking the service? |
| What are the penalties of early termination? |
Why it's Important
Some ISPs quote with VAT, some without. Do the sums and make
sure you compare like-with-like. If you are a not VAT registered (i.e.
most home users), you will be in for a nasty shock on your first bill if
you misunderstood the price basis!
ISPs are obviously keen to lock you into a deal
for a certain time (usually 12 months). Clarify how long this is and what
the penalties are for early termination.
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Summary
The top 3 technical issues at a glance:
| USB ADSL devices – Beware of these for unsupported
Operating Systems (e.g. earlier versions of MS Windows (95, 3.1x, NT4) and
Linux) |
| NAT – Can give problems with certain
software/services (e.g. MS Netmeeting, ICQ and MSN Gaming Zone) |
| Do you want to run a Server? – Non-NAT,
fixed IP and no port blocking are essential. |
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Conclusion
Taking a Broadband service is a significant financial commitment. Being fully
aware of the options before signing up is vital.
Broadband is a hot new business area for ISPs with a lot of money to be
made. As a result, some of the sales & marketing material sometimes has a
tendency to be, shall we say, on the incredulous side. This article tries to
give you the up-front knowledge to ask ISPs those questions that have either
been glossed over or deliberately omitted from promotional literature.
This article has tried to outline what is important and why. Please use it to
"break-through" the sales and marketing hype that is typically associated with
newly-launched ADSL services.
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Page last updated
Thursday, 09 December 2004
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