Choosing a High-Speed Network Provider

  Service-oriented users:

• Budget-minded user
• Support-minded user
• Travel-minded user

  Interface-oriented users:

• Phone lines (DSL/ADSL, ISDN)
• Cable and/or Ethernet
• Wireless (including satellite)

Particular interests

• Low monthly cost

Notes & suggestions

• If you live on campus, UIUCnet provides high-speed access for free. Some apartments also include high-speed network access in their rent. If you don't live on campus, you'll likely need to pay for high-speed networking.
• 56K dialup is generally the least expensive but slowest option, and DSL is generally the most expensive option in the Champaign-Urbana area.
• Cable modems and satellite wireless networks generally provide connections faster than DSL. However, each high-speed network type requires its own set of hardware.

Particular interests

• Easy access to a live person for assistance with computer-related questions
• Guided navigation through the Internet

Notes & suggestions

• Local ISPs provide live support with a local phone call in this time zone.
• However, if you travel frequently, a nationwide ISP may offer support in more area codes and time zones.

Particular interests

• Easy, frequent access to a network in multiple locations, nationwide or international

Notes & suggestions

• Business or vacation travel - frequent, brief stops in hotels or other temporary locations: If you visit a range of places for one or two days at most, you may wish to consider using two networking solutions: a high-speed solution in your usual location and nationwide or worldwide dialup for your brief visits.
• Two-home, foreign study, or long-term trips: If your travel generally involves days or weeks in a few specific locations, you may be able to find one nationwide high-speed network solution which covers the areas you visit most often (for example, your local apartment and your permanent home).

Particular uses

• Medium-speed networking over an existing phone line
• Note: Speed will depend on your distance from the provider and the wiring in your residence.

Notes & suggestions

• Dialup access is the slowest option, at a maximum speed of 56K/second, but the most widely available. You probably won't need to pay an initial setup fee.
• ISDN provides speeds of up to 128K/second. It takes place over regular phone lines with the assistance of a special modem. You may need to pay an initial setup fee.
• DSL and ADSL provides speeds of up to 6M/second. However, 1.5M/sec is the usual limit. It's the fastest phone line option, but not as fast as other cable and wireless options can be. Some providers charge several hundred dollars of initial setup fees.
• For more information about particular dialup, ISDN, and DSL providers who offer service in the Champaign-Urbana area, see High-speed networking options.

Particular uses

• High-speed (up to 10 Mbps for cable and up to 1,000 Mbps for Ethernet) networking over network-dedicated wires.
• Note: With cable modems, upload speed is capped and download speed depends on the number of active users in your area.

Notes & suggestions

• Ethernet is provided in on-campus residences (covered by residence hall fees) and some local apartments (sometimes covered by rental fees, other times for a separate charge).
• Cable modem access is available throughout Champaign-Urbana and some parts of surrounding communities.
• If you frequently travel to other locations, consider your networking needs in those locations when choosing a wired high-speed provider. (A free dialup provider may work for supplemental network access over a weekend visit, but you may want faster access if staying in another location for weeks or months).
• For more information about particular Ethernet and cable modem providers who offer service in the Champaign-Urbana area, see High-speed networking options.

Particular uses

• Satellite networking provides high-speed wireless network access from around the world to your office or residence, regardless of how your computer connects within the building. It specifically refers to the ISP.
• Wireless networking is a phrase most often used to describe wireless network access within your office or residence to your particular computer, regardless of how the network service is provided to that location. "Wireless" can describe an ISP as well, but most often it refers to the way your computer accesses a connection point in your area rather than the way the ISP provides networking to your area.
• Examples:
  • Wired to wireless: You can receive wired phone, Ethernet, or cable modem networking to your building and then set up a wireless access point so that you can roam in your building without a cable. (UIUCnet Wireless is an example of this type of service.)
  • Wireless to wired: You can receive satellite networking to your building and use Ethernet within your building to connect stationary computers to the network.
  • Wireless to wireless: You can receive satellite networking to your building and set up a wireless access point to allow you to roam within range of your building's access point.

Notes & suggestions

• Satellite service may be the only high-speed option available in some areas outside the Champaign-Urbana city limits, depending on the quality of phone lines and the availability of cable modem networking.
• You can set up wireless access points within your home or apartment, whether your originating ISP is wired or wireless -- but because wireless networking is fundamentally insecure, and anyone else with a wireless card in the area can overhear what your computer is sending, you'll need to be very careful to take extra security precautions. (More about wireless security concerns.)
• For more information about wireless and satellite networking in the Champaign-Urbana area, see High-speed networking options.