Are you ready to upgrade your residential service to DSL or business service to real broadband or T1? Well, the answer lies in what you need. Before you can realize your needs, you must understand more of what the word broadband really means. Below I will try to give you some realtechnical terms broken down for a better understanding.

First of all, you must know some of the jargon! The word broadband itself simply is defined as a high speed Internet service that gives you continuous access to the Internet on a consistent basis. Broadband includes a technology called ADSL which stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line and requires a special modem to access the line. This technology uses standard copper telephone lines to provide Internet access speeds from 1.5 to 9 megabytes per second. DSL technologies or Digital Subscriber Lines use a higher frequency than standard telephone communication.

There are several types of DSL configurations including ADSL or Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Lines, HDSL or High data rate DSL, and VDSL or Very High Data Rate DSL. A DSL line dynamically increases the capacity of ordinary copper wire. Since the signal is stronger the closer you are to the DSL Access Multiplexor or DSLAM the faster your signal will be the closer you are to the DSL provider's Central Office or distribution point. DSL lines are typically used for small business and residential customers. Of course as your needs grow, it should be understood; that the more data you need to transfer, the larger the pipe (Internet access line or physical copper wire) you need to transport the data. This is where more sophisticated forms of broadband come in for business use. The technical terms for this type of broadband is measured by the amount of data that the line transfers. T1 -Transmits data in the range of 1.5 million bits per second and primarily used by small and medium sized business with heavy upload and Internet traffic. A T-1 line is usually leased by bandwidth used. Typical uses are large graphic files, photographs, sound files, music, video, etc. However, your company should evaluate the amount of data and computers that are connected for Internet Access at the same time. T1 lines in the United States carry a 24 pulse code modulation (PCM) signal using time-division multiplexing (TDM). These lines use copper wire which usually connect major metropolitan areas. There are a number of high quality companies that offer T1 Broadband and you will find that prices do vary so it is important that you compare.

You may also find that your local cable provider may have introduced their version of broadband which actually can emulate one side of a T1 connection. However, you should be aware... you may actually get 1.5 mpbs on the download side, but when you try to upload a file, your bandwidth is cut down to about 1/10th. A cable connection is made for residential customers to surf the Internet with great speed and download files, but not made for you to upload with great speed. This slow upload limit is the major difference between a real T1 line and cable.

There are many types of broadband connections that are much faster circuit than T1, these range from T3 (3 times faster than T1) to OC-48, and a frame relay connection which really are the same thing just MUCH larger pipes (lines) that can transmit the data. I have found while working with broadband providers you really need a persona coach to help guide you through the process. Not only can personal coaches such as ImageLink Networks guide you through the red tape, the efficiency that comes from our presence and telecom knowledge will save you time and money in the end. It is important to seek an unbiased opinion and research for the best real time price for your T1 line. Broadband is a commodity, and changes as new subscribers come online in specified areas. To make a long story shorter, you are ready for a broadband connection if you are tired of waiting for a standard dial up to connect and download.

Do not be confused, dial up companies use a standard phone line to connect you to their server to bring you an Internet connection. One thing is for sure, if you ever experience a broadband connection via cable, T1, T3, DS-3, or better you will never ever go back to dial up.

Recent companies have been advertising wifi hotspot locations that are 'turnkey' (they can run themselves), and only cost between $13,000 and $20,000 to start. Is that good?

First of all, if it's so turnkey then why aren't they just popping off wifi hotspot locations left and right for themselves, is it their newfound generosity that has them 'sharing' the opportunities they have available. I'm not knocking the possibility of some companies to provide a business model, like in the restaurant business where they allow you to own a branded franchise for an initial investment in order to spread out locations in a more easier return on investment. However, wifi locations normally have an additional service or product that acts as an anchor for customers to come in and use the benefit of wi-fi to connect to the Internet thru broadband high speed access. Starbucks and Hilton Hotels are prime examples of a business model that has customers coming in for a service or product and then using wifi access as a secondary product/service.

Secondly, the potential for wifi hotspots cannot be limited to a cookie-cutter system that will fit everyone, after all if that were the case the other auto makers wouldn't be in business and we would still be driving 'Model T' Fords. Not to mention the fact that if you open a business with only wifi access as the only product/service available and then the community, town or city where your business is located decides to wirelessly enable the public transportation system like in the southern California city of Cerritos; guess what - your business just got knocked the flip out.

African American small business people have resources, and some may believe those resources are unlimited. But if you shell out $20,000 for a new business and after 6 months get locked out of your client base by a larger business or business model, you have lost more than your investment. A wifi business is not something that can be advanced as able to stand on it's own in the present day. In the example above the city of Cerritos is delivering wifi along with it's transportation system, which should probably increase ridership as people will opt to ride and check their email or just finish up a project as they go to work or to shop.

Look carefully at starting to use wifi in your business, research and see if there is a potential for competition to knock you client base out of the ballpark. Even then, when is your competition going to implement their wifi access and see if you have time to enhance your wifi service with coupons or other attractive services that may not be available to your competition. Wifi access will become a very powerful business asset in the coming year and more so in the future. Now is the time to get your feet wet, just check out your options in order not to get drowned out of business.

Millions of hard-to-find books from five major libraries will soon be a lot easier to access: Google has made plans to scan and digitize them, making the books available on their widely used Internet search engine.

Google's latest endeavor is a large step beyond previous attempts to scan books so they can be read online (Google, Amazon.com and other smaller sites have offered glimpses of books and libraries online before). What makes this initiative so different is the sheer breadth of material that Google plans to cover.

Five libraries will be involved in the project in various stages:

* New York public library: Allowing Google a small portion of books no longer covered by copyright.

* Harvard University library: Is contributing a limited 40,000 volumes to guage how well the process works.

* Stanford University library: Will submit its entire collection to Google's scanners.

* Michigan University library: Will also submit its entire collection.

* Oxford University library: Contributing all its books published before 1901

To get an idea of just how large a project Google is taking on, consider that Michigan's library alone contains 7 million volumes, which is about 132 miles of books, while Harvard's library contains 15 million. The Michigan job is expected to take six years.

Although some in the field worry that this trend could signal the end of libraries, others are excited at the prospect of putting valuable information that was once limited in its use at the fingertips of all Internet users. The project will also create a digital record for material that was created before computers, thereby preserving it in a way that could not have been done in the past.

Google users will only be able to view bibliographies and other brief excerpts from the copyrighted books scanned from the libraries, while works no longer covered by copyrights will be completely available to the online public.

USA Today December 14, 2004

New York Times December 14, 2004

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Google's founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, have long vowed to make all of the world's information accessible to anyone with a Web browser. Now that vow will come closer to being implemented as Google has made an agreement with some of the nation's leading research libraries and Oxford University to begin converting their holdings into digital files that would be freely searchable over the Web.

Harvard, the University of Michigan, Stanford and the New York Public Library are some of the U.S. institutions that will be involved. The whole project will convert about 15 million books at a cost of $150 million, or about $10 per book.

Plus, the Library of Congress and a group of international libraries from the United States, Canada, Egypt, China and the Netherlands announced a plan to create a publicly available digital archive of 1 million books on the Internet. The group said it planned to have 70,000 volumes online by next April.

Doesn't that just want to make you get out of your chair and shout! I don't know about you, but I am excited.

As long as I am excited about Google I want to let you know that Google has been my home page for over seven years. Why would anyone want to have anything different?

Well, last week I changed my home page. Don't get worried, it is still Google but it is their new Google Suggest. It suggests queries as you type what you are looking for into the search box. By offering more refined searches up front, Google Suggest can make your searching more convenient and efficient, because it eliminates the need to type the entire text of a query.

In addition, the service can connect you with new query suggestions that are useful, intriguing and fun. Go ahead, try it, you might even make it your new home page. My guess is that in a few years this might be the main Google search engine.

While I am on the topic of Google, I have to tell you about the new version of Firefox 1.0. If you haven't switched to Firefox you simply must read my article on why you should do so immediately. Firefox isn't just for alpha geeks anymore. As of last week over 10 MILLION people have downloaded Firefox and installed it as their browser.

Many of you are already one of those 10 million, but the majority of you probably don't know that Firefox comes preinstalled with search engines other than Google in its toolbar.

There are a number of options available for Business Class Satellite Internet connectivity in the U.S. today. New offerings seem to launch every week in 2005 and it is becoming a bit confusing for the business owner who can’t obtain traditional high speed internet or can’t afford the expense of running a T1 line to a location off the beaten path. I’ve outlined below several options for business with the positive aspects as well as negative where applicable. Each company and heavy individual user has different needs, so no one platform is a “one size fits all”. I will outline them and you decide:

1. iDirect Platform:

This is a proven Enterprise platform which provides a wide range of dependable speeds for most any business, government or heavy use individual. Download speeds from 64 kbps to over 2000 kbps and Upload speeds from 64 kbps to over 1000 kbps are available. The platform supports “shared bandwidth” or guaranteed “QOS” bandwidth at much higher pricing. In the U.S. a 1.2 meter dish is standard. Equipment Cost: Equipment – A 2 watt system will cost about $2,700 installed. A 4 watt system is about $4,300 installed. Monthly Service: A minimum circuit is about $250. A typical setup of 1000/256 kbps is $499 per month for a shared bandwidth-no FAP setup. For about $350 per month you can get 2000/500 kbps service with a 3 GB throughput allowance per month. There is a cost of $.09 per MB thereafter. The “shared bandwidth” package is far more predictable with the iDirect platform than with DirecWay or Starband setup’s. You can expect to see the advertised speeds 85 % of the time or better.

2. Surfbeam Platform:

This product is in the process of being introduced in America. Surfbeam uses the same platform basically that a cable or DSL provider would use, except it is satellite internet. It is much less expensive than “Enterprise” grade systems. There is only one provider ready to launch this platform in the U.S. and they should begin shipping equipment by April 1, 2005. In most cases a 1.2 meter dish will be utilized with a 2-3 watt transmitter. Download speeds of 1500 kbps and uploads in excess of 500 kbps are the advertised speeds; however, this hasn’t been verified in the field as of this article date. Equipment Cost: Ranging from $1,295 - $1,995 including installation. Monthly Service: Ranging from $95 - $400.

3. Starband 484 Platform U.S. :

This is the “beefed up” version of Starband service designed to attract small businesses and heavy individual users. This is DVB (digital video broadcast) technology which is converted to IP – the conversion process is the problem. It adds to overall latency and even with higher upload speeds than their consumer products (they advertise “up to” 256 kbps in Turbo Max mode- unclear what that really is), they don’t support VNP traffic or VOIP connections. Download speeds are listed as up to 20 times faster than dialup…whatever that means. Dish size is 24”x36” and transmitter strength not given. Equipment Cost: $900 + shipping + installation (price not given) Monthly Service: $160

4. DirecWay Business Plus Service (U.S. only):

This is the DirecWay “beefed up” version of service. The only meaningful difference between this platform and the Starband setup above is DirecWay has more experience “massaging” the DVB conversion to IP and possibly more advanced acceleration techniques. They will support some types of VPN and VOIP, but it requires expensive equipment ($2,000+) to be placed at the satellite location and at Headquarters for a VPN circuit- often to the chagrin of the IT department at HQ. Inadequate upload speeds for heavy VPN “chatty” programs still plague this platform. You can expect download speeds ranging from 800 kbps to 1500 kbps or more. Upload speeds range from 29 kbps to 90 kbps. This system uses a .98 meter dish and 1 watt transmitter. Equipment Cost: $900 + $375 installation (shipping included) Monthly Service: $129+

5. Ka Band Satellite Internet:

When this technology becomes available the summer of 2005, it could literally shake the foundation of the satellite internet world – or not! It is a technology that has been many years and over 1.5 Billion dollars in the making. There will be 30 spot beams aimed at the U.S. and 5 used by uplink centers with the initial satellite (Telesat’s Anik F2) which will be operated by Wildblue Communications, a Denver, Co. based company. It is being targeted to small business operators and consumers in rural areas through a network of rural electric operators (NRTC) initially and through two national distributors as the year progresses. If it works as advertised it will permit telecommuters to successfully VPN into home office much like they would with a cable or DSL connection – except at somewhat slower speeds (due to about 500ms of latency). Still, it has a lot of promise for the small businessman. They will not offer an Enterprise solution for some time- if ever. With a satellite dish about the size of a trashcan lid (.67 meters) and a two watt transmitter, users will be able to download at speeds up to 1500 kbps and upload at speeds ranging from 128 kbps to 256 kbps. Equipment Cost: $300-$500 Installation: $ ?? Monthly Service: Three plans with varying download speeds