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Can I sign up with any ISP?
Yes, any ISP that markets a Broadband product can be used. Your existing ISP will probably be able to offer you an upgrade. Anyone that signed up to our campaign by giving me their email address will probably have received a email from Eclipse Internet promoting their service. They provided our website free of charge and all registrations that I received went through them, but you are under no obligation to sign up to Broadband with them. |
Wireless
Many people are turning to 'wireless' access to their broadband services to provide location flexibility in their homes or offices. When considering wireless, there is no 'right or wrong' standard to choose from - let's take a closer look....
802.11a did not prove successful because of compatibility with 802.11b, distance, frequency and licensing issues.
802.11b is a proven standard and readily available across all manufacturer products. The most widely deployed standard and the cheapest wireless solutions. The main drawback of 802.11b is that of throughput, at 11Mbps (acceptable to some but not others).
802.11g has taken off from the failings of 802.11a. Backwards compatibility to 802.11b, same frequency and good distance contact sees 802.11g expected to become the de facto standard.
Summary: 802.11b is still an extremely popular choice - particularly for small and home networks. 802.11g is now gaining popularity for it's throughput and will continue to do so as prices balance with 802.11b. |
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is similar to WLAN (802.11) in that it provides wireless access and networking capabilities. However, Bluetooth exists mainly for short distance (localized) networking and device connectivity. Bluetooth technology eliminates the need for numerous and inconvenient cable attachments for connecting fixed computers, mobile phones, mobile computers, handheld devices, digital cameras and even new breed of digital appliances. It will enable users to connect a wide range of computing and telecommunications devices easily and simply, without the need to buy, carry, or connect cables - quite often proprietary to a specific device. It delivers opportunities for rapid ad hoc connections, and the possibility of automatic, unconscious, connections between devices.
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Can I keep my email - current address?
It depends!
There are 2 issues:
1. Can you send and receive email through your broadband ISP?
2. Will your current email address keep alive?
1. If you take broadband from your current ISP then there will be no change and you can continue as before. If you take broadband from say Eclipse and your current provider is Freeserve then you will need to change your email settings so that you send email via Eclipse.
e.g. in Outlook Express. Tools. Accounts. Mail. Properties. Servers. Change the smtp setting to the new one - your ISP will tell you the new one - such as smtp.eclipse.co.uk
2. However many of the ISP that provide free email require that you login via their dial up service say once a month or have other requirements. So you may need to continue to use your dialup modem and dial in once a month to keep the email address. Other ISPs may not have that restriction or may allow you to buy the email address/domain. You should check with your ISP to be certain.
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