It wasn\'t that long ago that we were all logging on to the internet, twiddling our thumbs while our slow dial-up connection labored to connect us to the rest of the world. Back then, we learned patience but lost valuable time waiting, waiting, waiting. Those days are long gone for wise consumers who have made the jump to high speed internet access. Also called broadband, the technology that sped up the connection process revolutionized the industry and made working on and browsing the web much more convenient and a whole lot less frustrating. There are several types of high speed internet connection systems to choose from.

-- ISDN: Integrated Service Digital Network is one of the oldest broadband access methods. As newer, faster, and cheaper alternatives become available to the public and in the business world, ISDN has lost a bit of its luster.

-- T-1: These services were designed with businesses in mind, and were originally conceived for voice transmission. A T-1 is a super high speed digital telephone transmission which can accommodate up to 24 separate lines. They are widely used in the marketplace, and the quality of its service is often supported, and many choices within the service are available to consumers. The internet can be bundled with other phone service, which is convenient and saves money.

-- Wired Ethernet is affected by sharing this type of broadband connections with others. So if you are using the internet on one floor of a building, and others are using it elsewhere at the same location, the speed of your connection may be hampered.

-- WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) help those who live in rural areas have affordable access to the internet. Costs of internet connection are defrayed by sharing the expense of equipment and service in places with high population densities. Folks who do not live in a town or city face high fees because they have to bear the brunt of costs themselves. WISP is a lower cost option.

-- Satellite internet has become popular, but has some built-in issues. The signal must travel tens of thousands of miles out to the satellite orbiting in space, and then back again. Even though the transmission is super fast, there is still a latency problem because of the sheer distance involved. Therefore, any internet activities that must take place in real time, such as multiplayer games, are definitely affected by the slight delay.

No matter what type of service is best for an individual\'s home or business needs, the days of old, slow dial-up internet access are long gone.