Connecting to the Internet Ian Ramsey C of E School GCSE ICT Entertain me Connecting to the Internet

Starter: List as many advantages as you can for a household to have a fast internet connection. First onto a ticket website Livestream quality is better Better for online games YT videos are better quality Be there first for FS Watch films/tv shows online quicker Different people can use the internet at the same time. Source – Ofcom.org.uk

Lesson Objectives: By the end of this lesson you will be able to: define the terms concerning Internet access explain these terms to a new user list the criteria for selecting an Internet service provider use the criteria to assess different providers

Connecting to the Internet: Jamie is now the proud owner of a Wi-Fi enabled laptop and an HDTV. He has been watching films in high definition supplied on Blu-ray disks, but now he wants to download them from the Internet and play online games. He will therefore need to learn how to connect to the Internet. In order to download films and play online games, a broadband connection with a large bandwidth is needed. Jamie will need an Internet provider (ISP) to supply him with a broadband connection. Before he can choose one he will need to make sure he understands all of the terms used when talking about internet connections.

Move the key terms to match up with the correct definitions. A company that offers it’s customers access to the internet ISP A high speed connection to the internet that is always connected Broadband The amount of data that can fit through an internet connection Bandwidth Thousands of bits per second Kb or kbps Transfer of a file from a central computer to your own computer Download A system designed to prevent unauthorised access to your computer when connected to the internet Firewall Unwanted or junk mail Spam A system used to run broadband over copper telephone lines ADSL Software that collects information about your logins and passwords Spyware

Do you know the jargon?: Blu-ray – a disk that enables the recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video and the storing of large amount of data. It has more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25 GB on a single-layer disk and 50 GB on a dual-layer disk. Download – transfer of a file, e.g. a video, from a central computer to your computer. Broadband – a high speed connection to the Internet. Bandwidth – the amount of data that can fit through an Internet connection. You can compare it to a ten-lane motorway. Bandwidth is measured in bits per second (bps). This indicates the number of bits of information that can fit down the line in one second. Kb or Kbps means thousands of bits per second; Mb or Mbps means millions of bits per second. Upload – transfer a file from your computer to a central computer, e.g. your ISP.

Connecting to the Internet: The fastest broadband is supplied by fibre-optic cables. Companies such as Virgin Media and Smallworld Media supply broadband in this way. Unfortunately not all areas have cable available to them. The alternative is to rely on providers that use the copper cables used for telephone services. Broadband over copper telephone lines uses Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ASDL) technology. It allows much faster transmission speeds by using frequencies that are not used for voice calls. With ADSL the volume of data flow is greater in one direction than the other, so download speeds are usually much faster than upload ones.

Connecting to the Internet: There are various websites that you can use to check what broadband is available where you live. The BT Broadband Availability Checker will check to see if your local telephone exchange is able to provide you with ADSL. Samknows.com will check the availability of both cable broadband and ADSL where you live. You get the most accurate results by entering a land line phone number. Try entering your home phone number or the school number 01642 585205.

Choosing an ISP There are lots of different ISPs. So which one should Jamie choose? He will have to consider the following: Cost – most ISPs have a monthly charge and they can vary widely for the same level of service. Jamie will also have to check if there is a set-up cost and if a free wireless router is provided. Speed – this is usually given in Mb or megabits per second (do not confuse this with MB or megabytes used for file sizes). However actual speeds are usually less than the ‘ideal’ given as lots of other people are using the same cables. The speeds given are for downloading data and the speed for uploading will be much less. Download limits – Many ISPs impose a limit on the amount of data that you can download in a month and will charge you if you go beyond this. Jamie will have to consider this if he is downloading lots of films. Email and web space – the ISP should provide you with several email addresses and also an area on the server to create your own web pages. Storage – many ISPs allow server space for storing emails, files and even photographs that can be shared with other users. Security – When you have broadband connection your computer is vulnerable to hackers from around the world, as the connection is always on. The ISP should provide you with a firewall and also some anti-spam software. Parental Control – Some ISPs provide software to filter out undesirable websites so that parents can restrict access. Reliability and customer service – lots of users complain about their ISPs, especially about speed and poor customer service. Common complaints are: slow response in answering queries, having to phone expensive helplines for support, too slow in fixing problems, too much downtime when you cannot access the Internet. The best way to find out about reliability is to ask friends about their experiences, look in the magazines and check on forums and user sites.

Be safe/be efficient Firewall – a system designed to prevent unauthorised access to your computer when connected to a network such as the internet. Spyware – software that can be installed on your computer without your knowledge, which collects information about your logins and passwords and sends details to another computer on the Internet. Be safe/be efficient When you are setting up an Internet connection, you should ensure that you protect your computer from attacks by other users. It is essential to have a firewall and software to prevent spyware being installed on your computer without your knowledge.

In practice: There are many sites, such as Speedtest.net that let you check the speed of your broadband connection. In general, if your bandwidth result is roughly 85% of the rated connection speed for your modem device, you are receiving acceptable throughput, although shared connections may affect this. However since Internet performance can be erratic and you cannot expect to get nominal bandwidth every time you test, you should test several times, and at different times of the day, to get the most accurate reading. Users regularly complain about down time, when they cannot access the Internet, and then have to call an expensive helpline for support.

Comparing ISPs Use this website to compare 5 different ADSL providers. Maximum speed Download allowance Contract time Cost per month Talk Talk 16Mb Unlimited 12 Months £3.75 Sky £5.00 EE £2.50 BT 10 GB £10.00 PlusNet £8.49 Which ISP would you choose for yourself? Give a reason why. I would be happy with any of them that has Unlimited Download Allowance, because I watch a lot of videos and films.

Exam Question “State one wireless technology that can be used to connect digital devices to the internet.” The obvious answer to this question is WiFi. The more technical version is wireless Ethernet. You were asked to state the answer, so no further explanation is required. Note: You were asked to state a technology not a device, so wireless router would not be a correct answer.

Knowledge check As a class, recommend the best Internet Service Provider for 3 different people. Teacher Resource eplenary 3.3