As a computer support specialist I have been recommending broadband access to the Internet to all my home and small business customers for many years now.

Let’s start by defining broadband. Broadband is a high-speed, always-on, connection to the Internet. Currently there are a large number of providers of broadband access in Panama City, but it is recently that prices have become aggressively low to consider, not whether you should have a broadband connection, but why you haven’t signed up yet.

Broadband speeds are defined in Kilobits. Eight bits make a byte. A thousand bytes make a kilobyte, and a thousand kilobytes makes up the more familiar "megabyte" or million bytes. A common MP3 music file is about 5 megabytes. A 3.5-inch floppy disk can hold 1.44 megabytes. Obviously floppy disks are useless for today’s mega file sizes but storage options might well be fodder for another article if there is interest in the subject.

Your regular dialup connection is a low bandwidth connection. At best, you will get a 56 Kilobits connection, which translated to a download speed of just 5 KiloBYTES per second. Many of my friends can’t get their 56 Kilobit modems to go above 33 Kilobits on their old home phone lines.

Now, let’s take Cable & Wireless $35 USB ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) offer as an example of a broadband connection. It offers a comfortable 64Kilobits up, 128 Kilobits down connection that is more than good enough for constant web browsing, instant messaging, and even using web cams! For heavy-duty users, who download tons of files from peer to peer file-sharing services such as Kazaa, there are higher speeds to choose from, at consequently higher prices. C&W will send you a kit that you can hook up yourself, or, for a small fee, one of their technicians will come by and do it for you. It requires a USB connection on your computer. Check out the almost cigarette pack-size modem they are sending customers here: http://www.alliedtelesyn.com/product/AR210 .

You will find several broadband technologies available locally to choose from, each adequate to a particular niche. Let me help you identify some of them. First, there is the aforementioned ADSL, which happens to be my current personal favorite. It piggybacks a signal on your regular phone line, which is decoded by a special "modem" and router combination to provide you with a network connection. Your phone line is not tied up, but you will require special filters which are provided by the company at no extra charge. Local ADSL lines can go as fast as 8000K upload, 4000K download, but of course, the price increases substantially. ADSL lines go straight to a router at the phone company’s premises, and from then on the Internet.

ISDN (Integrated Digital Services Network) is still being offered by the local phone company under the commercial name of "FlashPoint", but I do not recommend it anymore, as it is limited to a top speed of 128K upstream, 64K downstream. It needs its own phone line, which can be used to make calls, but your internet connection will suffer a 64K performance hit while you are talking. For a while it was the only real competitor to Cable Modems and I used to recommend it as an inexpensive alternative.

I worked at a location which was one of the first to beta-test cable modem technology when it was introduced by Cable Onda in Panama. I was very enthusiastic at first, but have since become disillusioned with both technical and customer support issues. Cable Modems decode a signal coming from your regular cable hook-up to allow broadband connections to the internet on speeds ranging from 64K to 2048K upstream. As usual, the higher speed, the more you can expect to pay. Cable Modem connections differ from ADSL connections in that they rely on shared bandwidth. If several people in your area have cable modems, and are using them heavily, the available bandwidth for that particular area may not be enough to serve all of them at the same time! I have run into many tech problems with signal degradation, being able to browse other people’s computers’ content, and general lack of knowledge by their support staff which make me recommend against their technology. Of course, they may very well be your only option in your area, and you will have to either take it or leave it.

A few customers with deep pockets can also opt to use wireless access technologies that consist of an antenna at the top of your building, which points to a transmitter in line-of-sight. It uses what is called spread-spectrum technology, transmitting its signal on different wavelengths simultaneously. Cerro Ancon is host to multiple transmitters for competing companies!

I have worked with this technology before, and I do not recommend it unless you absolutely have no other option, as it is very prone to random disconnection from weather conditions, signal power, and some days it seems, the phases of the moon. At the school in Albrook where I work as a Computer Science Teacher, we agonized with a wireless connection for over a year. I felt that every time an airplane took off from the airport, our signal would be interrupted. Also when it rained, when birds flew, and when somebody sneezed in the classroom. I was against its installation from the get go, but was overruled by the administration. We switched to a 2048K ADSL connection and have had no trouble ever since.

I was also involved in getting a connection to work at Clayton’s City of Knowledge, within a couple of kilometers of Cerro Ancon, and even though we could make out the transmitters visually, with a pair of binoculars, we never were able to get the connection going. The distance was well within the manufacturer’s recommended range and it baffled the two engineers the company sent. Again, if a particular building location demands it, it may well be your only choice.

The pros are easy! Turning on the computer and being online without sacrificing a phone line is a big plus. The extra bandwidth also makes the use of web cams a much more enticing proposition, as the video is not as jerky as when you are on dialup. Web pages load faster, and downloads are quicker. Instant Messaging does not take up much bandwidth, so don’t expect any great improvements there, but the extra transmission speed means you can also do other stuff on the net while you are chatting away with your buddies or clients.

While it is easy for me, a self-declared internet junkie since the late 80s (yes, the Internet has been available long before the World Wide Web ever came to life), to rave about how nice it is to have constant access to the Internet, there are some drawbacks to a connection. You need to perform "due diligence" before you set up a high speed, always-on connection.

Hackers: I recently set-up an ADSL connection at home, and within a few days, my "firewall" software was reporting hundreds of malicious hits on my computer address, undoubtedly from hackers looking for access to my computer. A "firewall" is a filter between your computer and the Internet which allows certain connections to go through, but blocks unauthorized access. Firewalls are available in software and hardware versions. At home I use the freeware version of Zone Alarm, downloadable from www.zonelabs.com. They also offer professional and business versions at affordable costs. An excellent online site which offers more information than I can print here is Steve Gibson’s Research at www.grc.com. Follow the link to the "Shields Up" online utility for an eye-opening report on what hackers could be doing behind your back.

For customers and friends that have to share their broadband connection between multiple computers, I recommend NAT (Network Address Translation) Routers such as those offered by Linksys (www.linksys.com). They are available locally at stores such as Multimax and Computer World. Because of their nature, they act as a firewall and offer a certain degree of protection from hackers when set up correctly. It is noteworthy to mention that the USB ADSL from C&W will not work with such hardware. Your computer tech can share that kind of connection by using a network card on your computer and proxy software, such as Microsoft’s free Internet Connection Sharing, available on Windows 98 Second Edition and subsequent versions of Windows. You have a knowledgeable computer tech, right?

If have not said it before, ALWAYS set up a firewall between your Internet connection and your computer.

Service Contracts: I really hate the practice of a long service contracts with penalties for disconnecting early. Most companies are offering 18 month contracts to "offset" the cost of their equipment and to keep you tied up. It really upsets me that prices keep going down, but you are tied up with the rate and speed you signed up for a year ago. If you are having tech troubles, you are stuck, and can’t switch unless you go to their office and demand to see everybody from the cleaning lady to the general manager. When Cable Onda was going through a phase where they seem to have terminated all the original cable modem support staff in favor of new people, probably with lower salaries, resulting in dismal connectivity, we raised enough hell, that we were able to get a couple of contracts cancelled. Good luck if you find yourself in the same spot. Please don’t think I am biased against Cable Onda. Cable & Wireless suffers from the same ills. When signing up for my ADSL connection I had to wait an unreasonable one month while they added extra capacity to my exchange to carry the new ADSL lines. The equipment sat unused for one month on my desk before I could use it. The first time I called to inquire when they were going to activate my account which had been promised for three days maximum after hooking up my device, the Customer Service rep told me I had to wait and there was nothing I could do about it. He smugly told me I was free to "tear up my contract" if I wanted to because they had not activated the line. I wonder what the top management at C&W thinks of this.

On a happy note, when they did activate my account, my ADSL line speed was uncapped and I enjoyed 5000K access for three full days. Now I am down to a steady 128K , which is working pretty well.

I find broadband access a must in today’s connected world. But you must take action to ensure the privacy and security of the personal data on your computer. Install inexpensive firewall software, or purchase a hardware solution. Also, review the service contract, and make sure you are going to be satisfied with the technology you choose, for at least the next 18 months. Of all available technologies, ADSL makes the more sense to me, because of its direct connection to the Central Office and then onto the Internet.

I hope you enjoyed this lengthy, but hopefully informative article, and that I helped you make an informed decision on which broadband connection is right for you.

www.cableonda.net Providers of Cable Modem access in Panama City.

www.cwpanama.net Provides ADSL, ISDN and dialup in selected areas.

www.zonelabs.com Offers firewall software for individuals and businesses.

www.linksys.com Makers of best-selling NAT Routers which can also act as firewalls. Also, plenty of information on networking technologies is available on their website.

www.alliedtelesyn.com Makers of different broadband "modems" including the one C&W is currently sending their home and small business customers.

www.grc.com is Steve Gibson’s Research website. A very informative, albeit opinionated, website. It hosts the world famous "Shields Up" online security test.

(Carlos Hassan is a Computer Science Teacher at a local bilingual school. He also specializes in computer support for individuals and small business. His areas of expertise include, but are not limited to, database development in Microsoft Access, website design, e-business, computer repair, and computer consulting. He can be reached at support@carloshassan.com for his services or feedback to this article. His cell phone is 681-3530.)