MAC PROTOCOLS

Ethernet

Token bus

Token ring

FDDI

DQDB

MAC for WLAN : hidden problems etc, will send notes.

MAC protocols : ALOHA, Slotted ALOHA, CDMA

The 7 Layers of the OSI
In the OSI model, control is passed from one layer to
the next, starting at the application layer (Layer 7) in one
station, and proceeding to the bottom layer, over the
channel to the next station and back up the hierarchy.
The OSI model takes the task of inter-networking and
divides that up into what is referred to as a vertical
stack that consists of the following 7 layers. Click each
link in the list below to read detailed information and
examples of each layer:

Layer 7 - Application

Layer 6 - Presentation

Layer 5 - Session

Layer 4 - Transport

Layer 3 - Network

Layer 2 - Data Link

Layer 1 - Physical

Application (Layer 7)

OSI Model, Layer 7, supports application and end-user processes. Communication partners are
identified, quality of service is identified, user authentication and privacy are considered, and any
constraints on data syntax are identified. Everything at this layer is application-specific. This layer
provides application services for file transfers, e-mail, and
other network software services. Telnet and FTP are applications that exist entirely in the application
level. Tiered application architectures are part of this layer.

Layer 7 Application examples include WWW browsers, NFS, SNMP, Telnet, HTTP, FTP

Presentation (Layer 6)

This layer provides independence from differences in data representation (e.g., encryption) by translating
from application to network format, and vice versa. The presentation layer works to transform data into
the form that the application layer can accept. This layer formats and encrypts data to be sent across
a network, providing freedom from compatibility problems. It is sometimes called the syntax layer.

Layer 6 Presentation examples include encryption, ASCII, EBCDIC, TIFF, GIF, PICT, JPEG, MPEG,
MIDI.

Session (Layer 5)
This layer establishes, manages and terminates connections between applications. The session layer
sets up, coordinates, and terminates conversations, exchanges, and dialogues between the applications
at each end. It deals with session and connection coordination.

Layer 5 Session examples include NFS, NetBios names, RPC, SQL.

Transport (Layer 4)

OSI Model, Layer 4, provides transparent transfer of data between end systems, or hosts, and is
responsible for end-to-end error recovery and flow control. It ensures complete data transfer.

Layer 4 Transport examples include SPX, TCP, UDP.

Network (Layer 3)

Layer 3 provides switching and routing technologies, creating logical paths, known as virtual circuits, for
transmitting data from node to node. Routing and forwarding are functions of this layer, as well
as addressing, internetworking, error handling, congestion control and packet sequencing.

Layer 3 Network examples include AppleTalk DDP, IP, IPX.

Data Link (Layer 2)

At OSI Model, Layer 2, data packets are encoded and decoded into bits. It furnishes transmission
protocolknowledge and management and handles errors in the physical layer, flow control and frame
synchronization. The data link layer is divided into two sub layers: The Media Access Control (MAC) layer
and the Logical Link Control(LLC) layer. The MAC sub layer controls how a computer on the network
gains access to the data and permission to transmit it. The LLC layer controls frame synchronization, flow
control and error checking.

Layer 2 Data Link examples include PPP, FDDI, ATM, IEEE 802.5/ 802.2, IEEE 802.3/802.2, HDLC,
Frame Relay.

Physical (Layer 1)

OSI Model, Layer 1 conveys the bit stream - electrical impulse, light or radio signal — through
the network at the electrical and mechanical level. It provides the hardware means of sending and
receiving data on a carrier, including defining cables, cards and physical aspects. Fast Ethernet, RS232,
and ATM are protocols with physical layer components.

Layer 1 Physical examples include Ethernet, FDDI, B8ZS, V.35, V.24, RJ45.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)

TCP/IP, or the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, is a suite of

communication protocols used to interconnect network devices on the internet. TCP/IP can also be used
as a communications protocol in a private network (an intranet or an extranet).
Bottom of Form

The entire internet protocol suite -- a set of rules and procedures -- is commonly referred to as TCP/IP,
though others are included in the suite.

TCP/IP specifies how data is exchanged over the internet by providing end-to-end communications that
identify how it should be broken into packets, addressed, transmitted, routed and received at the
destination. TCP/IP requires little central management, and it is designed to make networks reliable, with
the ability to recover automatically from the failure of any device on the network.

The two main protocols in the internet protocol suite serve specific functions. TCP defines how
applications can create channels of communication across a network. It also manages how a message is
assembled into smaller packets before they are then transmitted over the internet and reassembled in the
right order at the destination address.

IP defines how to address and route each packet to make sure it reaches the right destination.
Each gateway computer on the network checks this IP address to determine where to forward the
message.

The history of TCP/IP

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research branch of the U.S.
Department of Defense, created the TCP/IP model in the 1970s for use in ARPANET, a wide area
network that preceded the internet. TCP/IP was originally designed for the Unix operating system, and it
has been built into all of the operating systems that came after it.

The TCP/IP model and its related protocols are now maintained by the Internet Engineering Task Force.

How TCP/IP works

TCP/IP uses the client/server model of communication in which a user or machine (a client) is provided a
service (like sending a webpage) by another computer (a server) in the network.

classified as stateless, which means each client request is considered new because it is unrelated to
previous requests. Being stateless frees up network paths so they can be used continuously.

The transport layer itself, however, is stateful. It transmits a single message, and its connection remains
in place until all the packets in a message have been received and reassembled at the destination.
The TCP/IP model differs slightly from the seven-layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) networking
model designed after it, which defines how applications can communicate over a network.

TCP/IP model layers

TCP/IP functionality is divided into four layers, each of which include specific protocols.

The application layer provides applications with standardized data exchange. Its protocols include the
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3), Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

The transport layer is responsible for maintaining end-to-end communications across the network. TCP
handles communications between hosts and provides flow control, multiplexing and reliability. The
transport protocols include TCP and User Datagram Protocol (UDP), which is sometimes used instead of
TCP for special purposes.

The network layer, also called the internet layer, deals with packets and connects independent networks
to transport the packets across network boundaries. The network layer protocols are the IP and the
Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), which is used for error reporting.

The physical layer consists of protocols that operate only on a link -- the network component that
interconnects nodes or hosts in the network. The protocols in this layer include Ethernet for local area
networks (LANs) and the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP).

Advantages of TCP/IP

TCP/IP is nonproprietary and, as a result, is not controlled by any single company. Therefore, the internet
protocol suite can be modified easily. It is compatible with all operating systems, so it can communicate
with any other system. The internet protocol suite is also compatible with all types of computer hardware
and networks.
What is a Network Protocol
Rules of Network Protocol include guidelines that regulate the following characteristics of a network:
access method, allowed physical topologies, types of cabling, and speed of data transfer.

Types of Network Protocols

The most common network protocols are:

Ethernet

Local Talk

Token Ring

FDDI

ATM

The followings are some commonly used network symbols to draw different kinds of network protocols.

Ethernet

The Ethernet protocol is by far the most widely used one. Ethernet uses an access method called
CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection). This is a system where each computer
listens to the cable before sending anything through the network. If the network is clear, the computer will
transmit. If some other nodes have already transmitted on the cable, the computer will wait and try again
when the line is clear. Sometimes, two computers attempt to transmit at the same instant. A collision
occurs when this happens. Each computer then backs off and waits a random amount of time before
attempting to retransmit. With this access method, it is normal to have collisions. However, the delay
caused by collisions and retransmitting is very small and does not normally effect the speed of
transmission on the network.

The Ethernet protocol allows for linear bus, star, or tree topologies. Data can be transmitted over wireless
access points, twisted pair, coaxial, or fiber optic cable at a speed of 10 Mbps up to 1000 Mbps.

Fast Ethernet
To allow for an increased speed of transmission, the Ethernet protocol has developed a new standard
that supports 100 Mbps. This is commonly called Fast Ethernet. Fast Ethernet requires the application of
different, more expensive network concentrators/hubs and network interface cards. In addition, category 5
twisted pair or fiber optic cable is necessary. Fast Ethernet is becoming common in schools that have
been recently wired.

Local Talk

Local Talk is a network protocol that was developed by Apple Computer, Inc. for Macintosh computers.
The method used by Local Talk is called CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision
Avoidance). It is similar to CSMA/CD except that a computer signals its intent to transmit before it actually
does so. Local Talk adapters and special twisted pair cable can be used to connect a series of computers
through the serial port. The Macintosh operating system allows the establishment of a peer-to-peer
network without the need for additional software. With the addition of the server version of AppleShare
software, a client/server network can be established.

The Local Talk protocol allows for linear bus, star, or tree topologies using twisted pair cable. A primary
disadvantage of Local Talk is low speed. Its speed of transmission is only 230 Kbps.

Token Ring

The Token Ring protocol was developed by IBM in the mid-1980s. The access method used involves
token-passing. In Token Ring, the computers are connected so that the signal travels around the network
from one computer to another in a logical ring. A single electronic token moves around the ring from one
computer to the next. If a computer does not have information to transmit, it simply passes the token on to
the next workstation. If a computer wishes to transmit and receives an empty token, it attaches data to the
token. The token then proceeds around the ring until it comes to the computer for which the data is
meant. At this point, the data is captured by the receiving computer. The Token Ring protocol requires a
star-wired ring using twisted pair or fiber optic cable. It can operate at transmission speeds of 4 Mbps or
16 Mbps. Due to the increasing popularity of Ethernet, the use of Token Ring in school environments has
decreased.

FDDI

Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) is a network protocol that is used primarily to interconnect two or
more local area networks, often over large distances. The access method used by FDDI involves token-
passing. FDDI uses a dual ring physical topology. Transmission normally occurs on one of the rings;
however, if a break occurs, the system keeps information moving by automatically using portions of the
second ring to create a new complete ring. A major advantage of FDDI is high speed. It operates over
fiber optic cable at 100 Mbps.

ATM

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is a network protocol that transmits data at a speed of 155 Mbps
and higher. ATM works by transmitting all data in small packets of a fixed size; whereas, other protocols
transfer variable length packets. ATM supports a variety of media such as video, CD-quality audio, and
imaging. ATM employs a star topology, which can work with fiber optic as well as twisted pair cable.

ATM is most often used to interconnect two or more local area networks. It is also frequently used by
Internet Service Providers to utilize high-speed access to the Internet for their clients. As ATM technology
becomes more cost-effective, it will provide another solution for constructing faster local area networks.
Gigabit Ethernet

The most latest development in the Ethernet standard is a protocol that has a transmission speed of 1
Gbps. Gigabit Ethernet is primarily used for backbones on a network at this time. In the future, it will
probably also be used for workstation and server connections. It can be used with both fiber optic cabling
and copper. The 1000BaseTX, the copper cable used for Gigabit Ethernet, became the formal standard in
1999.

Compare the Network Protocols

Protocol Cable Speed Topology

Ethernet Twisted Pair, Coaxial, Fiber 10 Mbps Linear Bus, Star, Tree

Fast Ethernet Twisted Pair, Fiber 100 Mbps Star

LocalTalk Twisted Pair .23 Mbps Linear Bus or Star

Token Ring Twisted Pair 4 Mbps - 16 Mbps Star-Wired Ring

FDDI Fiber 100 Mbps Dual ring

ATM Twisted Pair, Fiber 155-2488 Mbps Linear Bus, Star, Tree

MAC Layer - What is MAC Layer Protocols?

BY DINESH THAKUR Category: Communication Networks

The Media Access Control (MAC) data communication Networks protocol sub-layer, also known as the
Medium Access Control, is a sub-layer of the data link layer specified in the seven-layer OSI model. The
medium access layer was made necessary by systems that share a common communications medium.
Typically these are local area networks. The MAC layer is the "low" part of the second OSI layer, the layer
of the "data link". In fact, the IEEE divided this layer into two layers "above" is the control layer the logical
connection (Logical Link Control, LLC) and "down" the control layer The medium access (MAC).

The LLC layer is standardized by the IEEE as the 802.2 since the beginning 1980 Its purpose is to allow
level 3 network protocols (for eg IP) to be based on a single layer (the LLC layer) regardless underlying
protocol used, including WiFi, Ethernet or Token Ring, for example. All WiFi data packets so carry a pack
LLC, which contains itself packets from the upper network layers. The header of a packet LLC indicates
the type of layer 3 protocol in it: most of the time, it is IP protocol, but it could be another protocol, such as
IPX (Internet Packet Exchange) for example. Thanks to the LLC layer, it is possible to have at the same
time, on the same network, multiple Layer 3 protocols.

In LAN nodes uses the same communication channel for transmission. The MAC sub-layer has two
primary responsibilities:
Data encapsulation, including frame assembly before transmission, and frame parsing/error detection
during and after reception. Media access control, including initiation of frame transmission and recovery
from transmission failure.

Following Protocols are used by Medium Access Layer :

ALOHA : ALOHA is a system for coordinating and arbitrating access to a shared communication channel.
It was developed in the 1970s at the University of Hawaii. The original system used terrestrial radio
broadcasting, but the system has been implemented in satellite communication systems. A shared
communication system like ALOHA requires a method of handling collisions that occur when two or more
systems attempt to transmit on the channel at the same time.

In the ALOHA system, a node transmits whenever data is available to send. If another node transmits at
the same time, a collision occurs, and the frames that were transmitted are lost. However, a node can
listen to broadcasts on the medium, even its own, and determine whether the frames were transmitted.

Carrier Sensed Multiple Access (CSMA) : CSMA is a network access method used on shared network
topologies such as Ethernet to control access to the network. Devices attached to the network cable listen
(carrier sense) before transmitting. If the channel is in use, devices wait before transmitting. MA (Multiple
Access) indicates that many devices can connect to and share the same network. All devices have equal
access to use the network when it is clear.

Even though devices attempt to sense whether the network is in use, there is a good chance that two
stations will attempt to access it at the same time. On large networks, the transmission time between one
end of the cable and another is enough that one station may access the cable even though another has
already just accessed it. There are two methods for avoiding these so-called collisions, listed here :

CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection) : CD (collision detection) defines what
happens when two devices sense a clear channel, then attempt to transmit at the same time. A collision
occurs, and both devices stop transmission, wait for a random amount of time, and then retransmit. This
is the technique used to access the 802.3 Ethernet network channel.

This method handles collisions as they occur, but if the bus is constantly busy, collisions can occur so
often that performance drops drastically. It is estimated that network traffic must be less than 40 percent
of the bus capacity for the network to operate efficiently. If distances are long, time lags occur that may
result in inappropriate carrier sensing, and hence collisions.

CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance) : In CA collision avoidance), collisions

areavoided because each node signals its intent to transmitbefore actually doing so. This method is not
popular becauseit requires excessive overhead that reduces performance.
Ethernet : IEEE 802.3 Local Area Network (LAN) Protocols : Ethernet protocols refer to the family of
local-area network (LAN)covered by the IEEE 802.3. In the Ethernet standard, there are twomodes of
operation: half-duplex and full-duplex modes. In the halfduplex mode, data are transmitted using the
popular Carrier-SenseMultiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol on ashared medium.
The main disadvantages of the half-duplex are theefficiency and distance limitation, in which the link
distance islimited by the minimum MAC frame size. This restriction reducesthe efficiency drastically for
high-rate transmission. Therefore, thecarrier extension technique is used to ensure the minimum
framesize of 512 bytes in Gigabit Ethernet to achieve a reasonable linkdistance.Four data rates are
currently defined for operation over opticalfiber and twisted-pair cables :

10 Mbps - 10Base-T Ethernet (IEEE 802.3)

100 Mbps - Fast Ethernet (IEEE 802.3u)
1000 Mbps - Gigabit Ethernet (IEEE 802.3z)
10-Gigabit - 10 Gbps Ethernet (IEEE 802.3ae).

The Ethernet System consists of three basic elements :

(1) The physical medium used to carry Ethernet signals between computers,

(2) a set of medium access control rules embedded in each Ethernet interface that allow multiple
computers to fairly arbitrate access to the shared Ethernet channel, and

(3) an Ethernet frame that consists of a standardized set of bits used to carry data over the system.

As with all IEEE 802 protocols, the ISO data link layer is divided into two IEEE 802 sub-layers, the Media
Access Control (MAC) sub-layer and the MAC-client sub-layer. The IEEE 802.3 physical layer
corresponds to the ISO physical layer.

Each Ethernet-equipped computer operates independently of all other stations on the network: there is no
central controller. All stations attached to an Ethernet are connected to a shared signaling system, also
called the medium. To send data a station first listens to the channel, and when the channel is idle the
station transmits its data in the form of an Ethernet frame, or packet.

After each frame transmission, all stations on the network must contend equally for the next frame
transmission opportunity. Access to the shared channel is determined by the medium access control
(MAC) mechanism embedded in the Ethernet interface located in each station. The medium access
control mechanism is based on a system called Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection
(CSMA/CD).

As each Ethernet frame is sent onto the shared signal channel, all Ethernet interfaces look at the
destination address. If the destination address of the frame matches with the interface address, the frame
will be read entirely and be delivered to the networking software running on that computer. All other
network interfaces will stop reading the frame when they discover that the destination address does not
match their own address.

IEEE 802.4 Token Bus : In token bus network station must have possession of a token before it can
transmit on the network. The IEEE 802.4 Committee has defined token bus standards as broadband
networks, as opposed to Ethernet's baseband transmission technique. The topology of the network can
include groups of workstations connected by long trunk cables.
These workstations branch from hubs in a star configuration, so the network has both a bus and star
topology. Token bus topology is well suited to groups of users that are separated by some distance. IEEE
802.4 token bus networks are constructed with 75-ohm coaxial cable using a bus topology. The
broadband characteristics of the 802.4 standard support transmission over several different channels
simultaneously.

The token and frames of data are passed from one station to another following the numeric sequence of
the station addresses. Thus, the token follows a logical ring rather than a physical ring. The last station in
numeric order passes the token back to the first station. The token does not follow the physical ordering
of workstation attachment to the cable. Station 1 might be at one end of the cable and station 2 might be
at the other, with station 3 in the middle.

While token bus is used in some manufacturing environments, Ethernet and token ring standards have
become more prominent in the office environment.

IEEE 802.5 Token Ring : Token ring is the IEEE 802.5 standard for a token-passing ring network with a
star-configured physical topology. Internally, signals travel around the network from one station to the
next in a ring. Physically, each station connects to a central hub called a MAU (multistation access unit).
The MAU contains a "collapsed ring," but the physical configuration is a star topology. When a station is
attached, the ring is extended out to the station and then back to the MAU .

If a station goes offline, the ring is reestablished with a bypass at the station connector. Token ring was
popular for an extended period in the late 1980s and 1990s, especially in IBM legacy system
environments. IBM developed the technology and provided extensive support for connections to SNA
systems. More recently, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, and Gigabit Ethernet technologies have pushed token
ring and other LAN technologies to the sidelines.

Dial-up

This is where it all started. You would take your home or office phone handset, and put it into a cradle
called a modulator/demodulator, or modem as we know them today.

The modem took digital signals from your computer and turned them into audible sounds that would get
transmitted though the mouthpiece of the handset. Off the signal would go over ordinary telephone wires
to the computer that was acting as your Internet service provider. The signal coming back from the
Internet would be played into the ear-piece of the phone and the modem would translate
that audible signal into a digital signal that the computer could work with.
That is the essence of how all Internet communications go between your computer and wherever on the
Internet your communicating with. What’s changed is the medium which these signals travel through, and
the signal itself.

With the dial-up modem, the signal was analog and the medium was a phone line made of a pair of
copper wires. This was the “tin can and string” of the Information Superhighway, but it was the best (and
only) method there was for a long, long time. Below is a diagram of the basic twisted pair of cable that
phone systems use.

The signal, being analog, was not the most efficient way to communicate. If you were to picture a graph,
an analog signal would look like a series of peaks and valleys, drawn with seemingly no meaning. Your
voice is an analog signal, live music is an analog signal, sounds in nature are analog signals. Now you
get the picture. These peaks and valleys are very nuanced, and mostly pleasant to our ears. But does it
ever take up a lot of space!
Think of a vinyl record. It’s huge! Twelve inches across with a surface area of about 226 square inches.
And all you could fit on it were maybe twelve 3-minute long songs. Not very efficient when you start
thinking about how many thousands of songs you have on your iPhone, is it?

What You Can Expect: Dial-up providers throw the term ’56k’ around a lot. In reality, you can expect 33
kbps on average. If you can find a dial-up ISP, it’ll cost you well under $10 USD per month.

DSL (Telephone Line)

DSL is an initialization of Digital Subscriber Line. The phone companies developed a way to send a
second signal down the phone lines, and they did this by sending it at a higher frequency. It’s a pretty
complex method, but if you’re trying to explain it to someone, here’s a simplified analogy. Imagine a pipe
that you send a green marble down every 60 seconds. When there are green marbles in the pipe, that
appears to be all that you can really do with it – send green marbles. Those green marbles are the voice
communications.
Now imagine that you could start sending red marbles down the pipe, between sending the green
marbles. Let’s say you send the red marbles every 5 seconds. The red marbles are data. As you can tell,
the data (red marbles) travel at a higher frequency than the voice (green marbles).

Yet we can still use the same old pipe that we only used for voice before and have data flow through it.
At the other end of the pipe, there’s a machine that sorts the marbles. All the data marbles go to the
computer, all the voice marbles go to the phone.
In real life, this is done by a signal filter. If you have DSL service, you know what these look like. It filters
out the high frequency so you can hear the voice better. Otherwise there would be a high-pitched hiss on
the phone line.

To make DSL work even better, the smart folks came up with Asynchronous DSL (ADSL). They figured
out that your average person is more concerned with download speeds than upload speeds. When you’re
on Facebook, most of the time you are only typing a few letter and sending a few mouse clicks. That
doesn’t need much bandwidth. But you’re downloading everyone else’s statuses, pictures, and videos.
That takes a LOT of bandwidth.

The most popular analogy is a four-lane highway between two towns. Normally, you’d have two lanes
going east, and two lanes going west. That would be a synchronous highway. We have more traffic going
west than east though. So why not use one lane to go east, and three lanes to go west? That’s an
asynchronous highway. The one lane is your mouse clicks and typed letters, the three lanes is everyone
else’s statuses, pictures, and videos. You can see it in this chart that also shows the voice part in the
lower bandwidth range.
What You Can Expect: DSL ISPs promise speeds from 1.5 Mbps to 10 Mbps, however new technology
could push it to 100 Mbps. A more realistic number is about 80-90% of what your ISP advertises. DSL
service cost range widely, as the speeds do, from $20 USD to $120 USD or more.

Cable (Coaxial Cable)

When Internet access made the jump from dial-up, cable was the first new medium to be used. The cable
used is the same as the cable that you may have for cable TV. One of those round cables, with a solid
copper wire core inside of a thick plastic like insulator. Around the insulator there is usually a foil shield
with a braided aluminum jacket around that. All of that is inside the outer plastic jacket of the cable.
The beauty of cable was that many homes already had it. Coaxial cable had been used for decades to
send multiple signals, why not add Internet? So they did.

Delivering Internet access over cable uses a standard

called Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS). This method isn’t a whole lot different
than what DSL does by using a high frequency for data and a low frequency for voice. Cable, however,
uses many different frequencies – one for each channel. The oversimplified explanation of how DOCSIS
works is that they added another channel (or frequency) for data. Cable can also use asynchronous data
transmission, like DSL does.

Of course, cable Internet access does require special modems to work. The modem has to separate the
data from the television channels and present the signal to your computer in a fashion that it will
understand.

What You Can Expect: Residential service can go up to about 250 Mbps, but most ISPs offer
somewhere between 10 Mbps and 120 Mbps. Cost? From around $10 USD to $100 USD per month.

Fibre Optic

The technologies that we’ve talked about so far use electricity and copper wires to transmit the signal.
Then along comes fiber optics. In it’s simplest terms, the signal is light and the medium is a special type
of flexible glass or clear plastic cable. Glass allows light to travel quite well, right?
Here’s an oversimplified explanation of how a fibre optic communication system works:
There is a transmitter on one end that converts the electrical signal to light. It pulses, in a similar way to
how Morse Code pulses. The light travels down the glass cable to a receiver at the other end. The
receiver detects the light and generates an electrical signal that your computer can use.

Light actually travels faster than electricity, a lot faster, at least when it comes to electricity flowing through
a copper wire. According to UCSB’s Science Line site:
“Light travels through empty space at 186,000 miles per second. The electricity which flows
through the wires in your homes and appliances travels much slower:
only about 1/100 th the speed of light.”

That’s a big part of the reason why fiber optic networks are so fast.

Unfortunately, fiber networks are not as inexpensive or simple to install and run as wire-based networks.
That’s why it’s most often used for large trunks on the Internet between major cities and across oceans.
More and more, you are able to get fibre to the home, though.

What You Can Expect: Download speeds up to 1 Gbps, however most services offer 100 Mbps. You can
expect to pay $85 USD per month and above, as your service speed increases.

Broadband over Powerline

You might not have heard of this method of connecting to the Internet. There was some talk about it in the
news about 10 years back. The basic idea is almost identical to using cable or phone lines. The signal
goes over the power lines that come to your house. Why not? The lines are already there!

Remember the big blackout on the east coast of North America back in 2003? Part of the cause of that
was that all the regional power suppliers have systems that aren’t the same. That makes it difficult to
make the system work for reliable Internet access.
In theory it was a good idea, but not yet good enough to become a solid option to the Internet access
methods we already have.

What You Can Expect: Don’t expect it.

Wireless Internet Access

The term ‘wireless’ is a big catch-all term to cover any type of Internet access that doesn’t require a cable
between you and your ISP. This makes it important for you to ask a few questions before signing up for
‘Wireless Internet’. Each type works a little bit differently and has it’s own pros and cons.

Wireless Broadband

When ISPs advertise wireless broadband for your home, this is usually the type that they are talking
about. The ISP will connect to the Internet through a cabled connection and then broadcast that
connection using radio waves. You, as the customer, would have some sort of antenna and modem set
up that would let you communicate with the ISP.
These systems work almost identically to cordless phones, even on the same frequencies that cordless
phones do. The ISP just broadcasts with higher power so the signal will travel further. The one challenge
is that your antenna needs to have a clear line-of-sight to their antenna. If there are trees or buildings in
the way, you will get little to no service.
Wireless broadband is almost always only considered an option when you don’t have cable or DSL
service to your home. It’s a good option for rural homes or cottages.

The service speeds with wireless broadband aren’t nearly as fast as with fiber or cables, for the same
reason that your WiFi isn’t as fast as being connected to a network cable. Signals travel better in cables
than free-air.

We do have an article that will give you a more in depth look at how wireless broadband works, if
you’re interested.How Does Wireless Internet Work? [Technology Explained] How Does Wireless
Internet Work? [Technology Explained]READ MORE

What You Can Expect: Maximum of 1.5 Mbps, more like 800 Kbps at around $40 USD to $50 USD per
month.

Mobile Internet

This is how you get the Internet on your phone, USB stick, or PC cards that go in your computer. Service
providers typically refer to it as Mobile Wireless Broadband, even though the term broadband isn’t
technically being used correctly.
For a large part of the world, if you have cell phone service, you should be able to get mobile Internet
service. Being available practically everywhere, and so many people having smartphones, there is an
argument to be made that wireless Internet is the future.4 Reasons Why Wireless Internet Is the
Future 4 Reasons Why Wireless Internet Is the FutureBefore the era of smartphones, we've always
been used to getting our internet from good old cables, whether it be phone lines, broadband cable, or
DSL. While those were pretty good options when they first...READ MORE
Mobile Internet works with radio waves, similar to wireless broadband. Most people don’t realize that their
cellphones are actually a type of radio. Over the years, service providers have figured out a way to
transmit voice and data at the same time. There are several different ways that data can be sent over the
cell signal. You’ve heard the terms 3G, 4G, and more recently, LTE. Each of those methods has a
different way of sending data. 3G is an older, slower method and LTE is the newer faster method. The
underlying principle is still the same though.

What You Can Expect: With LTE service, up to 150 Mbps, but more like 75 Mbps. Much less if you’re
not in an LTE zone. Prices vary wildly.

Satellite Internet

As the name suggests, this is a way to get Internet access via a satellite dish. The signal gets beamed to
a satellite which turns around and beams the signal to you, and vice versa. Like wireless broadband, it is
a line-of-sight technology. Your dish needs to have a clear shot at wherever the satellite is in the sky.
That’s why it takes a professional installer to set it up.