There are many myths and misconceptions that people have about broadband Internet. Most of these are due to the common falsities in the advertising of broadband packages. Here are eight of the most common misconceptions.
1 – Your Connection Will Always Work at Maximum Speed
If a service provider advertises a broadband package with a maximum speed of 8Mbps, this does not mean that your connection will always be working at this speed. This only means is that this will be the fastest possible speed that the connection can reach. The actual speed depends on the time of day, amount of traffic, distance from the exchange and various other factors.
2 – You Need to Use the Software that Your ISP Provides
Most service providers supply software which is supposed to enhance the quality of the service that you receive. Such software includes things like their own web browser, email client, antivirus software or connection manager. In reality, however, most of this type of software offers little or no benefit to the end user.
3 – Certain Programs Can Improve Broadband Speed
Software which claims to be able to increase the speed of a broadband Internet connection can be found all over the web. What such software does, however, is compress images and other data before you receive it. While this can be useful for very slow connections, it will make for a lower quality browsing experience.
4 – The More Expensive the Service, the Better It Is
While this might seem like a realistic assumption, it is not always the case. Many of the cheaper services are offered by newer companies with newer hardware. It may also be that the cheaper service is often the result of it having more customers.
5 – An “Unlimited” Broadband Package Means I Can Download as Much as I Want
In the US, as well as in some other countries, “Unlimited” broadband packages often come at an enormous premium. In theory, you should be able to download as much as you want with such a privilege, but there is usually a fair use policy which disallows you from completely indiscriminate use.
6 – US Broadband Speeds Are Extremely High
Many people assume that the US has the world’s highest broadband speeds, but the reality is very different. In fact, broadband speeds in the US are far from the world’s highest. Most European countries, Japan and Korea have much faster broadband connections.
7 – The Service Provider Can Make the Internet Safe for Children
Internet service providers have started to make an effort to block inappropriate content on the web, but usually you have to pay a premium for this extra service. Unfortunately, however, most of these controls are easy to circumvent and they do not guard against everything anyway.
8 – The Service Provider Knows What You Are Downloading
While it is true that an Internet service provider will gather various statistics about your Internet usage, it is extremely unlikely that they will know exactly what you are downloading and which sites you are visiting. ISPs simply do not have the time or resources to investigate their users in such a way, although such investigations can be carried out on behalf of the authorities in exceptional circumstances.
Amy is a freelance writer who loves sharing her expertise with others.
16 Comments
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Gracie
March 23, 2012 at 8:37 pm
Also you can do a ping test which will give you an idea of the latency, or delay of your connection.
Amy Harrow
March 23, 2012 at 9:52 pm
This is a great idea. Thanks for adding it.
Nicole
March 24, 2012 at 5:25 am
Great post! I will be pinning this for sure!
John
March 24, 2012 at 7:33 am
Yes, there are many countries providing high speed internet than U.S. All the points you made are very interesting.Thanks for sharing.
Mark
March 24, 2012 at 9:04 am
I didnt find any broadband company that promises and delivers. Each one of them, just not good service.
Jim
March 24, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Re: #7, ISPs can never assure your internet is child-friendly. A parent’s guidance, and maybe a little help from a tech-savvy support, can help it a lot safer.
Julie
March 25, 2012 at 10:21 am
Interesting text, I agree with all of the points, except one: here in Europe, the telecommunication companies are forced to watch and record the traffic of the users. I wasn’t always like this, but like the new act, ACTA, all the companies have to take care if they patients downloaded any illegal content. It’s like SOPA, but even worse.
Bishwajeet
March 25, 2012 at 11:57 pm
Many really don’t know that US isn’t the country with fastest broadband
Danny
March 26, 2012 at 5:08 am
Good job in busting those myths 🙂
The US is definitely not the country with the fastest nor the cheapest internet.
That position has been taken by Korea. Who would’ve guessed. but the Korean government was smart enough to invest a lot of money into a good internet infrastructure. Knowing that this is an important part of the future, the government and their people will definitely reap the rewards from this investment.
Becca
March 26, 2012 at 6:54 am
I like the valuable information you provide in your articles. I’ll bookmark your weblog and check again here frequently. I am quite sure I will learn many new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next!
Maja
March 26, 2012 at 3:35 pm
I always use unlimited broad band ad it is cheap and their is no limitation on downloading facilities.
Levi
March 26, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Amy, you are so right with all of the myths. Especially the one that America has the highest broadband. When I moved from Europe to New York City I expected a boost in my speed but the total opposite happened. Although I live in Manhattan the speed is far away from the speed which I had in Europe. Though the mobile speed hence 4G/LTE is somewhat faster here in the US.
Feye
March 27, 2012 at 6:34 am
Myths busted!
“5 – An “Unlimited” Broadband Package Means I Can Download as Much as I Want”, I think this is available to other countries. I’ve encountered software that speed up your internet connection (as the product said) I just don’t really know if it’s true or I’m just believing things.
Prakash
March 28, 2012 at 1:06 pm
yes these myths are really there in most people’s mind……..
thanks for sharing it…………
Kevin Malmo
March 28, 2012 at 2:43 pm
I agree with all of it.
I also keep away to the cheapest package, I know it is like no service at all.
Azam
March 31, 2012 at 9:44 pm
My connection work at very fast speed and is very reliable. I always love to purchase unlimited downloading package.