Advs. for home users

If you regularly use the Internet on a dialup modem you will already be familiar with the frustrations involved. Apart from slow download speeds there's also the cost of peak phone calls to worry about. Then there's the anxiety about running up your telephone bill and, to crown it all, the phone is engaged while you or another family member is online. Hardly ideal.

With broadband, the annoying whistling and screeching noise of the modem making the connection is a thing of the past. Once your PC is up and running, the Internet is already there in the background waiting for you to use it.

With always-on broadband there's no need to watch the clock while you're online. You pay a fixed monthly fee to use the Internet, no matter how often you go online or at what time of day. And you can still use the phone at the same time.

Some providers are now offering broadband for a limited number of hours per month, for light users of the Internet who want to avail of broadband speeds.

DIGITAL RECREATION

• Music and video .les download faster, so the new rich media services are much more attractive.
  
  
• Depending on your point of view, online shopping can be less stressful. Services such as online banking and share dealing are also more efficient.
  
  
• Sending and storing digital photos works a treat, as does sending them to an online lab for printing.
  
  
• Visits to video and audio streaming sites, where data is viewed as it downloads, are worthwhile. Many of the big international sites offering news and sport now provide online video clips too.
  
  
• Listening to radio stations around the world is no longer wishful thinking.
  
  
• Interactive gaming with people elsewhere on the Internet runs more smoothly.

Broadband delivers many of the promises of the digital home. The so-called triple play (TV, Internet and phone via broadband) is not far away.