Why
Why Connect Arkansas?
To promote broadband internet education, use, and access in Arkansas, Connect Arkansas focuses its operations in three major areas: mapping of broadband infrastructure, community strategic planning to address internet use and access, and development of public access points to promote internet use. Connect Arkansas actively educates the public about broadband and can answer all of your broadband questions ranging from “What is broadband Internet access?” to “How do I sign up?”
What is broadband Internet access anyway?
Broadband is another term used for bandwidth - or the amount of data that can be sent through a connection - to access high-speed Internet. The more bandwidth you are able to access, the more information a user can send or receive at any given time.
Why is that important to me?
The importance of Internet in daily life is often underestimated. Broadband allows citizens more affordable and more efficient access to basic amenities such as education, healthcare, public safety and government services by: Affording citizens the opportunity to participate in online learning and distance education; Giving entrepreneurs and small and home-based business owners owners with e-commerce business ideas the opportunity to compete alongside large corporations; Increasing the productivity and efficiency of businesses who utilize the Internet for their operations; Connecting patients in remote areas to healthcare services; Making government services more readily available to citizens; Saving companies and organizations money by letting employees telework; and Allowing friends and families to stay in touch with one another.
So how do I access Broadband?
You have several options for high speed Internet access: Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Cable Modem Fiber-Optic Cable (Fiber) Wireless Satellite
That's Greek to me. Can you tell me the differences between my options?
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) transmits data over traditional copper telephone lines already installed to homes and businesses. However, not all copper telephone lines are capable of transmitting data.
Cable Modem services transmit data through the same coaxial cables that generate pictures and sounds from someone's TV set.
Fiber-Optic Cable (Fiber) converts to light electrical signals carrying data and sends the light through transparent glass fibers about the diameter of a human hair. Fiber transmits data at speeds much faster than DSL or cable, typically by tens or even hundreds of mbps.
Wireless can be mobile or fixed. Fixed wireless involves the wireless transmission of data from a local antenna to a permanent location such as a home or business. The service is similar to what is delivered over DSL or a cable modem, but the transmission is wireless. Mobile wireless connects users who are in temporary locations, such as coffee shops. Mobile broadband is transmitted through technologies such as portable modems and mobile phones.
Satellite is another form of wireless that is useful in providing Internet service in rural areas.
I am online with dial-up; what is broadband Internet access good for?
Once we realize the importance of Internet in daily life–paying bills, doing homework, communicating with friends and family–we begin to focus on doing those things more efficiently. Broadband speed is important because it allows for faster transmission of data. Data is transmitted digitally into "bits" of data. The faster the speed with which you access the information, the faster you can download or upload information. The Federal Communications Commission defines basic broadband as transmission speeds of at least 4 megabits per second (Mbps), or 4,000,000 bits per second, downstream (from the Internet to the user's computer) and 1 megabits per second upstream (from the user's computer to the Internet). Slower speeds, such as dial-up, run at 56 kilobits per second and cannot transmit data as quickly.
