High-speed Internet access: the definitive "how-to" guide! Covers cable, DSL, and next-generation wireless high-speed Internet connections, this handbook also Includes Windows, MacOS and Linux coverage.

Access to the Internet is an increasing problem in many areas of the world. As the popularity and usefulness of the Internet increases on a daily basis, lack of access to the technology is putting many groups at a disadvantage in terms of better education, better jobs and even in terms of higher levels of civic participation. However, creating a network infrastructure to serve outlying communities and sectors of the population is not straight-forward. This book brings together all the aspects of the problem – technical, regulatory and economic - into one volume to provide a comprehensive resource. It describes the latest technological advances that allow cost-effective network infrastructures to be built, and places them in the context of the applications and services that the infrastructure will deliver. A section on business models and case studies from North American and Europe demonstrate that the solutions are economically and practically viable. This book is essential for anyone looking to gain an understanding of the issues and technology surrounding the access debate. It will be of particular relevance to network engineers/designers/planners at the incumbent operator companies charged with delivering broadband access to as yet unconnected regions. Governments and regulatory bodies will also find this a useful guide to the problems that they may face.

Service providers are increasingly focused on delivering triple-play bundles that incorporate Internet, video, and VoIP services—as well as multi-play bundles containing even more advanced services. Broadband Network Architectures is the first comprehensive guide to designing, implementing, and managing the networks that make triple-play services possible. Hellberg, Greene, and Boyes present their field-tested industry best practices and objectively evaluate the tradeoffs associated with key up-front architectural decisions that balance the complexities of bundled services and sophisticated traffic policies. Broadband Network Architectures not only documents what is possible on this rapidly changing field of networking, but it also details how to divide Internet access into these more sophisticated services with specialized Quality of Service handling. Coverage includes · An in-depth introduction to next-generation triple-play services: components, integration, and business connectivity · Triple-play backbone design: MPLS, Layer 3 VPNs, and Broadband Network Gateways (BNGs)/Broadband Remote Access Servers (B-RAS) · Protocols and strategies for integrating BNGs into robust triple-play networks · Triple-play access network design: DSLAM architectures, aggregation networks, transport, and Layer 2 tunneling · VLAN-per-customer versus service-per-VLAN architectures: advantages and disadvantages · PPP or DHCP: choosing the right access protocol · Issues associated with operating in wholesale, unbundled environments · IP addressing and subscriber session management · Broadband network security, including Denial of Service attacks and VoIP privacy · The future of wireless broadband: IMS, SIP, and non-SIP based fixed mobile convergence and wireless video

An analysis of the failure of U.S. broadband policy to solve the rural–urban digital divide, with a proposal for a new national rural broadband plan. As much of daily life migrates online, broadband—high-speed internet connectivity—has become a necessity. The widespread lack of broadband in rural America has created a stark urban–rural digital divide. In Farm Fresh Broadband, Christopher Ali analyzes the promise and the failure of national rural broadband policy in the United States and proposes a new national broadband plan. He examines how broadband policies are enacted and implemented, explores business models for broadband providers, surveys the technologies of rural broadband, and offers case studies of broadband use in the rural Midwest. Ali argues that rural broadband policy is both broken and incomplete: broken because it lacks coordinated federal leadership and incomplete because it fails to recognize the important roles of communities, cooperatives, and local providers in broadband access. For example, existing policies favor large telecommunication companies, crowding out smaller, nimbler providers. Lack of competition drives prices up—rural broadband can cost 37 percent more than urban broadband. The federal government subsidizes rural broadband by approximately $6 billion. Where does the money go? Ali proposes democratizing policy architecture for rural broadband, modeling it after the wiring of rural America for electricity and telephony. Subsidies should be equalized, not just going to big companies. The result would be a multistakeholder system, guided by thoughtful public policy and funded by public and private support.

Broadband Satellite Communications for Internet Access is a systems engineering methodology for satellite communication networks. It discusses the implementation of Internet applications that involve network design issues usually addressed in standard organizations. Various protocols for IP- and ATM-based networks are examined and a comparative performance evaluation of different alternatives is described. This methodology can be applied to similar evaluations over any other transport medium.

The internet has become so widespread that such issues as access, regulation and related policies have become major factors in the economy and social fabric of societies in every part of the world. Peoples without running water are demanding access to the internet and those without it are becoming deprived citizens. This new book examines current issues of interest to the blossoming area.

Contents: Introduction; Status of Broadband Deployment in the U.S.; Broadband in Rural Areas; Is Broadband Deployment Data Adequate?; Broadband and the Federal Role: The National Broadband Plan; Current Federal Broadband Programs: Rural Utilities Service Programs; The Universal Service Concept and the FCC: Universal Service and the Telecommunications Act of 1996; Universal Service and Broadband; Legislation in the 110th Congress; Legislation in the 111th Congress: P.L. 111-5: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; Other Broadband Legislation in the 111th Congress; Legislation in the 112th Congress; Concluding Observations. Tables. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find report.