10 ways to connect to the Internet

Posted on 17 Aug 2009 at 10:41

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Simon Edwards explains how to get an internet connection wherever you are, whether it's a London town house, temporary student digs or a hut in the Hebrides.

Imagine not being able to access the internet. Does the very thought bring your palms out in a cold sweat? Could you even manage your work or home life for long without a working web browser? Access to the internet is incredibly important for most people in the UK today. The Prime Minister himself stated recently that "a fast internet connection is seen by most of the public as an essential service, as indispensable as electricity, gas and water". Whether or not you value your internet time equally with drinkable water and the ability to cook a meal, the fact remains that we'd be lost without a regular method of connecting to the global network.

Reasonably fast internet services are available to most of us but, according to the government's Digital Britain report, which was released in June 2009, one in 10 UK homes "cannot enjoy a 2Mbit/s connection". So while most people should be able to subscribe to a fast ADSL service, a few will be grinding along in the slow lane.

In this article, we'll be exploring 10 ways to connect to the internet using a PC. We'll look at what you need to achieve each connection, as well as how much each option costs. As we'll discover, you may have to spend a lot to obtain even a very slow connection in some places, and yet a lucky few can benefit from very cheap, fast access all the time. Furthermore, you may be surprised to learn that certain mobile internet services could challenge more traditional ways of connecting.

Author: Simon Edwards

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