Category: TV


TV and internet services

Filed Under: Broadband, Broadband Deals, Compare Broadband Providers, TV by admin — Leave a comment
February 20, 2012

Nowadays TV package deals that combine digital television services with the internet are becoming popular. One reason for this is that is save money, and another is that with digital TV the differentiation between TV and the internet is become more fuzzy, for instance many TV services are provided over the internet.

These services are provided either by cable or satellite. When TV is received by satellite, internet access is provided over a standard copper telephone line, though when TV is received by fibre optic cable, internet access can also be provided via the fibre optic cable network. The advantage is the latter is improved speeds and quality of service.

Independent of the way that internet services are provided, the hardware that interfaces with either the telephone line or the optical cable network is called a router, and it is the router that connects every device on the network to each other and to the internet.

In the early days of home networks and the internet it was necessary for all the computers in the network to be linked by cables. This was awkward to say the least, and not very versatile. Then along came wireless internet or Wi-Fi as it is generally called, and all those cables suddenly became unnecessary.

The router communicates with every device in the network (for instance desktop computers, printers, scanners, laptops, tablet computers, game consoles, and smartphones), via radio signals. The frequency of the radio waves is such that it is possible for devices to communicate even through walls and ceilings. Typically Wi-Fi has a maximum range of around 30 meters, though the signal is attenuated when it has to pass through walls, which can reduce the range.

Although Wi-Fi is reasonably secure, it is not totally so. In its early days security relied on an encryption standard called WEP or wired equivalent privacy, however it failed to live up to its name and it proved possible to determine the encryption key by eavesdropping on the network.  Security was improved by the introduction of WPA and WPA2, though WPA is no longer considered to be secure.

When you use a wireless router it is important that you set up the security properly. Some routers allow you to change the password, whilst others have a password that is set by the internet supplier. Never use a wireless router that is not password protected.

 

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Why do you need broadband?

Filed Under: Broadband, Broadband Deals, Sustainability, TV by admin — Leave a comment
October 28, 2011

Do you like getting on the internet, and downloading information as quickly as possible? For example, do you download or stream music? Do you watch videos on websites such as YouTube? Do you like to watch movies that stream on any of the various websites across the internet? Do you like to play online video games, while you chat with other game players?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions or to all of these questions, then you already understand why you need internet service that will be able to give you the speed that you need to accomplish all of these functions. What you need is broadband internet service. You can easily obtain broadband internet service through great cable and internet bundles that are commonly being offered. Cable companies offer broadband internet technology via their cable lines. While you can purchase cable and internet separately, it’s much more cost efficient for you to buy these packages together.

The fact is that bundling works to your advantage, and bundling cheap cable and internet packages works to the advantage of cable providers as well. When people are given the choice to order products individually, they will tend to skip over certain products in order to save money. On the other hand, when customers are offered cheap cable and internet packages, they feel that they can gain more for their money. People always love a great deal, and they want to be able to receive internet packages at a great price while at the same time, saving money.

Older technologies such as dial up internet service are almost extinct. This is because cable providers offer a far more superior level of internet technology at a very affordable price. Most people have at least a cheap cable package in their homes anyway. It would only make sense for them to purchase broadband internet along with their cable service. They can pay for both services on one convenient bill. They can call the same company to offer tech support for their internet as they would for their cable. It’s just common sense that a customer would rather pay for cable and internet bundles, instead of paying for older technology.

Many phone companies are trying to compete with the cable companies by creating bundled packages of their own. However, phone companies can only offer DSL or satellite internet service. DSL is an older technology, and its download and speed times aren’t as fast as broadband service. Satellite internet can be unreliable at times, depending upon weather patterns. On the other hand, broadband internet service runs underground with the cable lines. This form of internet service is a lot more stable, and is a lot more secure.

Cable and internet bundles are excellent choices for those who need broadband service and at the same time, want to save money when they are purchasing these.

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Virgin Media rings up one million mobile contracts

Filed Under: just for fun, TV by admin — Leave a comment
May 4, 2010

Virgin Media today announced it has reached one million mobile contract customers. Virgin Media has increased the number of customers signing up to a mobile contract by more than 40% in the past 12 months, thanks to a range of competitive tariffs, high-end handsets and some exclusive benefits for Virgin Media customers.

Graeme Oxby, executive director of mobile and home phone at Virgin Media said: “We’re delighted to have reached the one million milestone as we continue to build on our unique ‘quad-play’ line-up of mobile, broadband, TV and home phone. With market-leading mobile tariffs, built on simplicity and flexibility, exciting new handsets and outstanding value for money across all of our bundles, more of our customers are choosing to take more services with Virgin Media and are making the most of the digital world.”

Virgin Media recently launched a range of new, high-end handsets, including the LG InTouch Max, HTC Desire, BlackBerry Bold 9700 and Nokia X6. Alongside a relaunched mobile portal with instant access to Twitter, Facebook, Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger and virginmedia.com, this range of high-end data-enabled smartphones, has helped the company drive mobile data usage as more Virgin Media customers enjoy the best of the mobile web.

Mobile from Virgin Media has built on its pre-pay, value-for-money heritage to offer a range of compelling contract tariffs, including unlimited texts and unlimited web access from just £20 per month. To support the company’s quad-play strategy, customers who also take broadband, TV or home phone services with Virgin Media can take advantage of exclusive benefits and savings, such as a choice of high-end handsets for less, additional minutes to other Virgin Mobile phones or even unlimited Virgin Mobile to Virgin Mobile calls, all available on selected tariffs*.

Recognising the growing number of customers taking all four services, Virgin Media has introduced free calls from Virgin home phones to Virgin Mobiles, a first in the UK. In the first fortnight of this innovative new offer, Virgin Media customers made over 70,000 hours of calls, collectively saving in excess of £100,000 each week.

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