The Internet

The internet is a connected set of networks that uses the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) standard. The internet is used for many purposes such as:

• Accessing information like the news, weather reports, sport scores and education material.

• Communication

• Services such as sending messages, banking, online shopping, playing games and listening to music.

There are three basic types of connections to the internet:

• direct connection — connected through a Local Area Network (LAN) and users are not required to dial-in instead files are stored on the computer and response time is fast.

• Dial-up connection — requires a modem and telephone line although this is much slower and less reliable.

• Broadband connection — uses a higher bandwidth, not required to dial-in and the internet is available all the time.

There are many internet service providers (ISP’s) in Australia. Some include Telstra, Optusnet, and Sky Fibre.