It is estimated that more than 4 billion people are now using the internet. Internet users come from all over the globe and make up all demographics. People use the internet for work, personal endeavors such as social networking and shopping, research, and much more. The internet has basically become a part of our everyday lives. In order to access internet, you need to have the right technology, including the connection speed technology. Internet access speed is a measurement of how fast data can be transferred from the Internet to a connected computer. There are different types of internet connections available to home users and businesses. These internet connections have different speeds. The speed that you select will depend on your personal internet needs. Below is a list of the different internet connection types and their internet access speeds.

Dial-Up Connections: A dial-up connection is the slowest speed of internet access. Users connect to the internet using a 56k modem. The PC dials a phone number provided by the internet service provider. A standard 56k modem can transfer 56 Kilobits of data a second. This means it would take about 7 seconds for the web page to completely load. Speed will vary from 2400 bps to 56 Kbps

Cable Connections: This is one of the more popular types of internet connections available to the home user. Cable companies usually offer different packages that offer different speed specifications and bandwidth limits. The speed varies from 512 Kbps to 20 Mbps. You must have an existing cable access.

Integrated Services Digital Network ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network is a high-speed communications network which combines voice, data and video into single cables. A dedicated telephone line and router required. The speed varies from 64 Kbps to 128 Kbps. 56K ISDN is much faster than a 56K dialup line. ISDN is beginning to fade out because there are more inexpensive and faster internet access alternatives.

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscribers Line): These ADSL connections work by splitting the phone line into two separate channels, one for the phone and one for the internet. ADSL connection services are available in different speed specifications such as 256Kbps/128Kbps, 512Kbps/128Kbps, 1Mbps/256Kbps, 2Mbps/512Kbps, and 8Mbps/1024Kbps. The first figure is the download speed and the second figure is the maximum upload speed. For instance: 1Mbps download speed means it takes about is about 0.39 seconds to view the web page.

Wireless Internet: Internet service providers offer networks built around wireless networking. Access is gained by connection to a high speed cellular like local multi-point communications system (LMCS) network via wireless transmitter/receiver. The speed is 30 Mbps or more. It can be used for high speed data, broadcast TV, and wireless telephone service.

A precise internet access speed cannot be guaranteed because depending on the technology, there are many factors can affect speed, depending on technology. As well, there are times that the internet connection will be slow, no matter how fast the internet connection. When choosing the internet speed that will suit your needs, it is important to determine what you will be using it for and if it is important that you gain access quickly.