At home and at the office, we rely on the internet for many aspects of our daily lives and work.

But how much do you really know about the internet?

Here are the basics, with a few surprising and interesting facts thrown in, so you can be the “internet geek” at your next dinner party!

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

• LTE

Long Term Evolution is the technology behind mobile 4G networks. When the mobile network is faster and more stable than a normal 4G network, LTE speeds are reached. LTE is as stable and reliable as an average fixed-line connection, depending on your coverage, making it an affordable alternative to ADSL or fibre. 

• Wireless

Using wi-fi, your modem connects to the internet via a cable or wired connection to access the internet. Your router is connected to your modem, and sends out radio waves through its antennas to your device, allowing it to access to the internet via a built-in wireless adapter. 

• Fiber

Fiber provides internet access using fiber-optic cable rather than traditional copper cable. Each strand of fiber cable transmits data using pulses of light that travel at almost the speed of light. 

Once these pulses reach their destination they are converted into electrical output that your devices can use via an optical network terminal, which then sends the signal through an Ethernet connection to the user.

DID YOU KNOW: Google handles more than 40,000 searches per second

HOW IS INTERNET SPEED MEASURED?

Internet speed is measured in bits per second.

• 1 Kbps (kilobitsper second) = 1,000 bits per second.
• 1 Mbps (megabit per second) = 1 million bits per second.
• 1 Gbps (gigabit per second) = 1 billion bits per second.

Traditional dial-up typically offers speed of around 64 kilobits per second (Kbps), or 64 thousand bps. Broadband speeds are also measured in bps, with typical speeds of 50 megabits per second (Mbps), or 50 million bps, while fiber connections can be as fast as 10 gigabits per second (Gbps), or 10 billion bps.

DID YOU KNOW: There are 198.4 million active websites on the web

 

WHAT IS AN INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP)?

An ISP is a company that provides internet access to businesses and consumers. Depending on where you live, you typically have a choice of ISPs. ISP’s usually also provide email services, domain registration and web hosting. 

WHAT IS A URL?

A URL (uniform resource locator) is used to identify websites on the internet. Sites begin with the prefix “http://” while next set of letters refers to a server: “www” for example. 

The domain name follows the server, and indicates who the site belongs to. Finally an extension identifies the type or location of the site – including “.co.za” for South Africa, or “.org” for a nonprofit site.

Here are some of the most popular domains:

• .com – 148.7 million domains
• .net – 13.4 million 
• .uk – 11.8 million 
• .org – 10.1 million 
• .ru – 5.7 million domains
  
  

DID YOU KNOW: There are 4.2 billion active social media users

WHAT KIND OF INTERNET CONNECTION IS BEST FOR ME?

With so many options, it’s best to talk to an expert about your connectivity needs. Knowing what your business really needs is the most important things you can do. 

At BahatiGroup, we offer many types of internet solutions ranging from LTE, Wireless internet, Microwave internet and high-speed Fibre.