Sorry, a couple more questions.

What special items are required to set up a wireless printer and high speed internet? Anything? Like a router or something?

Also, Homer6 mentioned in a different thread that DSL internet through AT&T would have a splitter on my phone line (or something like that). Would the phone company have to access my phone box (lines into the house) to do that then? That would be a problem for me as my box is apparently behind some panelling.

Since I just recently set up a couple of wireless home networks and have one in my own house, I'll throw my 2 cents in. Yes, you will need a wireless router. There are many brands and models out there. The one I use for my own wireless network is a Linksys. I set mine up with a security protocol called WPA2 which requires a password the first time a computer or printer (or other peripheral) connects. I got a new wireless printer just before Christmas. All I had to do once the printer "found" my wireless router was to enter my password in the printer software on my computer. That was it.

As for as those "splitters" for DSL, they are called filters. You put one on each phone in the house, not on your box. They allow you to use the phone line for both phone calls and the internet without any interference between the two. This is what one looks like. DSL Filter

The question is splitter or filter, which does the phone service provider use?

A splitter is the device placed near or in the network interface, the telephone box on the back of your house, that separates the voice and DSL service. A filter is a device placed at every location where there is a phone jack with a phone. You can have a single or double filter, either one device plugs into the filter or two devices plug into the filter--the DSL modem and a phone, for instances.

Up until a few years ago, most homes were wired with a 2 pair inside wire (IW), which allowed two phone lines to enter a home. Today, a 6 pair IW is not unheard of.

When the splitter is placed in, or near, the network interface, the main phone line coming into the network interface is connected to the splitter. From the splitter the voice line is routed to one pair of the IW and the DSL service is routed to the second pair of the IW. This only works if the IW goes to one jack, and does not loop through the one jack to another or several others.

If the IW loops through one jack on it's way to other jacks then a filter has to be placed at each jack that has a phone attached.

Whether splitters or filters are used depends on how the phone provider has decided to provide DSL service. If the provider allows do it yourself DSL installation then you'll use filters. If they feel a tech should install the service then the tech will determine which will be used at the home. If the IW allows a splitter to be used, that's what will be used. In reality, the situation dictates whether a splitter or filter will be used.

Wow, thank you, Homer6! I've gotten about half a dozen elderly people (they're at least 10 years older than me, so that makes them elderly, right?!) set up their new DSL service. All the local phone company sent was the filters, so I assume splitters were not necessary on the phone service in town. One guy in his 80's had a phone in his basement rec room that was so ancient, I couldn't put a filter on it.

Splitters aren't necessary, it's just one way to separate the voice and DSL signals. Just as the filters you spoke of filter out the DSL signal so analog devices can work properly. BTW, only phone techs will install splitters because the splitter has to be placed on the tel co side of the network interface. Anyone but a tel co tech doing this might constitute a tariff violation.

I only know about splitters because the phone company I use placed a ADSL POTS 2 splitter in the new network interface they had to mount for my DSL service. Also, because it's what we use at work. Instead of a regular network interface, used for regular POTS service, we use a network interface with a built in splitter.

I did say something that was wrong, in my example of using filters. I said a DSL modem could be plugged into one side of a two port filter. That's way wrong. Any analog device can be plugged into the filter, not a DSL device.

I also said the second pair of a inside wire could be used for DSL if it didn't loop through any other phone jack. Technically this is incorrect because a double wall jack can be purchased and both pairs wired on the jack. However, looping the inside wire from jack to jack creates more connection where it is likely, over time, for them to fail. The last thing anyone wants is to be in the middle of a big download only to have one of these connections fail.

When we bought our current home, the inside wire was looped through all the jacks in the house. One of the things I did was to run individual inside wires to the garage, home run, and terminate all of them on a 66M1-50 pair punch down block.

All of the house inside wires are punched down on the left side of the block, including the inside wire coming from the network interface. I then went on the left side and punch down a continuous jumper from one inside wire to the next for our POTS.

I then punched down a jumper to the second pair in the inside wire from the network interface and ran it to the CAT 5 inside wire to our computer jack. The only thing left to do was place bridging clips and we had POTS and DSL going where we wanted.

Doing it this way requires only one inside wire from the network interface and allows any one inside wire to be isolated for testing. Also, each inside wire is labeled so there's no doubt where it runs.

Thank you Homer and Drac. I guess if I want to do AT&T DSL that I have to hope they use the filter then.

What is broadband? Is that something different from DSL and cable?

Broadband is a term used for both DSL and Cable.
From Wiki: The various forms of digital subscriber line (DSL) services are broadband in the sense that digital information is sent over a high-bandwidth channel. This channel is located above (i.e., at higher frequency than) the baseband voice channel on a single pair of wires.
Because of the different set of frequencies that are used (DSL and the regular phone line go through the same physical lines)- one for the phone line a higher one for the DSL part they can either split the signal off to another path or filter the signal to not pass through to devices that do not use the DSL frequencies.

I have DSL as well (Verizon at the start, now Frontier Communication) and when I ordered it they sent a package with the items I needed to hook up everything, the modem, software, filters and step by step instructions. I supplied my own router, I think I could have had them supply that as well but I do not remember if that was an option for sure anymore. It was pretty easy to set up.

DSL is considered to be the slowest of all the broadband connections but even so you will see a big boost in download and upload speeds from dial up.

Thanks RNL. Sometimes when I read the small print on the flyers from AT&T I worry that it wouldn't be any improvement at all. You know, they state something like: speeds may vary depending on your line or activity or some such thing.

I downloaded the 2011 Norton AV the other day. It was 300 something MB's and took almost 8 hours with my dial up. And just tonight in a different forum I was looking at some new game coming out. I clicked on a picture thinking it would enlarge but it was a you tube (is that what it's called? it doesn't sound right) video 2 1/2 minutes - it took 45 minutes for me to be able to watch it.

So, I am again getting serious about ditching the dial up. Mostly I stay away from videos and don't download anything I don't have to but I guess it is time!

Edit: Had 3.something MB's rather than 300 something. That would really be sloooww!

oldbroad, you will think you've died and gone to heaven! My friend who is in his late 70's and can make a dime squeak he's so tight with money, even got DSL 3 years ago. He said he could NEVER go back to dial-up! He finally bit the bullet and ordered a new computer Monday too - I just couldn't keep his 10 year-old working well anymore.

Go for it - you won't regret it!

Don’t you just hate all that legal stuff they have to add in to protect themselves!

No company I am aware of can guarantee the speed you can get at your house. It all depends on the conditions of the line(s) and equipment they use from their office to your house.

For instance the provider I have offers their customers High-Speed Internet that will be provisioned based on Frontier line qualification requirements (mumbo jumbo for not everyone can get some of the speeds we offer)

They will advertise the speeds inside the (. . . ) but what some people will actually get will most likely be slower more like the speeds at the front of each line. All of these are much quicker than dial up.

at 768 Kbps or up to 1 Mbps (1 Mbps service);
at 1.5 Mbps or up to 3 Mbps (3 Mbps service);
or at 5 Mbps or up to 7.1 Mbps (up to 7.1 Mbps service).

Maybe you will be one of the homes that get the maximum speeds too! I hope so.

I have only the first two options where I live because it is not profitable for them to upgrade the lines to give me the fastest service. I have the 3 Mbps service and have never come close to getting that speed due to the conditions of the line and other factors.

(Does that not drive home the point of how great the folks are here offering their help and knowledge to all of us that ask questions without asking for compensation? I know I learn a lot from reading in Gameboomers!)

In saying that I will mention that I am spoiled at work with a 100 Mbps connection and coming home to the service I have here can be frustrating at times until I remember just how I felt when we switched from dial up to DSL. The biggest benefit to me with the increased speeds is that it allows me a greater choice of what I need or want to do on the computer or away from it. I am not waiting on stuff to get done anymore such as files being downloaded as you mentioned, games are smoother thus giving one a more enjoyable experience with the game (online games that is), game trailers etc. . .

Mumbo Jumbo is right!

With all the stupid questions I ask here you'd think I haven't learned anything, but I have actually learned a lot reading this forum. Still, my learning only goes so far and then all that gets in my brain is blah, blah, blah. Some stuff I just don't get!

oldbroad, there is no such thing as a stupid question. Just a person seeking knowledge they lack.

Stupid is the person who replies to a question as though it is a stuipd question.

Thanks Homer6!

You're welcome.