Devices may use any of several methods to connect to these (and other kinds of) networks.
The sections below describe the different connection types commonly used on networks today.
The tower-to-tower communication on cellular networks also qualifies as a kind of fixed wireless broadband system.
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Issues
Fixed broadband installations are attached to one physical location and are not portable.
Satellite internetservices were created in the late 1990s and 2000s as a higher-speed alternative to the traditional dial-up internet.
The original cellular communication networks were too slow to support internet data traffic and were designed primarily for voice.
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However, with improvements in newer generations, satellite internet has become the leading mobile internet option for many.
Cellular networks use a variety of communication protocols within the4G and 5Gstandards families.
VPNs grew in popularity during the 1990s with the proliferation of the internet and high-speed networks.
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Microsoft Windows adoptedPoint to Point Tunneling Protocol(PPTP) as its primary VPN solution.
Other environments adopted theInternet Protocol security(IPsec) and Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) standards.
Virtual private networks require special setup on the client side.
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Connection configs vary across VPN types and must be correctly configured for the connection to function.
Dial-up networking was the primary form of internet access for homes in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Dial-up provides limited amounts ofnetwork bandwidth.
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Analog modems, for example, top out at maximum data rates of 56Kbps.
Dial-up has been replaced by broadband internet for home internet and is gradually being phased out in other usages.
Local networks (wired and wireless) became popular during the 2000s with the growth of home networking.
Universities and businesses utilized wired networks even earlier.
Most modern wired LANs utilize Ethernet while wireless local networks generally use Wi-Fi.
Older wired networks used Ethernet but also some alternatives, includingToken Ringand FDDI.
End-user terminals communicated with mainframe computers through dedicated serial lines.
Windows PCs also supported direct cable connections, often used to transfer files.
Making direct connections over longer distances is difficult.
