The one thing that appears to be missing is support for cable modem connections, which to date still far outnumber DSL connections.

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The next generation will go wireless, with built-in modem connections.

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For now, most consumers still use modem connections, Bisaillon says.

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Whether it's phone wire used for dial-up and digital subscriber lines (DSL), or the coaxial cables that carry cable modem connections, these connections are a bottleneck between the carrier's big pipes and your bandwidth-starved computer.

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What this means is that when we are using a 4G network, our data speeds will be faster than ever before and depending on which flavor of 4G you use, the data speeds you will experience will be faster than many DSL and cable modem wired connections.

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Once we made the right connections--connecting the DSL modem to the router, then the router to the PC--we opened a Web address that brought up a configuration window in the PC's Web browser.

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It's worth noting, though, that all of these PCs had broadband Internet connections--a dial-up modem would likely provide a far less mellifluous conversation.

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Jim Pickrell got into the Internet service provider business in 1995, back when dial-up connections ruled the day and a 56k modem was considered fast.

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As a bonus, SpeedNet's customers will be able to plug into the Internet at warp speed, using connections that are more than 100 times faster than a dial-up modem.

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The idea is to have base stations everywhere beaming Net connections at 2.4 megabits per second--faster than top cable modem speeds--so that people can be connected no matter if they are in the street, in a car or at a restaurant.

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