Mark, I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the help in setting up my new office.
Cabled ADSL
Without doubt if you can get a cabled alternative for your French ADSL, whether it’s a Livebox with Orange, a Neufbox with SFR…, it’s by far the best option. Whatever their problems, they are faster, cheaper, and believe it or not (all of you currently cursing your ADSL box), much more reliable!
You have a choice of supplier which is sometimes affected by your region. So I suggest that you find out what choices you have and then it will come down to cost, and the speed of the connection. One thing to bear in mind, if you have a dodgy phone line (crackling, cutting out etc), you can expect a poor internet connection, if your line regularly drops out, then you can expect the same from your ADSL.
Wi-Fi or Wi-Max
A "wireless connection" seems to be a much sought after thing these days, everyone seems to want to use Wi-Fi. From the point of view of hiding wires and untidy desks I can understand it, after all what’s the point of having a portable, go anywhere Laptop if you’ve got be connected to a wall all the time for your internet right? Okay, I agree with that point, but… from the point of view of an internet or network connection, Wi-Fi is still a poor cousin to an old fashioned solid, secure cabled connection, both from the point of view of security and connectivity. Compared with a cabled connection, a wireless connection of any type is inherently problematic. They drop connections, they can be affected by other wireless devices, they work today, and suddenly for five minutes tomorrow they just won’t do the business; and that is in the relatively controlled environment of an office or a house.
Yes I know I’m a little negative about this option and given the benefits to some people that the technology brings, I shouldn’t be, but I do also have some concerns about the ugly great masts they are putting up and also, to be honest the health issues of living in a "wireless age". A Wi-Fi or a Wi-Max connection isn’t normally readily available. This is the system that smaller communes are introducing to service the very rural areas. It involves a network of antennas scattered around the commune to supply the signal. The plus side to this system is that is has enabled many homes to receive a higher speed internet connection, that probably won’t receive the cabled alternative for a very long time. The costs are usually quite high, in the region of €300 – €400 for the installation and the equipment. Your download speeds won’t touch the cabled alternative, and you need to check whether there’s a quota on the amount that you can download and upload.
