Off-Campus Connection

At this time, the University of South Carolina does not offer dial-up or high-speed Internet access nor does it endorse any vendors who may provide dial-up or high-speed Internet access services. If you live off campus, you must provide your own Internet access. The University of South Carolina does offer a Virtual Private Network (VPN) client that allows you to “tunnel” all of your traffic through your dial-up or high-speed ISP. This will allow you to access USC resources (not available via just regular Internet access) over an encrypted and authenticated link.

• Dial-up Internet Access from Home
• High-Speed Internet Access from Home

Dial-up Internet Access from Home

Dial-up Internet service is the most basic of available Internet access services. Dial-up access refers to connecting a device to a network via a modem and a public telephone network. Dial-up access is similar to a phone connection, except that the parties at the two ends are computer devices. Because dial-up access uses normal telephone lines, the quality of the connection is not always good and data rates are limited.

In addition to obtaining local dial-up service, many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) also provide local dial-up numbers, nationwide, for travelers. Through this, users can continue to use the modem/computer from home or while traveling.

High-Speed Internet Access from Home

Today's home Internet users are increasingly choosing DSL or cable modem access rather than dialup access over a phone line. That choice is being made for many reasons, including noticeably faster Internet service, an "always-on" Internet connection, and access to graphic, video and sound resources not easily available over a dial-up connection.

Benefits of High-Speed (Broadband) Internet Access

• Access to an ‘always-on’ Internet connection
• No dialing-in or busy signals
• Your phone line stays free and no dropped connections
• Quick and easy Internet access (typically, 50 times faster than dial-up connections)
• Quicker download speeds and streaming audio/video

• DSL: Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a broadband Internet service that is delivered right through your regular phone line and is often supplied by your local telephone company. Although it uses your phone lines, it does not interfere with the telephone, caller id, answering machine, or other phone equipment. It is typically available in speeds from 144Kb to 3Mb, but even faster speeds are available from some providers. There are two types of DSL:
  
  • aDSL: This is common for residential use. With Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), you can download (receive) data much faster than it can upload (send) data. Typical internet surfing mainly involves downloading data from web servers, so this asymmetry works out fine for home use. Plus this asymmetry often allows for large cost savings.
  • sDSL: With SDSL you get the same bandwidth (speed) in each direction. Although it is typically much more expensive than ADSL, it is better if you are running a web server or conducting other activities which would require a lot of data to be sent. This is used primarily for businesses.
   
• Cable : Cable Internet access is generally offered by the same companies that provide cable TV. It works on the same coaxial cable that the TV signal comes in on, but doesn't affect your TV signal. Therefore you can use the Internet and watch TV at the same time. Since you are sharing the network segment with other users, there can be security risks with cable modems. Please refer to your provide for additional information.