Netzero Vs. AT&T Internet Service

AT&T; offers DSL, or Digital Subscriber Line, available in megabytes which hold more data than kilobytes. While 10 kilobytes, for example, equal a single encyclopedia page, 10 megabytes equal an entire chest X-ray. People interchangeably refer to DSL as high-speed Internet. AT&T; offers speeds up to 6 Mbps.

NetZero offers dial up and DSL. The FCC limits how much electric power transmits analog signals over phone lines to avoid "cross talk." That limits dial-up Internet to 56K, making it significantly slower than DSL. However, NetZero's monthly subscription rates run lower than AT&T; DSL and NetZero offers limited, free dial up. Like AT&T;, NetZero DSL offers speeds up to 6 Mbps.

Windows systems that work on AT&T; include: 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7. Each need a 32 bit operating system. Windows 2000 and XP also require a Pentium processor, 266 MHz or higher, CD-ROM drive, 125MB of free disk space, 64MB RAM (AT&T; recommends 128MB), a standard video display adapter and audio output capability. Vista and Windows 7 require 1GB of RAM. Mac OS X v. 10.3 Panther and Mac OS X v. 10.4 Tiger and above work with AT&T; DSL. Mac OS X v. 10.3 Panther requires a Power PC G3, G4 or G5, CD-ROM or DVD drive. 100MB of free disk space, 64MB of RAM (128 recommended), a standard video display adapter, and audio output capability. Mac OS X v. 10.4 Tiger and above require 1 GB of RAM.

NetZero dial-up service works on Macs and PCs; however, the minimum system requirements for the Mac 09 version are a power PC 601 processor with 32 bits of RAM, 12 megabytes of free disk space and a 28.8 K modem. Mac OS X requires a 333 MHz G3 processor, 128MB of RAM, 12MB of free space and a 28.K modem. NetZero currently supports the following Windows systems: 95, 98, ME, 2000, Windows NT4, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

AT&T;'s DSL Internet, like NetZero's DSL transmits data over phone lines in businesses or at home. DSL utilizes the unused bandwidth of existing phone lines, a separate lines are not needed. Unlike NetZero's dial up, AT&T;'s phone lines use digital connection which does not have the 56K analog limit.

Like AT&T; DSL, NetZero dial-up Internet requires a phone line. Users have an active home phone line or land line. A set of protocol and software connect your computer to an ISP, or Internet Service Provider, via the phone line and interface with the modem.