internet speed
High Speed Internet
Vocabulary
| pipe | make do | fiber optic |
| fiber | get going | civil engineer |
| air | break off | blow/blew/blown |
| era | hook up | bring/brought |
| rural | area (2) | conduct (2) |
| region | provide | power plant |
| cable | forefront | per second |
| skip | superior | voluntarily |
| copper | transmit | involuntarily |
| IT | quantum | lightening |
| trick | cut costs | Stone Age |
| patient | regional | head office |
| achieve | take ages | worldwide |
| cellular | transfer | period (2) |
| trench | hands-on | conference |
| local | navigate | branch (2) |
| load | desperate |
Video
Transcript
Installing Fiber Optic Cables
Things are finally getting going in Romerberg. Here in the town in Rhineland Pfaltz, workers dig a trench 60 cm deep to lay these speed pipes. They are used to make fiber optic networks, and they can transport huge quantities of data quickly.
Lamakaden Said, Civil Engineer: “Each house gets it’s own connection. So each house has it’s own color: Mr. Schmidt. Mr. Muller. Mr. Hans. Ismail. There are foreigners here too,”
Journalist: “But the fiber optic cable isn’t in there.”
Lamakaden Said: “No, it’s not in there yet. It will be blown in using air pressure from the main station around 500 meters from here.”
Telephone Communications
In some streets in Romerberg the internet speed is just one Megabit per second.
For the employees of Telefunken Communications, that’s the Stone Age of the internet era.
But that’s an opportunity of the firm which specializes in bringing fiber optic cable with a data transfer rate of up to 150 Mb per second to rural areas.
Telefunken is here to save the day.
Hardy Heine, Telefunken Communications: “There’s no cable network, no regional telecommunications provider. Basically we’re the only ones offering citizens a quantum jump in quality with superior products.
We’re skipping entire generations of broadband speeds in offering over 50 Mb per second.”
Romerberg will soon be at the technological forefront in Germany, where is 14% of homes that has high-speed internet connections.
Rural Areas
Many rural communities find themselves involuntarily offline.
While people can access the internet on copper telephone lines or cellular networks, these alternatives aren’t enough.
That’s a big problem for mid-sized companies located outside of major cities.
Engineering Firm
Business is going digital says Ekkehard Kuenle, head of IT for engineering firm IPM Deutschland.
Ekkehard Kuenle, Head of IT for Engineering Firm IPM Deutschland: “We’re waiting for a fiber optic hook up so we can make quick connections when it comes to data communications technology. We’ve been desperate for fast broadband for years.”
Until now the company’s had to make do with a internet speed of 10 Mb per second, and even that’s only achieved by employing technical tricks which cost the firm 800 euros a month.
IMP develops software used for processes management for places like power plants.
Colleagues
The firm has 400 employees worldwide.
Colleagues at the head office have learned to be patient.
Connections to the construction sites and colleagues in the US or Africa frequently break off.
Transfer Data
And uploading or downloading data can take ages.
With fiber-optic cable, their internet speed should be five times as fast.
“We have the ability to transfer very large amounts of data in very short periods of time. We can transmit images and cut costs, for example, by replacing flights to branch offices through video conferencing.
Ufuk Uzun, Engineer: “Especially when people are in constructions sites and we must send them large files, or if they have computer problems and need an ISO image file that’s several gigabits in size. If you have to send that using FTP, it’s better at high speeds. It saves time and trouble for people on sites.”
Schools
Many educational institutions require students to be online.
At the local school, sixth graders are learning to navigate the net. Two hours a week, they get hands-on training, do research and use the internet safely.
But how can they do that if pictures and videos simply won’t load?
Journalist: “Why isn’t it working? Is your internet at home quicker than here?”
Student: “Yes. A 100 times.”
Journalist: “Then you’re not from Romerberg?”
Student: “No I’m from Schwier.”
Journalist: “And you have high speed internet?”
Student: “Yes…finally.”
Romerberg vs Offenbach
Conducting online research here is almost impossible . . . until June when Lankadan Said and his colleagues will have connected Romerberg with the fiber optic network.
Lankadan Said, Civil Engineer: “I come from Offenbach. We’re a bit further ahead.”
Journalist: “But with the fiber optic cable, Romerburg will be on top?”
“Absolutely. This is the fastest cable around.”
But it would cost between 60 to 80 billion euros for people all across Germany to be able to surf the internet at such lightening speed.
Questions
1. It’s cheap and easy to install fiber optic cables. True or false?
2. Does each house has its own cable in a different color?
3. High-speed internet installing companies have lots of opportunities for business and growth. Is this right or wrong?
5. Do bigger cities have faster internet connection than rural areas?
6. The engineering company have problems. Is this correct or incorrect? Why does it have problems?
7. How does fast internet help business and save money?
8. What does the student say about the internet at school?
9. Describe Romerberg’s internet story.
10. Will it be cheap and easy for Germany to upgrade their internet to high-speed?
A. Do you have fast, slow or medium-speed internet? Is you internet fast, slow or medium-speed? Does your friend have fast or slow or medium-speed internet?
B. Describe your internet type. What type of internet do you have?
C. I feel frustrated with slow or poor quality internet. True or false?
D. What are the different costs or internet subscription rates?
E. What will happen in the future?
