A Network Address Translator can cure many of the access problems you may have with your home broadband connectivity through the process of multiplexing. This simple, affordable solution can mean the difference between effective in-home networking, and being bogged down with broadband restrictions.

You work from home and have a computer network, your own little LAN for you and the kids. Great. You get your work done, your spouse gets connectivity and the kids get their schoolwork done in record time on their own computers. And all of you can work, study, instant-message your friends or surf the Web from anywhere in the house, or even out by the pool. All this is thanks to your wireless connection to your broadband Internet service.

There’s one little problem…your broadband provider will supply you only a single Internet address, and it wants to charge you for each additional address, or, worse yet, there are no more addresses available right now. Only one computer can connect to the Net at a time. Oops.

“What do I do now?” you say. “Go back to a dial-up connection? Go back to a snail’s-pace link?” (Can you hear the kids now?) “Nooooooooo!”

Fear not, dear modern homeowner and connected parent, there’s a simple, and affordable solution. It’s called NAT, Network Address Translation, and not only will it allow your family simultaneous connectivity to the Net via that single Internet address, it will provide a little more security as well.

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