text: broadband access - do i need to have a standard modem installed first?   no. when you sign up for an account most will provide you free of charge (except for the ts&cs clauses with regards to cancelation) a usb adsl or cable modem for connection to the broadband service. if possible though, get a broadband router. this connects to your pc via a lan port (rj45 socket) so you will need to make sure your pc has one and it has a built in broadband (adsl or cable) modem. why is this better ? because it should have a built in firewall. this will mean you won't have to worry about installing one on each device you connect up and it frees resources on the pc.