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Once you have your broadband service installed, one of the things you will want to look at is email.
For outbound email it is very easy. Simply configure your email client to use the email server as specified by your service supplier and it will go as soon as you send it. You may want to configure your client to wait before sending the message. There is usually an option "Send mail immediately" which you should unselect. The email will be sent next time the email client checks for new email.

However for inbound email you have a number of options, depending on how complex you want to be and what you were using before.

Ex Dial Up Users (Individual Email Account)

1. Use the broadband provider's email address.
   If you are quite happy to change email address then use the address(es) that the broadband provider has supplied. You will need to tell everyone that you have changed addresses. Your previous ISP may allow you to put a forwarder or automatic message on your account to tell everyone. You could also use third party email monitoring software (see below) and retain your previous account. This is useful if you are likely to need access from elsewhere and your cable modem provider doesn't provide dial up access. It also can act as a backup Internet access in case of service failure. However this option will depend on a number of factors, including the issue of paying for the the account.
2. Continue to use your existing ISP address for email.
   This option is probably what you will do initially anyway while you change ISPs. Depending on your own ISP, you might be able to collect your email from this account over the broadband connection using an option called POP3. You should check your existing ISP's web site for information on using this service.
3. Use a web email account.
   You probably have one of these already. Nice idea but it can look a bit naff especially when you can use a proper email client. However if you already have an account and don't want to stop using it then use a third party monitoring tool (see below) to keep an eye on the account over your broadband connection and you will know when there is an email waiting for you.
4. Register a domain name and use a forwarding service.
   If you are well prepared (and if not this would be a good opportunity to do so), you could be using a registered domain name as your email address. Most domain name registrars have an email forwarding option that will redirect all of your email to another address that you specify. If you were already using one of these services just change the forwarded to address. This is probably one of the best options for an ex Dial up user.
   One such registrar that we have had considerable success with is http://www.wittyweb.net/
   If you decide to register your own domain, then there are other things that you can do with it. We have collected some examples here.

Ex Mail Server Users (Multiple Email Accounts)

If you were using a local email server on your own network and dealing with multiple email addresses and multiple users, then you have further options. Those above are not suitable.
These options apply if you were using something like Microsoft Exchange. If it was simply a case of each member of your family had an email address, then the options above continue to apply.

1. Continue to use your existing ISP for email.
   If you have a domain name registered with your ISP it can be pain to move it. Hosting a name server may not be allowed by your service provider. One of the simplest options to continue to use a previous setup with a modem. Configure your email server to send email directly or via your ISP's servers and outbound email will go immediately.
2. Use a Dynamic DNS solution.
   This can be one of the most complex solutions, but once running is one of the best. It is strongly advised to use a firewall with this solution so that you have some kind of protection. It can be used with the above dial up solution at the same time.
   Basically you sign up with one of the free dynamic DNS providers and use a wildcard facility on the domain name forwarding to send email directly to your server. You will have to configure the firewall to allow SMTP connections through.
   A dynamic DNS solution has many key points to consider. More information is available on the dedicated page.

Monitoring Multiple Accounts and Web Email Accounts

One of the best things about a broadband connection is that you are permanently online. This means you can monitor other accounts for new email. This could be accounts with other ISPs or web mail accounts like Hotmail or Yahoo.
The drawback with web mail accounts is that you must refresh the page to see if you have new email. A number of software solutions are now starting to become available as more people get permanent internet access. Google's directory has an entire section dedicated to these products at http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Internet/Clients/Mail/Windows/Tools/Notification/ 

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