By Adam White
Broadband is fast and makes surfing the internet so much easier. If you don’t use broadband then you should. Take a look at what broadband is and how it works.
The American Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines a broadband service as “data transmission speeds exceeding 200 kilobits per second (Kbps), or 200,000 bits per second, in at least one direction: downstream or upstream.” Broadband normally refers to a high-speed internet connection.
A downstream internet connection is when content is sent from the Internet to the user’s computer and upstream is the opposite – content being sent from the user’s computer to the Internet.
If you have ever surfed the net using a dial up internet connection and then tried out broadband, as I have, you will be blown away at the quickness of downloads.
This happens because broadband provides data transmission at a higher speed thus allowing more data to be carried through the channel.
High speed internet connection allows you access to the new internet services, like other interactive services, streaming media, VoIP phone. Many of these new technologies need to move huge quantities of data which was unable to happen with dial-up service.
Therefore, a broadband service will be increasingly necessary to use the entire range of services and opportunities that the Internet offers.
A bonus with broadband is that it does not tie up your phone line and there is no need to reconnect to network after logging off.
Broadband encompasses several different technologies. These include Satellite; Fiber; Wireless; Cable Modem; Digital Subscriber Line (DSL); Broadband over Powerlines (BPL).
Which broadband technology you decide on will depend on several issues. Including availability; how the broadband is packaged with other services (such as voice telephone and home entertainment); cost; whether you reside in an urban or rural community.
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) refers to a technology that delivers data over your copper telephone lines already installed at your house. It is quicker then a dial-up service but it’s speed and availability will depend on the distance of your exchange from your house.
DSL encompases Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) which generally provides faster speedin the downstream direction than the upstream direction.
Cable Modem uses the same coaxial cables that delivers pictures and sound to your television.
Subscribers can use their cable modem and still watch cable television at the same time. Data speeds vary depending on the traffic load; type of cable modem; cable network but are similar to DSL.
Fiber technology changes electrical signals that carry data into light. It then sends this light through transparent glass fibers about the thickness of a human hair.
Fiber optic technology delivers data at ten to one hundred times faster than DSL or cable.
Wireless broadband connects your computer to the internet using a radio link between an external antenna on your homeand the service provider’s facility. Wireless broadband can be mobile or fixed. Speeds are generally similar to DSL and cable modem.
Satellite broadband is another type of wireless broadband. The speed of data transfer is generally not as fast as DSL and cable modem but 10 time quicker than dial-up.
Broadband over Powerline (BPL) is the delivery of the internet over your existing low and medium voltage electric power distribution network. The delivery speeds of BPL are similar to DSL and cable modem.
With You in Technology,
Adam White
About the Author
Adam White creates easy to read articles on VoIP Glossary and Voice over IP Phone at www.Discover-VoIP.info.