Basic Questions on Broadband
Basic Questions on Broadband
What is Broadband?
In general, broadband refers to a wide band of frequencies available to carry data. By using this wide band of frequencies more data can be transmitted in a given amount of time.
Actually, the term "broadband" is always relative. The more the bandwidth in a given connection, the more information can be carried between the communicating parties. In practice, however, the term applies to networks having bandwidths significantly greater than that found in telephony networks. Connections that are higher than the common standards and that can handle demanding applications like streaming video or multimedia are referred as "Broadband connections". Because of its vast data carriage capacity, broadband Internet allows a new set of possible applications online.
Due to technological limits, broadband connections were almost exlusive to special cables (cable internet, fiberoptics) or special usage of existing cables (DSL). However, with the recent innovations in wireless communication, this constraint does not exist anymore.
What are the advantages of broadband?
The advantages of a broadband Internet connection are twofold. First, regular web-surfing, e-mail checking or downloading is significantly faster with a broadband connection. This lowers the waiting time for the Internet user and increases the efficiency of the Internet usage. Websites get more and more loaded with multimedia content, because the traditional HTML-only websites are not flexible enough. Increased multimedia content and interactivity cause a dramatic increase in the incoming and outgoing traffic rates. Moreover, as technology gets more and more advanced, users lose their patience for "World Wide Wait".
Second, the broadband Internet connection allows some applications that were previously not possible at all. The ultimate idea is to replace all mediums of communication with Internet connectivity. Check the Trends in Broadband page for the future applications.
What are the available broadband Internet standards?
The breakdown of broadband technologies in December 2005 is as follows:
o DSL: 62%
o Cable modem: 31%
o Other technologies (e.g. satellite, fiber and fixed wireless: 7%