What Is Broadband?

Date First Published: 6th April 2022

Topic: Computer Networking

Subtopic: Data Transmission Technologies

Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 2/10

Learn more about what broadband is in this article.

Broadband, also known as wideband, is a telecommunications technology that provides high-speed data transmission through physical wires that run underground and under the oceans. The physical wires may include fibre optic, twisted-pair, or coaxial. It can also be transmitted through a wireless connection, such as a cellular network.

Broadband uses multiple channels of digital signals and information can be multiplexed, enabling more information to be transmitted at a given period of time. Broadband is an alternative to dial-up connection as it is much faster, enabling downloads to be completed quicker, webpages to load quicker, and videos to be watched over the internet quicker. Dial-up connections can only connect after dialling a number and connecting to another computer, whilst broadband always stays connected.

Using a wired or wireless connection, devices connect to broadband. This requires a router, which is purchased from an ISP. This router enables devices to connect to the internet. Devices connect to the router once it is connected to the internet and the router broadcasts the messages to other devices. Wired connections often include a Cat 5 Ethernet cable and wireless connections are available for wireless routers that are set up with a known SSID. Devices with Wi-Fi capabilities can connect to the SSID of the router.

Note:

Do not confuse the terms 'Wi-Fi' and 'broadband'. Wi-Fi is a wireless technology used for connecting nearby devices to a wireless router through radio signals. Broadband refers to any high-speed data transmission connection, which both includes wired and wireless technologies listed below.

Broadband Contracts

Often, people get broadband from broadband providers, such as Virgin Media. They pay a monthly or yearly fee for their broadband and the average broadband cost cannot be listed here as it depends on the broadband provider and the features that they offer. When applying to a broadband provider, the customer gets a broadband contract, which is an agreement between the customer and the broadband provider that allows them to use the internet. The broadband provider is responsible for any hardware, such as the router. If people want to cancel their broadband contract, they can do this free of charge if they wait until it has ended. Most broadband contracts last for 12, 18, or 24 months, or they can cancel it early. Cancelling a broadband contract early almost always costs money and there is no single cost to cancel a broadband contract early. The cost depends on the broadband provider.

Wired Broadband Technologies

Any technology that uses wires to connect is known as a wired technology. These are less modern than wireless technologies, but are still used today. Below is a list of wired broadband technologies.

Cable Internet

This wired broadband technology uses the infrastructure of a cable TV network to provide internet services. It offers high-speed internet access over exactly the same lines used for cable TV. Because it uses an asymmetrical connection, the download speeds are faster than the upload speeds.

DSL

Short for digital subscriber line, this broadband technology uses the same wires as a landline telephone. This is normally the slowest broadband option because it uses copper wires.

FTTP

Not to be confused with FTP.

Short for fibre to the premises, FTTP is the fastest type of broadband available, since all of the cables are fibre optic. Fibre optic cables are directly connected to a home or office and it provides speeds of up to 1,000 Mb/s. However, it is only available in a limited area. By December 2026, it is believed that 85% of households will use FTTP. As of now, most households use FTTC (Fibre to the cabinet), which involves running cables from the broadband exchange to a box on the street, with copper wires connecting a home or office together, which offers speeds of up to 80 Mb/s and is available to 96% of homes.

Wireless Broadband Technologies

Wireless, as suggested in the word, means a broadband connection without the use of any wires. These technologies are useful when going abroad without internet access. However, they have higher latency than wired broadband technologies and using certain broadband technologies, such as cellular can result in additional charges by the mobile service provider, especially when using data roaming. The costs of data roaming (going outside the coverage area of the mobile service provider) can be huge when going abroad.

Cellular

Broadband networks, such as 3G, 4G, or 5G is wireless broadband, since radio signals that are distributed over land areas, called cells are used to transfer data. This is available through a mobile data plan. It is possible to use a desktop or laptop computer with a cellular network through tethering, where both devices share the connection through Bluetooth or a USB cable. It is known as a private hotspot.

Satellite

This is a wireless technology that can provide communication over long distances. Services could include video calling, fax, television, radio channels, and more. Satellite often results in a higher latency because of the time required to send and receive data from a satellite. Overall, it is a slow broadband option.

History

Broadband was a replacement for dial-up in the early 2000s. Before broadband was invented, dial-up had to be used, which required a phone line to work, meaning that it was impossible for phone calls to be made whilst the internet was in use. In addition, the speed was very slow. The maximum speed that a user could get was 56 Kb/s. Due to that, it was impossible for music or videos to be streamed. Modems were very expensive in the early 1990s with a 28.8 Kb/s modem costing up to £399.

By 2007, around half of internet users had a broadband connection. In addition, wireless internet became available to the public in 1999. The release of Apple Airport and the Windows-focused Wi-Fi router in 2001 quickly became popular and replaced Ethernet cables that had to be physically be plugged in, although Ethernet cables are still commonly used today.