Broadband

A Broadband is the transmission of wide bandwidth data over a high speed internet connection. Broadband provides high speed internet access via multiple types of technologies including fiver optics, wireless, cable, DSL and satellite.

Fiber Optic

The newest broadband service is fiber-optic, which is the fastest Internet connection thus far. However, this type of Internet service is still in its infancy as its service areas are quite limited and because the laying down of the fiber-optic cable takes a while to complete. Wherever it is available, the cost not only competes with that of DSL and cable, but it provides a much faster connection than both of those services.

Cable and satellite

The broadband cable connection is provided by the local cable TV provider. Here the cable Internet connection speed varies with the number of users on the service at a specific point in time. Given a specific geographical area, users of the broadband cable service share the connection bandwidth which slows the speed the more users are on the system. This will occur at the peak times for example late in the evenings after the work day is over when many people will be accessing the Internet. Somewhat misleadingly, often the cable company would estimate connection speeds that are based on the thinking that you are using the service. But that is clearly not the case.

The last and slowest broadband service is provided by satellite. Although this is a good replacement for dial-up for those people living in remote rural areas, the installation costs are quite high, but the ongoing monthly charges are competitive to both cable and DSL.

There are many advantages to the DSL and cable broadband service. It provides greater bandwidth than other Internet access forms, and that makes it easier for the computer user to multitask with several applications performing in the background while you surf the web. It is possible for you to surf the web while listening to audio.

What speed of Broadband is needed?

Streaming HD videos, gaming and downloading large files eat up the most bandwidth. To achieve a virtually seamless experience with less lag, you may want to consider speed plans 100 Mbps and above. For all other activities like streaming music, surfing and video conferencing -- anything above 25 Mbps should be enough. It all depends on how patient you are with potential buffering and slightly slower speeds when others at home are competing for bandwidth at the same time for their own activities.