Broadband
In regards to the Internet, Broadband is known by it's name because it relates to a telecommunication connection where a large amount of frequencies can be used to transmit information. This large amount of used frequencies can also be referred to as a wide band of frequencies , thus the name. The medium for transmitting these signals can be done through a single coaxial or fibre-optic cable. The information that can be transmitted through the cables are data, voice and video. Since it is done through multiple frequencies the transmission signals can be done simultaneously. By simultaneously transmitting information through multiple paths, phenomenal speeds can be achieved.
In the past old dial-up modems transmitted information at speeds of 56 kbps or less. These days when web pages are containing rich content such as video or sound, the old dial-up modem speeds just can't keep up. Web pages these days are generally over 100KB and if speeds weren't like what they are now, people could be sitting in front of the computer for over 20 seconds waiting for a single web page to load up. This will make the experience of surfing the world wide world not enjoyable at all. A typical website with rich content would contain many images and sometimes even video and sound to enhance the experience. Rss feeds are common these days on websites and these need to be loaded in externally. All the content on the webpage needs time to load and for the user, the faster this is the better.
Web pages these days are pushing the boundaries on what is being shown. The term refers to transfer speeds of more than 56 kbps. Current speeds are in excess of 24 Mbps for Broadband. These speeds are fast enough for streaming down TV or movies in real time. We may see in the near future that people will be watching free to air TV via the Internet. The Internet is already being used as a means for editing documents live and online. This way of editing documents is transforming the way we work from our computers. No longer do we edit documents and store them locally on our computers. Documents can be stored and edited online, which increases accessibility and ease of use. Some applications are now run online and due to the speeds we can access the Internet, this is becoming more and more popular with applications being brought online.
The speeds achievable today are far beyond the speeds achieved 10 years ago. This technology is being further advanced everyday and with new technologies like ADSL2+ or fibre to the house, the future looks great. The world of the Internet looks very bright.
Associated with the topic are words like: ISP, Broadband Service, Wireless Broadband, Broadband Router, Mobile Broadband, Broadband satellites and DSL. These topics are closely related and provide further knowledge into this topic.