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Broadband 101
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How Broadband Is Accessed

How Broadband Is Accessed

Broadband is accessed through several technologies, including these below:

  • Digital subscriber lines, which transmit data to homes and businesses over traditional copper telephone lines, which are already installed. Not all copper telephone lines, however, are capable of transmitting data as DSL.
  • Cable modems, which transmit data through the same coaxial cables that generate pictures and sounds on television sets
  • Fiber-optic cables, which convert electrical signals carrying data into light and send the light through transparent glass fibers about the diameter of a human hair. Fiber transmits data at speeds much faster than DSL and cable, typically tens and even hundreds of Mbps.
  • Wireless, which can be mobile or fixed. Fixed wireless involves the wireless transmission of data from a local antenna to a permanent location such as a home or business. The service is similar to what is delivered over DSL or a cable modem, but the transmission is wireless. Mobile wireless connects users in temporary locations such as coffee shops. Mobile broadband is transmitted through technologies such as portable modems and mobile phones.
  • Satellite, which is another form of wireless useful for serving remote or sparsely populated areas
  • Broadband over powerlines, which is an emerging technology that delivers broadband over low- and medium-voltage power lines and is provided to homes using existing electrical connections and outlets. BPL technology has been tested and piloted in North Carolina but is not currently used in homes.

Broadband 101

  • Why Broadband Is Important
  • Benefits of Broadband
  • How Broadband Is Accessed

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