How Broadband Is Accessed

Broadband is accessed through several technologies, including these below:

• Digital subscriber lines transmit data to homes and businesses over traditional copper telephone lines that are already installed. Not all copper telephone lines, however, are capable of transmitting data as DSL.
• Cable modems transmit data through the same coaxial cables that generate pictures and sounds on television sets.
• Fiber-optic cables 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 can be mobile or fixed. Fixed wireless involves the wireless transmission of data from a local antenna to a permanent location like a home or business. The service is similar to what is delivered via DSL or cable modem, but the transmission is wireless. Mobile wireless connects users in temporary locations like coffee shops. Mobile broadband is transmitted through technologies such as portable modems and mobile phones.
• Satellite is another form of wireless that is useful for serving remote or sparsely populated areas.