 | | | What is broadband internet?We decide an overview of the speed and quality of broadband internet services currently available to consumers in the UK would provide you with valuable information.
The fastest way to access the web is by using broadband internet (usually shortened to 'broadband'). A dial up modem works at 48 kilobits/second maximum, while ADSL and cable modem, two of the most common types of connection, achieve broadband internet access at 56 kilobits/second.
In a recent BBC study, it was found that over 11 million households now possess broadband internet (BBC Breakfast News 19th October 2006). This has been a rapidly expanding market since the early 2000s.
Nowadays, modems up to 30 Mbit/second are many hundred times faster than those available when the internet first became popular (for example ISDN and 56 kbit/s). Access now generally costs less than ISDN and often no more than 56 kbits/s, although cost and performance vary a lot between countries.
In reality, the customer does not always receive the bandwidth that is advertised. This is because it is generally assumed that the majority of users will not often utilise their full connection capability, and with this in mind ISPs frequently allow more subscribers than can be handled by a single backbone connection. This arrangement works for most of the time, so that most users can expand to their maximum bandwidth whenever they want. However certain functions, such as person-to-person shared file systems, require long periods of high bandwidth and can be problematical for ISPs with a capacity that is immensely oversubscribed. If you want to find out more about this subject look at 'traffic shaping'.
As more people take advantage of these introductory products, telephone companies are responding by offering services for higher bit rates. If a connection is already present then the equipment at each end simply needs to be reconfigured.
It is anticipated that as the bandwidth available to end-users becomes larger, there will be a rise in the popularity of internet video on demand services. However, at the moment a specialised network is usually needed to operate such services. To achieve the best visual quality, MPEG-2 video calls for 6 Mbits/s, but the data rates on most current systems fall short of this. | | | |
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Wireless broadband
Broadband
