What is broadband?
Broadband uses a technology called ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) to provide high speed internet access using your normal telephone line. It works by splitting your existing telephone signal into two frequency ranges, one for normal voice calls and the other for your Internet connection.
In the simplest terms, there are two types of Internet connection: Broadband and Dial-up. Dial-up is the service that’s been around for years where your modem screeches because it’s calling a number for you to connect to the Intrynet. If you’ve ever connected via dial-up, you know that it’s pretty slow for browsing. (OK, very slow). But it’s very affordable as well. Broadband connections usually refer to DSL and cable connections. These connections have more throughput thanks to a bigger band-width (band-width, broad-band: see the relation?). Picture both connections as tubes. Dial-up is the circumference of a garden hose and broadband is that of an elephant’s trunk. Which one do you think more water could pass through faster? The trunk. Broadband is more expensive than dial-up and usually has a dedicated external modem. Most dialup modems are inside your PC and you connect a telephone cord from the wall to your PC modem.
