What is Broadband ?

Broadband is commonly used to describe a connection to the internet.The term Broadband is simply a shorter way to say 'Broad Bandwidth Connection', which is quite a mouthful ! In simple terms 'Broadband' is any connection that has a speed of 512Kbps or faster.Broadband is commonly connected to your business via telephone line, fibre optic cable, mobile phone or in some cases satellite. There are differing speeds and costs for each of the above types of Broadband.
Below we'll explain briefly the different types of Broadband and also a Broadband Glossary of other words and phrases that are associated with Broadband connections or services.

Quick guide to Broadband types

  • ADSL

    ADSL is an acronym for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. This is one of the most common type of Broadband on the market today. This is mainly due to the fact that ADSL Broadband is received by the customer via a telephone line. If the telephone line used for the broadband is not solely a dedicate broadband line, then ADSL microfilters will have to be used for any telephones on this line. This is to prevent interference from the telephone signal to the broadband signal and visa-versa. ADSL generally has slower upload speeds and faster download speeds.

  • SDSL

    SDSL is an acronym for Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line. SDSL is very similar to ADSL, except SDSL always used a dedicated telephone line. This eliminates the use for microfilters, as there is never an additional telephone signal using the line. SDSL has equal upload and download speeds of 2MB. SDSL is usually more expensive than ADSL as it needs a dedicated line. SDSL has now been pretty much outdated with the arrival of FTTC and FTTP Fibre Broadband.

  • LLU

    LLU is an acronym for Local Loop Unbundling. This simply means that the company from whom you buy your broadband services has their own equipment in the telephone exchange (rather than using BT's equipment). The advantage to you is that these services can be cheaper and provide access top more products. ADSL and SDSL are both available on LLU systems.

  • Leased Line

    Lease Line is simply a dedicated line which is only used by you. Leased lines provide a dedicated connection between your business and the internet exchange. You do not then need to share the line with any other users, in the local area. Leased Lines commonly have a Service Level Agreement of 99.99 uptime.

  • Fibre / Cable ( FTTC / FTTP )

    This type of broadband benefits from fast Fibre Optic Cables, rather than using the traditional copper telephone wires. Fibre Optic Cables are able to transmit the data along them at significantly faster speeds. Distance from the exchange is far less likely to be an issue with Fibre Broadband. Where available, it is therefore an option well worth considering. There are two main types of Fibre Broadband, FTTP and FTTC. FTTC or Fibre To The Cabinet, means you have Fibre Optic cables to the cabinet in the street and then copper wires to your premises. FTTP or Fibre To The Premises means that you have Fibre Optic Cables all the way to your premises.

  • Mobile

    Mobile Broadband is used by Businesses 'on the move', or who have quite light usage requirements. e.g. ability to send and receive email and commonly only view one or two web pages per day.
    Due to Mobile Broadband quite often having small download and usage limits, it may not be a good solution for Businesses many desk-bound employees.

  • Satellite

    Satellite Broadband presents a solution to those businesses who find themselves 'too far from the exchange'.
    With a two-way system, it allows you to send as well as receive data via your Satellite dish. Be aware that some Satellite Solutions only allow you to receive data via your satellite dish. Due to costs this is usually only considered when no other options are available. Reasons for using this option are usually due to geographical location. Satellite Broadband can suffer from high delays or latency.

 

Broadband Glossary

  • Upload Speed / Upstream

    This is simply the speed at which you can send data along your broadband connection. It is commonly measured in KB/ps, that is Megabits per second. The bigger the number - the faster the connection. Watch out for KB/ps becoming MB/ps. MBs are a bigger unit of data than a KB - (see below).

  • Download Speed / Downstream

    Again this is a measurement of the speed of your connection, however this can be more important as you download all the text, images and so on for every web page you view, or video, film or TV program you watch. If the download speed is low you may find it frustrating at peak times - when the speed may temporarily fall ! This can cause a video you are watching to load too slowly and 'pause' whilst you are watching it, while the next section downloads.

  • Throughput / Contention ratio

    Broadband speeds can vary and are dependent on a number of factors including the volume of traffic on your broadband line. We used to talk about Contention Ratios (The higher the contention ratio, the larger number of people that are using the service at any one time. Lower contention ratios should benefit from faster speeds.) Now we talk about throughput, this is where the provider will guarantee a minimum speed for your connection at busy times.

  • ISP

    ISP is an acronym for Internet Service Provider. It simply describes any company from whom you receive your broadband services.

  • Usage Limit / Fair Usage

    A usage limit is imposed by your ISP - to limit the amount of data you can send or receive along your broadband connection. A fair usage policy is to ensure that some people to not hog the broadband line, thus slowing everyone else down. It is common for ISPs to control over-usage by slowing the connection or imposing additional charges.

  • MAC Code

    MAC Code is an acronym for Migration Authorisation Code. This code simply holds details of your address and broadband line. It enables you to move from one supplier to another, giving them the required information to move your broadband services within their control.

  • Data Sizes - ( KB, MB, GB, TB )

    These are measurement of data, KB (Kilobyte) is 1024 Bytes. Next is a MB (Megabyte) which is 1024 KBs. You guessed right - a GB (Gigabyte) is 1024 MBs and a TB (Terabyte) is 1024 GBs. It is important to know this as video clips and other large files, can be very greedy and use up your broadband data allowance. A Megabyte should not be confused with a Megabit, which is only a tenth of the size of a Megabyte. Therefore if you have a one Megabit per second connection, a one Megabyte file will take 10 seconds to download.

  • Modem and Router

    Some people confuse a Modem and Router, probably because it is very common for manufacturers to sell Modems that have Router capabilities also. The confusion usually starts when you purchase a keenly priced Router, only to find that is is not also a Modem.
    A Modem is what you use to interface between your Internet capable devices and the internet. Where-as a Router is used to control information around your local network. Broadband Routers have a modem built into them as standard.

  • VoIP

    VoIP is an acronym for Voice Over IP, which is just a way of transmitting and receiving speech using your broadband connection. The most well know VoIP service is Skype. Businesses can benefit from VoIP telephone systems which allow multiple VoIP connections at the same time.

  • IP Address / Static IP Address / Public IP

    IP is an acronym for Internet Protocol which simply refers to the internet address that your broadband connection uses. This is simply a set of numbers and dots. Your IP address can change each time you connect your broadband router to the internet. Some systems benefit from having a Static IP address, which is used solely for your connection. This is especially useful if you need to authorised through security systems, as the system can recognise your IP address and grant access accordingly.

  • Wireless Network / Wifi Network

    A wireless network is a method by which different PCs, laptops, wifi enabled devices such as iPad or mobile phones connect either to each other using a router. This connectivity allows easy sharing of files, images and other information. A wireless network uses radio signals, so there are no wires connecting each device. There are different speeds for Wifi - 802.11 g/b and 802.11 n. The faster types are labelled with 'n' . It is worth knowing what capabilities your wifi equipment has. If you have an 'n' wifi Broadband Router and a 'b/g' wifi receiver in your laptop, the connection capabilities are still going to be slow.

  • LAN Connections

    A LAN or Local Area Network is a way in which different PCs, Laptops and other computerised equipment connects together with physical wires using a router. Depending on the number of machines that need to be connected, other network equipment may be required.

  • Broadband Security

    There are many different types of Broadband security. This should not be confused with anti-virus software installed on your PC, laptop or other device. Broadband security is the way you protect your connection from being used by unauthorised people. Two common methods are Broadband Firewalls and Wireless Security. Broadband Firewalls block incoming internet traffic and can be configured to select which traffic is blocked or allowed.
    Wireless Security is a common security solution used by router manufacturers - WEP and WPA codes are both examples of Wireless Security. A WEP code (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is not as secure as a WPA code (Wi-Fi Protected Access). A WPA code is usually more secure as it benefits from enhanced encryption methods. However if your password is easy to guess e.g. 123456 - it won't matter how clever the encryption method is!

 

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