Editing Broadband

{{Short description|Data transmission concept}}
{{for|the book|Broad Band}}
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[[File:Fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 people), OWID.svg|thumb|Fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 people)]]

In [[telecommunications]], '''broadband''' or '''high speed''' is the wide-[[bandwidth (signal processing)|bandwidth]] [[data transmission]] that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast [[Internet access]]. The [[transmission medium]] can be [[coaxial cable]], [[optical fiber]], [[wireless Internet]] ([[radio]]), [[twisted pair]] cable, or [[satellite broadband|satellite]].

Originally used to mean 'using a wide-spread frequency' and for services that were analog at the lowest level, nowadays in the context of [[Internet access]], 'broadband' is often used to mean any high-speed Internet access that is seemingly always 'on' and is faster than [[Dial-up Internet access|dial-up access]] over traditional [[plain old telephone service|analog]] or [[ISDN]] [[public switched telephone network|PSTN]] services.<ref name="FCC2014">{{cite web |url=https://www.fcc.gov/general/types-broadband-connections |title=Types of Broadband Connections; Federal Communications Commission |publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission|Fcc.gov]] |date=2014-06-23 |access-date=2022-06-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605084322/https://www.fcc.gov/general/types-broadband-connections |archive-date=2022-06-05 }}</ref>

The ideal [[telecommunication network]] has the following characteristics: ''broadband'', ''multi-media'', ''multi-point'', ''multi-rate'' and economical implementation for a diversity of services (multi-services).<ref name="Lu">{{cite web|title=ATM Congestion Control|author=Lu, Fang|url=http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~jain/cis788-95/ftp/atm_cong/index.html|accessdate=1 March 2005|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050210124709/http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~jain/cis788-95/ftp/atm_cong/index.html|archivedate=10 February 2005}}</ref><ref name="Saito">{{cite book |author=Saito, H. |title=Teletraffic Technologies in ATM Networks |publisher=Artech House |year=1993 |isbn=0-89006-622-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/teletraffictechn00sait }}</ref> The [[Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network]] (B-ISDN) was planned to provide these characteristics. [[Asynchronous Transfer Mode]] (ATM) was promoted as a target technology for meeting these requirements.<ref name="Saito" />

==Overview==
Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times. Its origin is in physics, [[acoustics]], and radio systems engineering, where it had been used with a meaning similar to "[[wideband]]",<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Attenborough|first1=Keith|title=Review of ground effects on outdoor sound propagation from continuous broadband sources|journal=Applied Acoustics|date=1988|volume=24|issue=4|pages=289–319|doi=10.1016/0003-682X(88)90086-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Antenna |author= John P. Shanidin |date= September 9, 1949 |website= US Patent 2,533,900 |url= http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT2533900&id=XdZVAAAAEBAJ |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111201160321/http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT2533900&id=XdZVAAAAEBAJ |archive-date= December 1, 2011 }} Issued December 12, 1950.</ref> or in the context of audio [[noise reduction system]]s, where it indicated a single-band rather than a multiple-audio-band system design of the [[compander]]. Later, with the advent of [[Data transmission|digital telecommunications]], the term was mainly used for transmission over [[Frequency-division multiplexing|multiple channels]]. Whereas a [[passband]] signal is also modulated so that it occupies higher frequencies (compared to a ''baseband'' signal which is bound to the lowest end of the spectrum, see [[line coding]]), it is still occupying a single channel. The key difference is that what is typically considered a ''broadband signal'' in this sense is a signal that occupies multiple (non-masking, [[Orthogonality#Telecommunications|orthogonal]]) passbands, thus allowing for much higher throughput over a single medium but with additional complexity in the transmitter/receiver circuitry.

The term became popularized through the 1990s as a marketing term for [[Internet access]] that was faster than [[Dial-up Internet access|dial-up access]] (dial-up being typically limited to a maximum of 56&nbsp;kbit/s). This meaning is only distantly related to its original technical meaning.

Since 1999, broadband Internet access has been a factor in [[public policy]]. In that year, at the [[World Trade Organization]] Biannual Conference called “''Financial Solutions to Digital Divide''” in Seattle, the term “Meaningful Broadband” was introduced to the world leaders, leading to the activation of a movement to close the [[digital divide]]. Fundamental aspects of this movement are to suggest that the equitable distribution of broadband is a fundamental human right.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Craig Warren |title=Digital corporate citizenship : the business response to the digital divide |date=2002 |publisher=The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University |location=Indianapolis |isbn=1884354203 |url=https://iucat.iu.edu/iuk/5619796 |access-date=15 March 2021 |archive-date=5 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505180835/https://iucat.iu.edu/iuk/5619796 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Personal computing facilitated easy access, manipulation, storage, and exchange of information, and required reliable data transmission. Communicating documents by images and the use of high-resolution graphics terminals provided a more natural and informative mode of human interaction than do voice and data alone. [[Video teleconferencing]] enhances group interaction at a distance. High-definition entertainment video improves the quality of pictures, but requires much higher transmission rates.

These new data transmission requirements may require new transmission means other than the present overcrowded radio spectrum.<ref name=Hui>{{cite book |author=Hui J. |title= Switching and traffic theory for integrated broadband networks |publisher= Kluwer Academic Publishers |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-7923-9061-9}}</ref><ref name=Broadband>{{cite book |author1=Sexton M. |author2=Reid A. |title=Broadband Networking: ATM, SDH and SONET |publisher=Artech House Inc. |location=Boston, London |year=1997 |isbn=0-89006-578-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/broadbandnetwork0000sext }}</ref> A modern telecommunications network (such as the broadband network) must provide all these different services (''multi-services'') to the user.

== Differences from old telephony ==
Conventional [[telephony]] communication used:
* the voice medium only,
* connected only two telephones per [[telephone call]], and
* used circuits of fixed bit-rates.

Modern services can be:
* [[multimedia]],
* multi-point, and
* multirate.

These aspects are examined individually in the following three sub-sections.<ref name=QoS>{{cite book|author1=Ferguson P. |author2=Huston G. |title=Quality of Service: Delivering QoS on the Internet and in Corporate Networks|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|year=1998|isbn=0-471-24358-2}}</ref>

=== Multimedia ===
A multimedia call may communicate audio, data, still images, or full-motion [[video]], or any combination of these media. Each medium has different demands for communication quality, such as:
* [[bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth]] requirement,
* signal [[Latency (engineering)|latency]] within the network, and
* signal fidelity upon delivery by the network.

The information content of each medium may affect the information generated by other media. For example, voice could be transcribed into data via voice recognition, and data commands may control the way voice and video are presented. These interactions most often occur at the communication terminals, but may also occur within the network.<ref name=Saito/><ref name=Hui/>

=== Multipoint ===
Traditional voice calls are predominantly two party calls, requiring a point-to-point connection using only the voice medium. To access pictorial information in a remote database would require a point-to-point connection that sends low bit-rate queries to the database and high bit-rate video from the database. Entertainment video applications are largely point-to-multi-point connections, requiring one way communication of full motion video and audio from the program source to the viewers. Video teleconferencing involves connections among many parties, communicating voice, video, as well as data. Offering future services thus requires flexible management of the connection and media requests of a multipoint, multimedia communication call.<ref name=Hui/><ref name=Broadband/>

=== Multirate ===
A multirate service network is one which flexibly allocates transmission capacity to connections. A multimedia network has to support a broad range of bit-rates demanded by connections, not only because there are many communication media, but also because a communication medium may be encoded by algorithms with different bit-rates. For example, audio signals can be encoded with bit-rates ranging from less than 1&nbsp;kbit/s to hundreds of&nbsp;kbit/s, using different encoding algorithms with a wide range of complexity and quality of audio reproduction. Similarly, full motion video signals may be encoded with bit-rates ranging from less than 1&nbsp;Mbit/s to hundreds of&nbsp;Mbit/s. Thus a network transporting both video and audio signals may have to integrate traffic with a very broad range of bit-rates.<ref name=Hui/><ref name=QoS/>

== A single network for multiple services ==

Traditionally, different telecommunications services were carried via separate networks: voice on the telephone network, data on [[computer network]]s such as [[local area network]]s, video teleconferencing on private corporate networks, and television on [[Broadcasting|broadcast]] radio or cable networks.

These networks were largely engineered for a specific application and are not suited to other applications. For example, the traditional telephone network is too noisy and inefficient for bursty data communication. On the other hand, data networks which store and forward messages using computers had limited connectivity, usually did not have sufficient bandwidth for digitised voice and video signals, and suffer from unacceptable delays for the real-time signals. Television networks using radio or cables were largely broadcast networks with minimum switching facilities.<ref name=Saito/><ref name=Hui/>

It was desirable to have a single network for providing all these communication services to achieve the economy of sharing. This economy motivates the general idea of an integrated services network. Integration avoids the need for many overlaying networks, which complicates network management and reduces flexibility in the introduction and evolution of services. This integration was made possible with advances in broadband technologies and high-speed information processing of the 1990s.<ref name=Saito/><ref name=Hui/>

While multiple network structures were capable of supporting broadband services, an ever-increasing percentage of broadband and MSO<!-- explain! --> providers opted for fibre-optic network structures to support both present and future bandwidth requirements.

[[CATV]] (cable television), [[HDTV]] (high definition television), [[VoIP]] (voice over internet protocol), and [[broadband internet]] are some of the most common applications now being supported by fibre optic networks, in some cases directly to the home (FTTh – Fibre To The Home). These types of fibre optic networks incorporate a wide variety of products to support and distribute the signal from the central office to an optic node, and ultimately to the subscriber (end-user).

== Broadband technologies ==

=== Telecommunications ===
In [[telecommunications]], a broadband signalling method is one that handles a wide band of frequencies. "Broadband" is a relative term, understood according to its context. The wider (or broader) the [[Bandwidth (signal processing)|bandwidth]] of a channel, the greater the data-carrying capacity, given the same channel quality.

In [[radio]], for example, a very narrow band will carry [[Morse code]], a broader band will carry speech, and a still broader band will carry [[music]] without losing the high [[Audio frequency |audio frequencies]] required for realistic [[sound reproduction]]. This broad band is often divided into channels or "frequency bins" using [[passband]] techniques to allow [[frequency-division multiplexing]] instead of sending a higher-quality signal.

In data communications, a [[Modem#56&nbsp;kbit/s technologies|56k modem]] will transmit a data rate of 56 kilobits per second (kbit/s) over a 4-kilohertz-wide [[telephone line]] (narrowband or [[voiceband]]). In the late 1980s, the [[Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network]] (B-ISDN) used the term to refer to a broad range of [[bit rate]]s, independent of physical modulation details.<ref name="bisdn">{{cite web |author=Ender Ayanoglu |author2=Nail Akar |title=B-ISDN (Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network) |date=25 May 2002 |url=http://repositories.cdlib.org/cpcc/2/ |publisher=Center for Pervasive Communications and Computing, UC Irvine |access-date=July 12, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016192623/http://repositories.cdlib.org/cpcc/2/ |archive-date=October 16, 2009 }}</ref> The various forms of [[digital subscriber line]] (DSL) services are ''broadband'' in the sense that digital information is sent over multiple channels. Each channel is at a higher frequency than the [[baseband]] voice channel, so it can support [[plain old telephone service]] on a single pair of wires at the same time.<ref name="adsl-aa">{{cite web |url=http://aa.net.uk/kb-broadband-how.html |title=Knowledge Base - How Broadband Words |author=<!-- No author byline --> |access-date=July 27, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721170126/http://aa.net.uk/kb-broadband-how.html |archive-date=July 21, 2016 }}</ref> However, when that same line is converted to a [[loading coil|non-loaded]] twisted-pair wire (no telephone filters), it becomes hundreds of kilohertz wide (broadband) and can carry up to 100 megabits per second using very high-bit rate digital subscriber line ([[VDSL]] or VHDSL) techniques.<ref name="vdsl-itu">{{cite web |url=http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2005/06.html |title=New ITU Standard Delivers 10x ADSL Speeds |author=<!-- No author byline --> |date=May 27, 2005 |access-date=July 27, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903203113/http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2005/06.html |archive-date=September 3, 2016 }}</ref>

Modern networks have to carry integrated [[Network traffic measurement|traffic]] consisting of voice, video and data. The [[Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network]] (B-ISDN) was designed for these needs.<ref name=Jain>{{cite journal |title=Congestion Control and Traffic Management in ATM Networks |journal=Invited Submission to Computer Networks and ISDN Systems |volume=28 |year=1996 |pages=1723–1738 |author=Jain, Raj |url= http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~jain/papers/ftp/cnis/index.html|accessdate= 7 March 2005 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20040619200707/http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~jain/papers/ftp/cnis/index.html|archivedate= 19 June 2004 |url-status=dead |doi= 10.1016/0169-7552(96)00012-8|arxiv=cs/9809085 |s2cid=47147736 }}</ref> The types of traffic supported by a broadband network can be classified according to three characteristics:<ref name=ATM>{{cite web |title= ATM Traffic Control |author= Juliano, Mark |url= http://www.byte.com/art/9412/sec10/art5.htm |accessdate= 3 March 2005 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090114111829/http://www.byte.com/art/9412/sec10/art5.htm |archive-date= 2009-01-14 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

* [[Bandwidth (computing)|Bandwidth]] is the amount of network capacity required to support a connection.
* [[Network latency|Latency]] is the amount of delay associated with a connection. Requesting low latency in the [[quality of service]] (QoS) profile means that the cells need to travel quickly from one point in the network to another.
* Cell-delay variation (CDV) is the range of delays experienced by each group of associated cells. Low cell-delay variation means a group of cells must travel through the network without getting too far apart from one another.

[[Cellular network|Cellular networks]] utilize various standards for data transmission, including [[5G]] which can support one million separate devices per square kilometer.

=== Requirements of the types of traffic ===
The types of traffic found in a broadband network (with examples) and their respective requirements are summarised in Table 1.

{| class="wikitable"  
|+ Table 1: Network traffic types and their requirements<ref name=ATM/>
! Traffic type !! Example !! Required bandwidth !! Cell-delay !! Latency
|-
| Constant || Voice, guaranteed circuit emulation || Minimal || Low ||  
|-
| Variable || Compressed video || Guaranteed || Variable || Low
|-
| Available || Data || Not guaranteed || Widely variable || Variable
|}
=== Computer networks ===
Many [[computer network]]s use a simple [[line code]] to transmit one type of signal using a medium's full bandwidth using its [[baseband]] (from zero through the highest frequency needed). Most versions of the popular [[Ethernet]] family are given names, such as the original 1980s [[10BASE5]], to indicate this. Networks that use [[cable modem]]s on standard [[cable television]] infrastructure are called broadband to indicate the wide range of frequencies that can include multiple data users as well as traditional television channels on the same cable. Broadband systems usually use a different [[radio frequency]] modulated by the data signal for each band.<ref>{{cite book |title= What every engineer should know about data communications |page= 64 |author= Carl Stephen Clifton |publisher= CRC Press |year= 1987 |isbn= 978-0-8247-7566-7 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YVi8HVN-APwC&pg=PA64 |quote= Broadband: Modulating the data signal onto an RF carrier and applying this RF signal to the carrier media |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160529101334/https://books.google.com/books?id=YVi8HVN-APwC&pg=PA64 |archive-date= 2016-05-29 }}</ref>

The total bandwidth of the medium is larger than the bandwidth of any channel.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clifton|first1=Carl Stephen|title=What every engineer should know about data communications|date=1987|publisher=M. Dekker|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8247-7566-7|page=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WuuYZlJQ4pAC|access-date=21 June 2016|quote=Broadband: relative term referring to a system which carries a wide frequency range.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629163754/https://books.google.com/books?id=WuuYZlJQ4pAC|archive-date=29 June 2016}}</ref>

The [[10BROAD36]] broadband variant of Ethernet was standardized by 1985, but was not commercially successful.<ref>{{cite web |title= 802.3b-1985 – Supplement to 802.3: Broadband Medium Attachment Unit and Broadband Medium Specifications, Type 10BROAD36 (Section 11) |year= 1985 |publisher= [[IEEE Standards Association]] |url= http://standards.ieee.org/findstds/standard/802.3b-1985.html |access-date= July 12, 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120225203804/http://standards.ieee.org/findstds/standard/802.3b-1985.html |archive-date= February 25, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Broadband user share pains, gains |author= Paula Musich |pages= 1, 8 |work= Network World |date= July 20, 1987 |quote= Broadband networks employ frequency-division multiplexing to divide coaxial cable into separate channels, each of which serves as an individual local network. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gxwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8 |access-date= July 14, 2011 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120225203807/http://books.google.com/books?id=gxwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8 |archive-date= February 25, 2012 }}</ref>

The [[DOCSIS]] standard became available to consumers in the late 1990s, to provide [[Internet access]] to cable television residential customers. Matters were further confused by the fact that the [[10PASS-TS]] standard for Ethernet ratified in 2008 used DSL technology, and both cable and DSL modems often have Ethernet connectors on them.

===TV and video===
A [[television]] antenna may be described as "broadband" because it is capable of receiving a wide range of channels, while e.g. a low-VHF antenna is "narrowband" since it receives only 1 to 5 channels. The U.S. federal standard FS-1037C defines "broadband" as a synonym for [[wideband]].<ref>{{cite web |title= Definition: broadband |website= Federal Standard 1037C, Glossary of Telecommunication Terms |year= 1996 |url= http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/dir-005/_0722.htm |access-date= July 19, 2011 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120505172629/http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov/fs-1037/dir-005/_0722.htm |archive-date= May 5, 2012 }}</ref> "Broadband" in [[Analog signal|analog]] [[video]] distribution is traditionally used to refer to systems such as [[cable television]], where the individual channels are [[modulation|modulated]] on carriers at fixed frequencies.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ljySKDNHiP4C&q=%22broadband+video%22+cable+tv&pg=PA349|title=HTI+ Home Technology Integration and CEDIA Installer I All-in-One Exam Guide|isbn=9780072231328|last1=Gilster|first1=Ron|last2=Heneveld|first2=Helen|date=2004-06-22|publisher=McGraw Hill Professional |access-date=2020-11-09|archive-date=2023-06-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628171647/https://books.google.com/books?id=ljySKDNHiP4C&q=%22broadband+video%22+cable+tv&pg=PA349|url-status=live}}</ref> In this context, [[baseband]] is the term's [[antonym]], referring to a single channel of analog video, typically in [[Composite video|composite]] form with separate baseband [[Sound recording and reproduction|audio]].<ref name="cablinginstall.com">{{cite web|last1=Baxter|first1=Les A.|last2=Georger|first2=William H.|title=Transmitting video over structured cabling systems|url=http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-3/issue-8/contents/standards/transmitting-video-over-structured-cabling-systems.html|website=www.cablinginstall.com|publisher=AT&T Bell Laboratories|access-date=April 16, 2017|date=August 1, 1995|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929135815/http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-3/issue-8/contents/standards/transmitting-video-over-structured-cabling-systems.html|archive-date=September 29, 2015}}</ref> The act of demodulating converts broadband video to baseband video. Fiber optic allows the signal to be transmitted farther without being repeated. Cable companies use a hybrid system using fiber to transmit the signal to neighborhoods and then changes the signal from light to radio frequency to be transmitted over coaxial cable to homes. Doing so reduces the use of having multiple head ends. A [[Cable television headend|head end]] gathers all the information from the local cable networks and movie channels and then feeds the information into the system.

However, "broadband video" in the context of [[Streaming media|streaming]] Internet video has come to mean video files that have [[bit rate#Bit-rates in multimedia|bit-rates]] high enough to require broadband Internet access for viewing. "Broadband video" is also sometimes used to describe [[IPTV]] [[Video on demand]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Mark Sweney |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/feb/07/bt.digitaltvradio |title=BT Vision boasts 150,000 customers &#124; Media |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2008-02-07 |access-date=2016-06-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129102553/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/feb/07/bt.digitaltvradio |archive-date=2017-01-29}}</ref>

===Alternative technologies===
[[Power line communication|Power lines]] have also been used for various types of [[data communication]]. Although some systems for remote control are based on [[narrowband]] signaling, modern high-speed systems use broadband signaling to achieve very high data rates. One example is the [[ITU-T]] [[G.hn]] standard, which provides a way to create a [[local area network]] up to 1 Gigabit/s (which is considered high-speed as of 2014) using existing home business and home wiring (including power lines, but also phone lines and [[Ethernet over coax|coaxial cables]]).

In 2014, researchers at [[Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology]] made developments on the creation of ultra-shallow broadband [[optical instruments]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://phys.org/news/2014-12-broadband-ultrathin-polarization.html |title=Broadband and ultrathin polarization manipulators developed |publisher=Phys.org |date=2014-12-04 |access-date=2016-06-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515051917/http://phys.org/news/2014-12-broadband-ultrathin-polarization.html |archive-date=2016-05-15 }}</ref>

==Internet broadband==
{{Main|Internet access}}

In the context of [[Internet access]], the term "broadband" is used loosely to mean "access that is always on and faster than the traditional dial-up access".<ref name="What is Broadband">{{cite web |title= What is Broadband? |website= The National Broadband Plan |publisher= US Federal Communications Commission |url= http://www.broadband.gov/about_broadband.html/ |access-date= July 15, 2011 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110713053907/http://www.broadband.gov/about_broadband.html |archive-date= July 13, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hart|first1=Jeffrey A.|last2=Reed|first2=Robert R.|last3=Bar|first3=François|title=The building of the internet|journal=Telecommunications Policy|date=November 1992|volume=16|issue=8|pages=666–689|doi=10.1016/0308-5961(92)90061-S|s2cid=155062650 }}</ref>

A range of more precise definitions of speed have been prescribed at times, including:

* "Greater than the [[Primary Rate Interface|primary rate]]" (which ranged from about 1.5 to 2&nbsp;Mbit/s) —[[ITU-T|CCITT]] in "broadband service" in 1988.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.itu.int/rec/dologin_pub.asp?lang=e&id=T-REC-I.113-199706-I!!PDF-E |title= Recommendation I.113, Vocabulary of Terms for Broadband aspects of ISDN |publisher= ITU-T |date= June 1997 |access-date= 19 July 2011 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121106141554/http://www.itu.int/rec/dologin_pub.asp?lang=e&id=T-REC-I.113-199706-I!!PDF-E |archive-date= 6 November 2012 }}</ref>
* "Internet access that is always on and faster than the traditional dial-up access"<ref name="What is Broadband"/> —US [[National Broadband Plan (United States)|National Broadband Plan]] of 2009<ref>{{cite web |title= Inquiry Concerning the Deployment of Advanced Telecommunications Capability to All Americans in a Reasonable and Timely Fashion, and Possible Steps to Accelerate Such Deployment Pursuant to Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as Amended by the Broadband Data Improvement Act |publisher= Federal Communications Commission |website= GN Docket No. 10-159, FCC-10-148A1 |date= August 6, 2010 |url= http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db0806/FCC-10-148A1.pdf |access-date= July 12, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120106212300/http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db0806/FCC-10-148A1.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2012-01-06 }}</ref>
* 4&nbsp;Mbit/s downstream, 1&nbsp;Mbit/s upstream —[[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC), 2010<ref name=FCC15 />
* 25&nbsp;Mbit/s downstream, 3&nbsp;Mbit/s upstream —FCC, 2015<ref name="FCC15">{{cite web |url=http://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-finds-us-broadband-deployment-not-keeping-pace |title=FCC Finds U.S. Broadband Deployment Not Keeping Pace &#124; Federal Communications Commission |publisher=Fcc.gov |date=2015-02-04 |access-date=2016-06-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705185608/https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-finds-us-broadband-deployment-not-keeping-pace |archive-date=2016-07-05 }}</ref>
*50&nbsp;Mbit/s downstream, 10&nbsp;Mbit/s upstream —[[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Government of Canada|first=Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)|date=2013-03-20|title=What you should know about Internet speeds|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/internet/performance.htm|access-date=2021-01-29|website=crtc.gc.ca|archive-date=2021-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215150225/https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/internet/performance.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Broadband Internet service in the United States was effectively treated or managed as a [[public utility]] by [[Net neutrality in the United States|net neutrality]] rules<ref name="NYT-20150312a">{{cite news|last=Ruiz|first=Rebecca R.|date=March 12, 2015|title=F.C.C. Sets Net Neutrality Rules|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/13/technology/fcc-releases-net-neutrality-rules.html|url-status=live|access-date=March 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313080554/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/13/technology/fcc-releases-net-neutrality-rules.html|archive-date=March 13, 2015}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20150312b">{{cite news|last=Sommer|first=Jeff|date=March 12, 2015|title=What the Net Neutrality Rules Say|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/03/12/technology/net-neutrality-rules-explained.html|url-status=live|access-date=March 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313080607/http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/03/12/technology/net-neutrality-rules-explained.html|archive-date=March 13, 2015}}</ref><ref name="FCC-20150315">{{cite web|author=FCC Staff|date=March 12, 2015|title=Federal Communications Commission - FCC 15-24 - In the Matter of Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet - GN Docket No. 14-28 - Report and Order on Remand, Declaratory Ruling, and Order|url=http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0312/FCC-15-24A1.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150312200613/http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db0312/FCC-15-24A1.pdf|archive-date=March 12, 2015|access-date=March 13, 2015|website=[[Federal Communications Commission]]}}</ref><ref name="CNET-20150413">{{cite web|last=Reisinger|first=Don|date=April 13, 2015|title=Net neutrality rules get published -- let the lawsuits begin|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/fccs-net-neutrality-rules-hit-federal-register-lawsuit-underway/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414060656/http://www.cnet.com/news/fccs-net-neutrality-rules-hit-federal-register-lawsuit-underway/|archive-date=April 14, 2015|access-date=April 13, 2015|website=[[CNET]]}}</ref><ref name="FR-20150413">{{cite web|author=Federal Communications Commission|author-link=Federal Communications Commission|date=April 13, 2015|title=Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet - A Rule by the Federal Communications Commission on 04/13/2015|url=https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/04/13/2015-07841/protecting-and-promoting-the-open-internet|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502021951/https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/04/13/2015-07841/protecting-and-promoting-the-open-internet|archive-date=May 2, 2015|access-date=April 13, 2015|website=[[Federal Register]]}}</ref> until being overturned by the FCC in December 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kang|first1=Cecilia|title=F.C.C. Repeals Net Neutrality Rules|work=The New York Times|date=14 December 2017|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-vote.html?_r=0|access-date=2018-01-11|archive-date=2018-01-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117153859/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-vote.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Speed qualifiers===
A number of national and international regulators categorize broadband connections according to upload and download speeds, stated in [[Mbit/s]] ([[megabit]]s per [[second]]).

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|- 
! Term !! Regulator(s) !! Minimal download<br/> speed (Mbit/s) !! Minimal upload<br/> speed (Mbit/s) !! Notes
|-
| Full fibre / FTTP/H<ref name="Ispreview">{{cite web |title=A Brief Price Comparison of UK FTTP / FTTH Ultrafast Broadband ISPs |url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2017/04/brief-price-comparison-uk-ultrafast-fttp-broadband-isps.html |website=ISP Review |date=15 April 2017 |access-date=10 April 2019 |archive-date=10 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410150346/https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2017/04/brief-price-comparison-uk-ultrafast-fttp-broadband-isps.html |url-status=live }}</ref>||[[Ofcom]] || 100 || 1 ||
|-
| Gigabit<ref name="Eu2018" /> || [[EU]] || 1000 || 1 ||
|-
| Ultrafast<ref name="Ofcom2016">{{cite web |title=UK HOME BROADBAND PERFORMANCE |url=https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/100755/UK-home-broadband-performance,-November-2016-Consumer-guide.pdf |website=Ofcom |access-date=10 April 2019 |archive-date=10 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410150344/https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/100755/UK-home-broadband-performance,-November-2016-Consumer-guide.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>||[[Ofcom]] || 300 || 1 ||
|-
| Ultra-fast / Gfast<ref name="Orgfast">{{cite web |title=Ultrafast fibre Gfast |url=https://www.homeandbusiness.openreach.co.uk/fibre-broadband/ultrafast-broadband/ultrafast-fibre-g.fast |website=Openreach |access-date=10 April 2019 |archive-date=22 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122080824/https://www.homeandbusiness.openreach.co.uk/fibre-broadband/ultrafast-broadband/ultrafast-fibre-g.fast |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Eu2018" />||[[EU]], [[UK Government]] || 100 || 1 ||
|-
| Fast<ref name="Eu2018">{{cite web |title=Broadband in the EU Member States (12/2018) |url=http://publications.europa.eu/webpub/eca/special-reports/broadband-12-2018/en/ |publisher=EU |access-date=10 April 2019 |archive-date=10 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410155841/http://publications.europa.eu/webpub/eca/special-reports/broadband-12-2018/en/ |url-status=live }}</ref>||[[EU]] || 30 || ||
|-
| Superfast<ref name="DCMS">{{cite web |last1=Hood |first1=Hannah Hood |title=Super fast broadband |url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/378588/response/924461/attach/3/296020%20Reply.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 |website=What Do They Know |date=22 December 2016 |publisher=Department for Culture, Media and Sport |access-date=10 April 2019 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222060716/https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/378588/response/924461/attach/3/296020%20Reply.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>||[[Ofcom]] || 30 || 1 ||
|-
| Superfast<ref name="DCMS" /> || [[UK Government]] || 24 || 1 ||
|-
| Broadband<ref name="Nbcfcc">{{cite news |date=2024-03-14 |title=FCC INCREASES BROADBAND SPEED BENCHMARK |url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-401205A1.pdf |access-date=15 March 2024 |agency=}}</ref>||[[FCC]] || 100 || 20 ||
|-
| Broadband<ref name="Ofcom2017">{{cite web |title=CONNECTED NATIONS 2017 |url=https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/108843/summary-report-connected-nations-2017.pdf |website=Ofcom |access-date=10 April 2019 |archive-date=25 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725234346/https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/108843/summary-report-connected-nations-2017.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>||[[Ofcom]] || 10 || 1 ||
|-
|Broadband<ref>{{Cite web|last=Government of Canada|first=Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)|date=2013-03-20|title=What you should know about Internet speeds|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/internet/performance.htm|access-date=2021-01-29|website=crtc.gc.ca|archive-date=2021-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215150225/https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/internet/performance.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
|[[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission|CRTC]]
|50
|10
|
|}

In Australia, the [[Australian Competition and Consumer Commission]] also requires [[Internet Service Providers]] to quote speed during night time and busy hours <ref>{{cite web|title=Broadband Performance Data|url=https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/internet-landline-services/broadband-speeds|access-date=2021-12-05|website=accc.gov.au|date=30 April 2014|archive-date=2021-12-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205144235/https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/internet-landline-services/broadband-speeds|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Global bandwidth concentration===
[[File:GlobalBandwidthConcentration.jpg|thumb|500px|Global bandwidth concentration: 3 countries have almost 50% between them; 10 countries almost 75%.<ref name="HilbertBitsDivide"/>]]

Bandwidth has historically been very unequally distributed worldwide, with increasing concentration in the digital age. Historically only 10 countries have hosted 70–75% of the global telecommunication capacity (see pie-chart Figure on the right).<ref name="HilbertBitsDivide">{{cite journal |url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt2jp4w5rq/qt2jp4w5rq.pdf?t=o7h6ha |title=The bad news is that the digital access divide is here to stay: Domestically installed bandwidths among 172 countries for 1986–2014 |publisher=Escholarship.org |date=2016-01-06 |doi=10.1016/j.telpol.2016.01.006 |access-date=2016-06-21 |last1=Hilbert |first1=Martin |journal=Telecommunications Policy |volume=40 |issue=6 |pages=567–581 }}</ref> In 2014, only three countries (China, the US, and Japan) host 50% of the globally installed telecommunication bandwidth potential. The U.S. lost its global leadership in terms of installed bandwidth in 2011, being replaced by China, which hosts more than twice as much national bandwidth potential in 2014 (29% versus 13% of the global total).<ref name="HilbertBitsDivide"/>

==See also==
{{portal|Telecommunication|Internet}}
* [[Mobile broadband]]
* [[Ultra-wideband]]
* [[Wireless broadband]]

'''Nation specific:'''
* [[Broadband mapping in the United States]]
* [[Internet in Malaysia]]
* [[Internet in the United Kingdom]]
* [[List of broadband providers in the United States]]
* [[National broadband plan]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{commons-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}

{{Internet access}}

[[Category:Broadband| ]]
[[Category:Digital technology]]