What is Broadband?

By Charles Miller

Something I really do enjoy is the number of comments and questions I regularly receive from Atención readers. These questions not only tell me the subjects that readers want to see addressed here, but also it is even more fulfilling when I receive a reader’s question to which I do not know the exact answer. Every one of these presents a learning opportunity for me. Such was the case when my inbox included an email commenting, “You use the term broadband connection, which is an unfamiliar term to me and maybe to other readers.”

The first known use of the word broadband goes all the way back to 1929. Broadband in both its noun and adjective is a marketing buzzword that became a part of the information technology lexicon about the time the internet made its appearance in the 1990s. Perhaps I should be ashamed to admit this, but until today I had never once taken time to look up the word broadband in the dictionary though I intuitively understood its meaning.

The dictionary says broadband is defined as, “Of or relating to high-bandwidth data transmission. Of or relating to data transmission that uses multiple channels so that multiple pieces of data can be transmitted simultaneously.”

Far more than just being fast, broadband also encompasses the fact that one wire is able to deliver multiple services such as telephone, television, internet services, and more to your home. Back in the day, each of these services required its own discreet wiring. I suppose the opposite of broadband would be narrowband. Warning: I did not consult a dictionary before typing that last sentence, and for all I know, I may have just made up that word.

Narrowband was the days of broadcast television when there was a dedicated wire connecting your TV set to its antenna on the roof, providing access one at a time to only three or four stations.  Narrowband was the dial-up modems of the 1980s that connected via one telephone wire only one computer at a time to the internet. Narrowband was telephones that could handle only one conversation—well, I guess some things have not changed.

Putting the word broadband in its proper context, it is used to mean any data access that is always on, as well as being faster than previous delivery methods. In telecommunications, broadband transports a wide range of data types simultaneously. One wire can provide access to many services, and that “wire” could be coaxial cable, fiber-optic, cellular radio, microwave, laser, or satellite. Each of these technologies may be considered to be broadband when they are utilized to deliver large volumes of data.

What I now understand better than I did before is that “broadband” is a relative term, understood according to its context. It means more than fast.

So, readers, please keep those questions coming. I have a lot more to learn.

*Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981, and now practically a full-time resident.  He may be contacted at 415 101 8528 or email FAQ8@SMAguru.com.