Whats The Fuss Broadband
What’s the fuss - Broadband Communications
Broadband is a simple enough term to understand, at least for the person who is going to use it. At Quocirca, we have seen several definitions of new-and-improved broadband and its poor cousin, old-and-inferior narrowband:
Broadband corresponds to multiple voice channels in a telecommunications circuit, whereas narrowband corresponds to only one.
Broadband corresponds to a data rate of over 1Mbps
Broadband constitutes sufficient bandwidth to permit the transmission of broadband services, i.e. streamed multimedia, videoconferencing and the like.
The third definition may appear a little vacuous, but it is the one we favour because it concentrates on the end rather than the means. It allows more technological flexibility, for example for data compression or caching of streamed media rather than “pure” bandwidth, and it also takes into account the use of the term in spheres such as the 3G “broadband” protocol UMTS, which has an initial maximum of 384kbps. Broadband is as much a state of mind as a technology, defined in terms of what it enables rather than what it is – the transmission of sufficient quantities of information to enable such applications as multimedia streaming (think using a computer as an interactive TV) or video telephones.
Broadband communications have existed for years, at least for telecommunications providers (telcos) and the large corporations that could afford the extortionate costs. What has changed over the past couple of years is the development of a range of protocols known as Digital Subscriber Loop (DSL). The xDSL range (“x” stands for “whatever”) enables transmission of very high data rates across the so-called “last mile” – the pairs of wires that run from local telephone exchanges to homes and offices. Given the fact that most data traffic will be to or from the Internet, Quocirca proposes another definition of broadband:
Broadband constitutes affordable, accessible bandwidth for the transmission of Internet-based broadband services without needing major modifications to existing infrastructure.
xDSL is a range of protocols, each of which is more applicable to certain needs. Most smaller organisations and home users (those who BT has deigned to connect, that is) are finding Asynchronous DSL (ADSL) the most appropriate. ADSL is asynchronous in that the “up” channel is smaller than the 512Kbps “down” channel, a model which fits the Internet usage pattern fin which more information is generally received than sent. A further strength of ADSL is that it is always “on” – there is no need to dial up to the Internet. Synchronous DSL (up equals down) is more appropriate for businesses, for example to enable inter-site or inter-company communications.
In addition to the low-cost, high-speed, always-on access to the Internet that xDSL provides, enabling the businesses to do their Web-based dealings more cheaply and efficiently, broadband access opens the door to a number of new ways to use the Internet for the business. For example:
If it has the right skills in-house, it may be more appropriate for the business to host its own information rather than relying on third parties such as Internet Service Providers.
Conversely, the increased bandwidth opens the door for the business to make better use of externally hosted services such as those provided by Application Service Providers. These companies have had a bit of a bad press, largely due to their dubious grasp of their middle name (“service”) but also because of the lack of available bandwidth to take advantage of the service. It is all very well having 100 megabytes of storage space, for example, but this is of minimal comfort if it is only accessible over a modem link. There are companies, such as eProject.com and SalesForce.com, that have proved the workability of the ASP model, but they d require sufficient bandwidth to make their services workable.
There are plenty of things wrong with broadband, not least in its UK availability. Our definition is from the point of view of the end-user and not the telco, who must roll out ADSL equipment to all its local exchanges. British Telecom has a hard-earned reputation for heel-dragging and for playing the system to prevent other providers from installing their own facilities. The end result remains “no service available” at present, particularly outside metropolitan areas. Even when it’s up, ADSL has a reputation for non-optimal performance. The “down” bandwidth is a maximum that is then reduced as more users access the facilities of the local exchange. What’s more, a fully contended consumer ADSL line (50:1) gives a lower possible throughput than a clean 56K modem. Read all about it - its in the small print. Once the other issues are ironed out, it is likely that security will gain the major issue with always-on broadband. Last but not least is security. ADSL connections are always-on in two directions – if you can get out, others can get in. There is a real risk that always-connected computers will be attacked, hacked or otherwise misused (for example, as a base to send Spam e-mail).
The first “next step” for broadband is the eventual completion of its roll-out – this looks likely to take a good few years, though the technology and the will (in most quarters) is available now. Broadband will be remembered not for what it is – no more than a high bandwidth socket on the wall to most – but what it enables.