Broadband

How Broadband Works

TECHNICALLY the term ‘broadband’ is only a relative way of comparing connections (i.e. a fibre optic cable has a larger bandwidth than a phone line so could be described as having a ‘broader band’ than it).

However, in recent times broadband has become a blanket term that has been taken to mean any sort of high speed internet connection. In this instance we are comparing the connection speed of ‘broadband’ to a standard ‘dial-up’ Internet connection.

How is broadband different from dial-up?

With a ‘dial-up’ internet connection the phone line is shared for phone calls and the internet, so that you can’t use the phone and internet together (hence the loss of connection whenever you receive a call), whereas with a broadband connection the internet and phone line can work independently from one another.

There are two primary types of broadband connection currently available in the UK that function in the following ways.

ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line)
The most readily available type of connection and offered by a plethora of ISP’s, this system runs through your existing phone line and only requires minimal installation – typically just a router and ‘filters’ that fit onto your telephone sockets to prevent the internet and phone calls interfering.

Cable
This is a newer system that is increasing in prevalence, although still lags far behind in the availability stakes. If you are in an area serviced by a cable operator (you can check online) then you can get broadband via a cable routed into your house (similar to cable TV) and installation of a modem. Currently only one provider, Virgin Media, offers cable broadband.

What’s the point of broadband?

Broadband’s unique selling point is quite simply speed. Broadband is far quicker than a dial-up system. For example, a dial up 56k modem may take roughly 10 minutes to download a single song, but the fastest broadband connections can do it in less than a second!

Broadband must be expensive?

Fortunately the demand for broadband and the competition between providers has driven prices of broadband down.

The basic broadband packages currently on offer are almost as cheap as a standard dial up system and when you see the difference in performance the price is negligible.

Read on in the next section How to Choose a Broadband Package to learn what types of broadband are available and what type is right for you.

Compare broadband packages