TYPES OF BROADBAND

BROADBAND FLAVORS

Wired:

• Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL)

• Cable Modem

• Leased Lines (T1)

• Fiber Optic Cable

• Broadband Over Powerline (BPL)

Wireless:

• Satellite

• Fixed Wireless

• Wi-Fi

• WiMAX

• Cell (G3,G4)

DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE (DSL)

• Uses plain old phone lines (POTS)

• Voice and data over the same line

• Speed 1.5-8 Mbps

• Requires location near central phone office or switch (18,000 feet)

• Phone lines are everywhere but not all of them are able to support DSL

• Direct one-on-one connection; bandwidth is not shared with neighbors

CABLE MODEM

• Faster than DSL

• Uses the same cable television lines that deliver pictures and sound to your TV set

• Shared connection–speeds can slow down when many people in the same neighborhood are online

• Easy to install

BROADBAND OVER POWERLINE (BPL)

• Delivered through power lines

• Almost all homes and businesses are connected to the power grid

• Still in early stages of development

• Potential interference with radio signals

• Speeds similar to DSL and cable

SATELLITE

• Available most places, including hard-to-reach rural areas

• Slower than cable or DSL. WildBlue download speeds up to 1.5 Mbps and upload speeds up to 256 Kbps.

• Trees and heavy rain affects signal

• Need unobstructed view of southern sky

FIBER OPTIC CABLE

• Delivered over fiber optic cables

• Very high bandwidth

• High cost to build fiber network

• Low maintenance

WIRELESS BROADBAND

• Fast relatively inexpensive deployment

• DSL and cable speeds

• Many varieties

— Point-to-Point

— Point-Multipoint

— Mesh

— Hot zones

— Hot spots

POINT-TO-POINT FIXED WIRELESS

• Uses part of the radio spectrum to send and receive signals. Typically made up of on-the-ground antenna-to-antenna systems.

• Requires indoor or outdoor antenna

• Coverage about 5 miles transmitter or access point

• High bandwidth

• Usually licensed

• Backbone or transport layer

• Line of site

FIXED WIRELESS

http://www.connectusa.com/faq.htm

POINT-TO-MULTIPOINT FIXED WIRELESS

• Broadband delivery to premise

• Consumer or business grade

• One antenna to many sites

• Line-of-sight

• Large coverage area

• Licensed or unlicensed

MESH NETWORK WIRELESS

• Nodes (radios)

o Connect to user

o Transmit to aggregation point

• Typically unlicensed

• Favor urban areas or hot zonesAggregation

Point

MOBILE WI-FI

• Wireless fidelity

• Wi-Fi access points found at cafés, homes, campuses, businesses.

• Access is limited to 50-300 feet

• Coverage limited by location and number of transmitters

• Relatively cheap for providers to set-up

• End-user equipment cheap and easy to install

WHERE TO FIND WI-FI

• Hotels, motels, inns, and resorts

• Airports

• Public libraries

• Cybercafes and fast food restaurants

• Courthouses

• City parks like NYC's Central Park

• Public recreation areas and rest stops

• Truck stops

• RV parks

WIMAX

• Wi-Fi on steroids

• Can cover a large area 30 miles

• Still in early stages of development

• Can support ultra-broadband, a large pipe with lots of bandwidth and speed – just what you would need to run your own real-time online video channel.

• How fast you want to go

• Residential or business use

• Pricing of the provider

HOW MUCH BROADBAND COSTS DEPENDS ON…

Southern Rural Development Center

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

WWW.CONNECTINGCOMMUNITIES.INFO