How Does Broadband Internet Work?

What Does Boadband Mean?

Broadband directly correlate to the channel which information flows. During the mid-1990s explosion of Internet services like America Online and Prodigy, users connected via dial-up modems. Phone lines were capable of uploading and downloading information at speeds up to 56 kilobytes per second. The phone line is considered a low-capacity connection, or narrowband. The advent of DSL (digital subscriber line) and cable modem services provide high-speed Internet across higher capacity lines. These lines have a broader spectrum of service and so are callled broadband.

How a Computer Retrieves a Website

A user sits at a computer and directs a browser to a site like Google.com or Yahoo.com. When the address is entered into the browser and sent, the computer uses the broadband connection to carry data packets across the World Wide Web, an intricate network of servers. The information leaves the home across the high-speed line and is bounced from switch to switch across the public internet. The request lands at the host server of the website and is carried out by that site.

Once the request--a search or simple request for a page--is completed, the information is sent back as data packets to the user. Each user on the Internet has an address, also known as an IP address, which acts as a unique identifier. The return information follows the trail back to the user thanks to the IP address. The information travels from switch to switch across the public Internet, entering the home through a modem and displayed on the computer through the browser.

What's the Difference Between Dial-Up and High-Speed Internet?

Computers hooked to the Internet using dial-up are limited by the capacity of the phone line. Phone lines are capable of carrying a limited amount of data. Designed to carry voice traffic, phone lines are capable of conducting up to 3,400 hertz (Hz). These are analog connections, which transmit data across lines as electrical impulses. Digital internet connections come to homes via DSL or cable internet. Rather than using impulses, data is sent over a steady, always-on stream to the user. Like a phone line, the Internet connection conducts power, but the capacity is greater. Phone lines have a maximum data capacity of 56 kilobytes per second. High-speed internet from cable companies can reach speeds of 1,500 kilobytes per second.