TYPES OF BROADBAND
BROADBAND FLAVORS
Wired:
Wireless:
• Digital Subscriber Lines
(DSL)
•
Satellite
•
Fixed Wireless
•
Wi-Fi
•
WiMAX
•
Cell (G3,G4)
• Cable Modem
• Leased Lines (T1)
• Fiber Optic Cable
• Broadband Over Powerline
(BPL)
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 zones
Aggregation
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 MUCH BROADBAND
COSTS DEPENDS ON…
• How fast you want to go
• Residential or business use
• Pricing of the provider
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
WWW.C ONNECTING C OMMUNITIES . INFO
Southern Rural Development Center