When we hear about the Internet there are always some repeated terms that sound continuously but perhaps you don’t know exactly what your operator’s technician is referring to when he talks to you, for example, about broadband. In the next paragraphs we will briefly explain what broadband is or what we should take into account when we hear this concept.
We may often confuse broadband with other terms like bandwidth, for example. Or maybe you think that broadband is synonymous with fiber optics. In these cases, we explain briefly and in a simple way what it is.
what is broadband
The term or concept “broadband” refers to the network that allows data to be transmitted at high speeds. Although it is a term used for years, it has been evolving as the years go by and the technology is getting better and faster. ADSL was considered years ago to be broadband and you may think that the term is left here but it is not. Broadband is any type of network that has the capacity to transport information at high speed. In other words, fiber optics is, but so was or is ADSL.
Broadband refers, as we say, to any network that allows high-speed data transmission. Fiber optics is included but also other technologies such as mobile broadband or cable or ADSL connection service. We can consider fiber optic broadband (being the most common today) but also ADSL broadband and 4G broadband or mobile networks that we use on the phone. They all allow high-speed data transmission, they are all part of the term or concept.
It is not a static concept over time. Not even if we change country. That is, it depends on where you live or how long you live that something is considered “broadband”. Connection speeds continually vary not only in time, but also in location. The minimum speed to be considered part of the term may vary from country to country.
Is broadband the same as fiber optics?
Both terms talk about Internet access but fiber optics is only a part of broadband where ADSL is also found. Both are considered broadband although there is a difference both in the installation and access as well as in the speed obtained in one and in the other, generally.
Although ADSL has stood out for its great coverage, it is currently fiber that dominates the market and the speed is increasing. Although currently and according to data from 2021, the minimum required to navigate correctly is 30 Mbps, the government in Spain trusts that in 2025 the entire population will have access to connections of at least 100 Mbps.
Bandwidth vs Broadband
It is important to differentiate between broadband or bandwidth. Although the names are practically identical, the concepts or terms are not. Broadband, as we have already explained in these paragraphs, is the concept referring to any high-speed data transmission network. Like fiber optics.
On the other hand, bandwidth is the amount of data that we can send or receive in a unit of time. That is, in bits per second or in megabits or gigabits per second (abbreviated as Mb/s and Gb/s) the most common when we talk about networks and that you have surely seen written many times.
