OVERVIEW OF BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY

OBJECTIVES
The main objective of this chapter is to build up the following
i) To understand what is Broadband
ii) To understand the need of broadband
iii) To familiarize with the various broadband technologies
iv) To familiarize with Broadband Network
INTRODUCTION
With the evolution of computer networking and packet switching concept a new era of integrated
communication has emerged in the telecom world. Rapid growth of data communication market
and popularity of Internet, reflect the needs of enhanced infrastructure to optimize the demand of
traffic. Integration of telecom and computer networking technology trend has further amplified
the importance of telecommunications in the field of information communication. It becomes a
tool for the conveyance of information, and thus can be critical to the development process.
Telecommunications has become one of the most important infrastructures that are very essential
to the socio-economic well being of any nation. As the Internet market continues to explode,
demand for greater bandwidth and faster connection speeds have led to several technological
approaches developed to provide broadband access to all consumers. The demand for high-speed
bandwidth is growing at a fast pace, driven mostly by growth in data volumes as the Internet and
related networks become more central to business operations. The rapid growth of distributed
business applications, e-commerce, and bandwidth-intensive applications (such as multimedia,
videoconferencing, and video on demand) generate the demand for bandwidth and access
network.
A concept of broadband services and the means of access technologies to bridge the customer
and service provider is emerged out through out the world. "Broadband" refers to high-speed
Internet access. Broadband Solutions represent the convergence of multiple independent
networks including voice, video and data into a single, unified, broadband network.

DEFINITION OF BROADBAND
Broadband is the nonspecific term for high-speed digital Internet access. To state the obvious,
broadband indicates a means of connectivity at a high or broad bandwidth. There are the
various ways to define the broadband: -
Term for evolving digital technologies that provide customers a high-speed data network
connection
Provides signal switched facility offering integrated access to voice, data, video, and
interactive delivery services
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines broadband as an advanced
telecommunications capability
Delivers services & facilities with an upstream and downstream speed of 200 Kbps or
more. Range varies from 128 Kbps to 100 Mbps.
In fact there is no specific International Definition for Broadband
In India, Department of Telecommunications has issued a Broadband policy in 2004. Keeping in
view the present status, Broadband connectivity is defined at present as: -
An always-on data connection that is able to support interactive services including Internet
access and has the capability of the minimum download speed of 256 kilo bits per second (kbps)
to an individual subscriber from the Point Of Presence (POP) of the service provider intending to
provide Broadband service where multiple such individual Broadband connections are
aggregated and the subscriber is able to access these interactive services including the Internet
through this POP. The interactive services will exclude any services for which a separate license
is specifically required, for example, real-time voice transmission, except to the extent that it is
presently permitted under ISP license with Internet Telephony.
It reflects that: -
One of the latest trends in enhancing communication systems involves broadband
technology
Broadband refers to greater bandwidth-or transmission capacity of a medium
Broadband technology will allow for high-speed transmission of voice, video, and data
over networks like the Internet
IMPLEMENTATION OF BROADBAND
To Strengthen Broadband Penetration, the Government of India has formulated a Broadband
Policy whose main objectives are to:-
Establish a regulatory framework for the carriage and the content of information in the
scenario of convergence.
Facilitate development of national infrastructure for an information based society.
Make available broadband interactive multimedia services to users in the public network.
Provide high speed data and multimedia capability using new technologies to all towns
with a population greater than 2 lakhs.