What is Broadband?

“The term broadband commonly refers to high-speed Internet access that is always on and faster than the traditional dial-up access. Broadband includes several high-speed transmission technologies such as:

• Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
• Cable Modem
• Fiber
• Wireless
• Satellite
• Broadband over Powerlines (BPL)”

(FCC, 2014)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) currently defines broadband as connectivity speeds that reach a minimum of 25mbps downstream and 3mbps upstream (25/3). The FCC definition of broadband is particularly important as it establishes a minimum qualification for many of the federal broadband grant programs.