A Digital Guide
Bandwidth: The capacity of a broadband connection, essentially how much data can be sent through a connection at one time.
Broadband: A general term for a high-speed internet connection, distinct from the old dial-up connections. DSL cable, fiber optic, and even satellite are all forms of broadband, albeit at different speeds and quality. DSL: It stands for Digital Subscriber Line and it’s broadband access over phone lines. Usually, it is not as fast as service through a cable modem and more comparable to fixed wireless broadband.
Femtocell: A small base station that connects to a phone network through your broadband connection and boosts cell service in your home. Sprint’s Airave is an example. Fiber optic broadband: The fastest form of broadband access in which data is sent via pulses of light through glass or sometimes plastic cables. Also the most costly to install.
Fixed wireless broadband: High-speed internet service provided through radio waves transmitted to a customer’s home rather than through cable or phone lines. More common in rural areas because installation costs are much lower than cable.
Last mile: The final leg of the connection between a service provider and customer’s home or business. With cable and DSL, it’s generally the costliest to install.
Latency: The time it takes to move data from point A to point B in a network. Together with bandwidth, this determines the performance of a broadband connection. Middle mile: This refers to the internet connection between the last mile connections and a major internet center. In rural areas, middle mile networks usually run along highways.
TV white space: The unused radio frequencies that served as buffer zones that preventing TV broadcasters from interfering with each other’s signals. In 2010, the FCC made these frequencies available for transmitting data and are now being used in some communities to provide wireless broadband service. VOIP: It stands for Voice Over IP and is a technology for making phone calls over an internet connection. Skype is the most well-known example. Wi-Fi hotspot: A location where Wi-Fi enabled smart phones, tablets and laptops are, through a router, able to connect to the internet using radio waves.