Broadband is a term used to describe high throughput Network (usually Internet) Connections, i.e. capable of transferring Data at High Speeds.
There are essentially two main types of Broadband, namely Wired and Wireless Broadband.
Wired Broadband
Wired Broadband connections general use Copper cables or Fibre Optic, and usually provide much lower and more stable Latency compared to wireless broadband connections.
Wired Broadband Services available in South Africa
Telkom's ADSL and Diginet services are considered to be wired broadband services.
Wireless Broadband
Wireless Broadband connections use radio transmissions to transmit data back and forth between the user's wireless device or wireless modem and one or more Base-stations.
There are many different types of Wireless Broadband services, each of which operate within different parts of the radio Frequency spectrum.
Wireless Broadband Services available in South Africa
The following are wireless broadband technologies currently deployed in South Africa: iBurst, HSDPA, IPWireless, Wifi, Vanilla-3G, Biznet Express. Wimax is another example of Wireless Broadband that will hopefully soon be available to consumers in South Africa, as will CDMA2000.
Fixed Broadband
A fixed broadband service is one that can only be used in a single location, for example Telkom's ADSL service is considered to be fixed because ADSL is only enabled by Telkom for specific customers' copper lines which cannot be moved from one place to another.
Other examples of fixed broadband can include wireless broadband services that are fixed to one location and cannot easily be moved, for example Biznet Express.
Mobile Broadband
A wireless broadband service is considered (by consumers) to be a mobile broadband service, only when there is sufficient signal coverage in numerous different locations, and specifically when the signal coverage is on average so pervasive that a consumer can reasonably expect to stay connected when traveling from one urban area to another, as well as not having to worry about whether there will be signal coverage in an urban area being traveled to.
Nomadic Broadband
A wireless broadband service is considered (by consumers) to be a nomadic broadband service, when the service does not have sufficient signal coverage to be considered to be a Mobile Broadband service, however a consumer can reasonably expect to find signal coverage in some urban areas, and can therefore use the connection in more than one fixed location, but not necessarily stay connected in between urban areas.
ICASA's Broadband Definition
ICASA has defined the term Broadband in the context of its ADSL Regulations, which specifies a minimum speed of 256kbps, however ICASA has not yet drafted or defined its interpretation of Broadband in the context of wireless services, and since the ADSL Regulations only apply to ADSL, there is effectively no regulated definition of what constitutes a Wireless Broadband service.
International Broadband Definition
Internationally, the minimum download speed requirement for any broadband service is 1Mbits/s or 1024kbits/s, this is set by the ITU.
There are essentially two main types of Broadband, namely Wired and Wireless Broadband.
Wired Broadband
Wired Broadband connections general use Copper cables or Fibre Optic, and usually provide much lower and more stable Latency compared to wireless broadband connections.
Wired Broadband Services available in South Africa
Telkom's ADSL and Diginet services are considered to be wired broadband services.
Wireless Broadband
Wireless Broadband connections use radio transmissions to transmit data back and forth between the user's wireless device or wireless modem and one or more Base-stations.
There are many different types of Wireless Broadband services, each of which operate within different parts of the radio Frequency spectrum.
Wireless Broadband Services available in South Africa
The following are wireless broadband technologies currently deployed in South Africa: iBurst, HSDPA, IPWireless, Wifi, Vanilla-3G, Biznet Express. Wimax is another example of Wireless Broadband that will hopefully soon be available to consumers in South Africa, as will CDMA2000.
Fixed Broadband
A fixed broadband service is one that can only be used in a single location, for example Telkom's ADSL service is considered to be fixed because ADSL is only enabled by Telkom for specific customers' copper lines which cannot be moved from one place to another.
Other examples of fixed broadband can include wireless broadband services that are fixed to one location and cannot easily be moved, for example Biznet Express.
Mobile Broadband
A wireless broadband service is considered (by consumers) to be a mobile broadband service, only when there is sufficient signal coverage in numerous different locations, and specifically when the signal coverage is on average so pervasive that a consumer can reasonably expect to stay connected when traveling from one urban area to another, as well as not having to worry about whether there will be signal coverage in an urban area being traveled to.
Nomadic Broadband
A wireless broadband service is considered (by consumers) to be a nomadic broadband service, when the service does not have sufficient signal coverage to be considered to be a Mobile Broadband service, however a consumer can reasonably expect to find signal coverage in some urban areas, and can therefore use the connection in more than one fixed location, but not necessarily stay connected in between urban areas.
ICASA's Broadband Definition
ICASA has defined the term Broadband in the context of its ADSL Regulations, which specifies a minimum speed of 256kbps, however ICASA has not yet drafted or defined its interpretation of Broadband in the context of wireless services, and since the ADSL Regulations only apply to ADSL, there is effectively no regulated definition of what constitutes a Wireless Broadband service.
International Broadband Definition
Internationally, the minimum download speed requirement for any broadband service is 1Mbits/s or 1024kbits/s, this is set by the ITU.