Misuse of the term 'Broadband'

[iamaboringperson]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed this.

Why do so many people and companies (and government organizations etc.) use the term 'Broadband' incorrectly ?

They use it when they refer to:
-ISDN
-xDSL (eg ADSL)
-T1, T3, E1 etc.
-Sattelite internet access

In fact, it's used in place of just about any form of WAN cabling technology other than 'POTS'

And broadband is analogue, not digital. So why do so many still call it digital?

This is like the CD-ROM crap from so long ago... there is no 'ROM' in a CD!!!


 :pissed:

[iamaboringperson]

Okay....

Broadband is analogue. Baseband is digital.

I'll write out some of what I have in my CCNA notes:


WAN technologies:

Circuit-switched services:
-POTS
  . Twisted pair copper wire
-Narrow band ISDN
  . Max bandwidth 128kbs for BRI, or 3mbps for DRI
  . Twisted pair copper wire

Packet-switched services:
-x.25 - old, widely used
   . extensive error checking
   . bandwidth up to 2mbps
   . twisted pair copper wire
-Frame-relay
   . Packet switched version of narrowband ISDN
   . More efficient than x.25
   . 44.736 mbps max b/w
   . twisted pair copper wire & optical fiber

Cell-switched services:
- ATM (Asynchronous transfer mode)
   . Uses 53 byte frames
   . Max 622 mbps B/W
   . Twisted pair copper wiere & optical fibre
   . Cost high
-SMDS (switched multimegabit data service)
   . Related to ATM
   . used in MAN's
   . 44.736bps max B/w
   . Twisted pair copper & optical fibre

Dedicated digital services:
-T1,T3,E1,E3 - T series for US - E series for Europe  (Australia uses a combination of them
   . Use time division multiplexing - slice up & assign time slots for data-transmission
   . T1 - 1.544 mbps
   . T3 - 44.736 mbps
   . E1 - 2.048 mbps
   . E3 - 34.368mbps
   . + more
   . Twisted pair copper & optical fiber
-xDSL (DSL - Digital subscriber line, x family tech.)
   . 51.84mbps max b/w
   . HDSL - High bit rate DSL
   . SDSL - Single-line DSL
   . ADSL - Asymetric DSL
   . VDSL - Very-high-bitrate DSL
   . RADSL - RAte adaptive DSL
-SONET (Synchronous Optical NETwork)
   . Optical fibre + copper
   . OC-1 - 51.84mbps
   . OC-192 - 9,952mbps
   . Uses WDM - Wavelength Division Multitapping
   . Lasers tuned to slightly different colors

Other:
- Dial-up modem
   . 56kbps max b/w
   . twisted pair phoneline
   . low cost, common
- Cable modem (shared analogue)
   . Data on same line as TV
   . 10Mbps max (degrades as more users attatch to given network segment)
   . Coaxial cable
- Wireless
   . Electromagnetic waves
   . Two classes of wan links: - Terrestrial (11mbps range - line of sight usually required) - Satelite (high cost, serves mobile users)


Okay, that didn't have much about Broadband V's Baseband, so I'll keep searching through my journal until I find some more

[iamaboringperson]

BTW, the problem I have with the term 'CD-ROM' is that since CD's were released, THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN READ ONLY. Why append -ROM to CD? There is actually little difference.

'Read Only' is redundant!

ROM has always stood for Read Only Memory. When 'CD-ROM' was first used, the ROM part stood for Read Only Memory.

The -ROM part was apparently the idea of some marketing guru who had very limited computer knowledge, and was only used in one country for a while and then it spread world-wide.

I say 'CD', it's so much easier!