The amount of data on the Internet is doubling each and every year. In the United Kingdom alone, over 85% of all households and businesses have access to a high-speed digital subscriber line(DSL). It is estimated that a bandwidth with the capacity to deliver 1 terabyte of data per second (Tpbs) will be required by 2015. Unbelievably, that figure is expected to rise to 10 Tbps by 2020. Presently, a typical Ethernet equipped laptop computer is capable of reaching speeds of somewhere between 100 megabits and a full megabit per second.
The availability of a reliable high-speed broadband Internet connection can substantially increase the productivity and efficiency of businesses. The need for fast broadband services is no less important for home-based entrepreneurs. However, attempting to increase the speed of a digital network presents many challenges. The customary practice of bundling a large number of copper connections to achieve higher speeds will result in unwieldy cables and expensive facility upgrades. Though traditional copper connections are cheaper than fibre optic broadband connections, fibre optic connections offer superior performance over longer distances. Broadband connection speeds will ultimately be governed by the pace of consumer demand, improvements in technology and how much subscribers are willing to pay for higher speeds.
The actual performance of the bandwidth provided by a service provider will likely be influenced by a number of factors. The vast majority of bandwidth ratings advertised by service providers are asymmetrical. ADSL connections utilize two distinct ratings to describe the performance capacity of a network. The first number represents the maximum bandwidth that is available for downloading data. The second and typically lower number in the bandwidth rating represents the capacity of a subscriber to upload data. Since most residential subscribers download far more information than they upload, an asymmetric network connection makes good sense for most consumers. Many other DSL customers, especially business subscribers, prefer access to a symmetric (SDSL) network connection.
The average DSL subscriber will be unable to attain the maximum rating of their broadband connection rating. The quality of the wiring of a business,neighbourhood or household can significantly reduce the potential speed of an Internet connection. Outside of replacing the copper wiring in a building or neighbourhood, there’s nothing a subscriber can do about this limitation. The distance between the hub of a telephone company and a given household or business can also reduce broadband speeds. The longer the distance, the slower the broadband performance is likely to be. Another consideration is the presence of spyware on a computer. Spyware has a tendency to steal valuable bandwidth, so it makes good sense to employ an effective anti-spyware program on a regular basis.
The business of broadband infrastructure is highly competitive. Broadband services represent Internet connections that are always on and provide data rates that exceed 128 kilobits per second (Kbps). Fortunately, fewer and fewer subscribers are restricted to narrow band connections featuring bandwidths below 128 Kbps.
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