Broadband Jargon Buster
April 11th, 2011 | Author: admin
Like any aspect of computer technology, broadband jargon can be confusing. There are many specialized terms-and, to make it worse, many of these terms are very similar. This article will seek to explain the difference between the various terms you might hear salesmen use when trying to sell you any kind of broadband.
Bandwidth
Think of bandwidth as a measure of how fast a broadband internet connection is. Specifically, it refers to how many kilobits (or megabits) of data can be transferred over the connection in one second. When you purchase broadband packages from an internet service provider, you often have a selection of bandwidth sizes to choose from.
Narrowband
A low-speed internet connection. Anything slower that 128 kbps (kilobits per second) is considered narrowband. This includes dialup internet connections, which are limited to 56 kbps.
Broadband
A high-speed internet connection. Anything faster than 128 kbps is considered high-speed broadband.
Wireless Broadband
Put simply, mobile broadband is any wireless, mobile high-speed connection to the internet.
Wireless Router
A device that can convert any hard-wire internet connection (like the internet connection you get through your phone or cable lines) into a wireless, mobile broadband connection. It transmits this connection via radio signals. Most people set up a wireless router in their homes so that their laptop can access the internet from any room in the house without having to deal with messy tangled wires.
Wireless Network
This is a set of computers that can communicate with each other, and share a single wireless mobile broadband internet connection. Each wireless router creates its own wireless network. Computer that connect to the router’s wireless network can access the internet and to other computers on the network. For example, your could can connect to your desktop and transfer files to it.
Open Network
This is a wireless network that ANY computer can access and connect to the internet through.
Encrypted Network or Closed Network
This is a wireless network that only allows computers that have the encryption password to access it and connect to the internet.
Wireless Access Point (also known as WAP or “hotspots”)
This is a wireless network set up in a public location. It may be an open network for anyone to use (like those found in libraries or airports), or an encrypted network reserved only for paying customers (like those found in some hotels and restaurants).
Not to be confused with Wireless Broadband, mobile broadband is internet access provided, not by your internet service provider through a wireless router, but by your mobile phone company.
Unlike a wireless router, which is pretty much stuck at your home where in can be plugged into your phone or cable line, mobile broadband access can be taken with you wherever you go within your mobile phone company’s coverage area. It is this type of internet connections that allows you to access the internet from inside a moving car or in the middle of a park.
Mobile broadband packages are offered by several different mobile phone companies. Often both a mobile phone plan and a data plan in included in those packages. And, like internet service providers, some mobile phone companies may offer several different packages with different prices for different bandwidth speeds.
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