How Does High-Speed Internet Become Available?

DSL Internet service and cable Internet service are two of the most "conventional" forms of broadband Internet. DSL, or digital subscriber line, delivers digital, broadband internet across copper telephone lines and wires. Cable Internet delivers digital Internet through cable television lines. Each of these types of broadband Internet becomes available when the company owning the phone or cable lines in a particular geographic area either makes arrangements to provide Internet service through those lines, or contracts with another company to do so.

Fiber-optic Internet service, one of the fastest types of broadband Internet service available, is delivered digitally across a network of fiber-optic cables. Unlike DSL and cable Internet, fiber-optic Internet does not rely upon an existing nationwide network already in place for other purposes. Thus, fiber-optic Internet does not become available in a particular geographic region until fiber-optic cables are laid in that area and a company makes arrangements to provide Internet service via those cables.

Wireless Internet service does not require cables or lines of any kind for service. Instead, wireless Internet service delivers data digitally using radio frequencies, the same technology that enables cell phones. Wireless Internet becomes available when a company extends its wireless network to cover a new area. Wireless Internet is currently generally available in metropolitan and well-populated regions. Longer-range wireless technologies are proving a good solution for providing broadband Internet service to rural areas, as well.

Satellite Internet provides broadband Internet service digitally via a satellite signal and a receiving satellite dish, just as satellite television uses these technologies. Because of the hardware involved, satellite Internet can be quite costly to install but, like long-range wireless Internet, it can be an excellent solution for customers in rural and under-served areas. Satellite Internet service becomes available when a company positions a satellite such that customers in that area have a clear line of site to the satellite.

Broadband Internet is an ever-evolving set of technologies, with new types of access developing all the time. For example, in some areas a new technology delivering broadband Internet service via power lines and wires is now being tested. Technologies such as this, if developed further, could be very useful in bringing high-speed Internet service to rural and under-served areas. These new technologies become available as companies test them and move them into new geographic regions.