Despite its worldwide growth and promotion by policymakers, network
operators, content providers and other stakeholders, broadband does not have a single,
standardized definition. The term “broadband” may refer to multiple aspects of the
network and services, including: 1) the infrastructure or “pipes” used to deliver
services to users; 2) high-speed access to the Internet; and/or 3) the services
and applications available via broadband networks, such as Internet protocol television
(IPTV) and voice services that may be bundled in a “triple play” package with broadband
Internet access. Further, many countries have established definitions of broadband
based on speed, typically in Mbit/s or kilobits per second (kbit/s), or based on
the types of services and applications that can be used over a broadband network
(i.e., functionality). Due to each country’s unique needs and history, including
economic, geographic and regulatory factors, definitions of broadband vary widely.
Traditionally, broadband has often been defined in terms of data
transmission speed (i.e., the amount of data that can be transmitted across a network
connection in a given period of time, typically one second, also known as the data
transfer rate or throughput). Defining broadband in terms of speed has been an important
element in understanding broadband, particularly since the data transfer rate determines
whether users are able to access basic or more advanced types of content, services
and applications over the Internet. However, attempts to define broadband in terms
of speed present certain limitations. To address these limitations, some countries
(e.g., Brazil)*
and international organizations (e.g., OECD)* have decided
or proposed not to categorize broadband in terms of speed, but are instead looking
at broadband in terms of functionality—focusing on what can and cannot be done with
a certain type of connection.
The Broadband Strategies Toolkit and Handbook view broadband more
holistically as a high-capacity ICT platform that improves the variety, utility
and value of services and applications offered by a wide range of providers, to
the benefit of users, society, and multiple sectors of the economy.
From a policy perspective, broadband should not be viewed simply
as a certain speed or functionality, but as an enabling ICT platform that can potentially
influence the entire economy. As noted by the OECD and the World Bank, the true
benefits of broadband are expected to arise less from any direct impact but instead
from the applications that broadband enables and the associated gains in productivity.*
While there are direct effects from investments in broadband technology and deployment
of the infrastructure, the indirect effects arise from factors that drive growth,
including innovation, efficiency and competition, as well as the facilitation of
new and useful products, services, processes and business models that could not
exist without broadband.*
According to the OECD, as broadband technology continues to improve and bandwidth
increases, the capacity for broadband to act as an enabler of structural change
in the economy expands due to its impact on an increasing number of sectors and
activities.*
Viewing broadband as an enabling platform and key input across sectors is the basis
of identifying the role that broadband can play as a general purpose technology
(GPT), which is further addressed in the section 1.3.4.
In order to capture the full range of these potential benefits,
it may be useful for policymakers to consider broadband through an ecosystem framework,
as outlined in section 1.5.1. This perspective comprises both supply-side considerations
(network platforms) and demand-side considerations, such as e-government initiatives,
development of services and applications). To encourage the diffusion of broadband-enabled
innovations throughout the economy, policymakers should also consider the absorptive
capacity of various sectors, including health, education, energy and transportation.
Unless all these elements—supply, demand, and absorptive capacity—are coordinated,
the impact of broadband on the economy as a whole will be constrained.
Seeing broadband as an enabling ICT platform does not contradict
or exclude common understandings that define broadband in terms of speed, functionality,
or technology. This section will give an overview of more specific elements of broadband,
usually used to narrow the term down.
In the most practical sense, the term broadband is generally understood
to mean a dedicated or “always-on” connection to the Internet with speeds faster
than dial-up. The concept of broadband also involves being able to do things that
are virtually impossible to do over dial-up given its limited bandwidth—videoconferencing,
online gaming and watching videos, to name a few. Broadband has commonly been defined
in terms of a minimum data transmission speed, usually referring to the amount a
user can download. Defining broadband in terms of speed refers to the amount of
data (generally in bits) that can be transmitted across a network connection in
a given period of time, typically one second. Also known as the data transfer rate
or throughput, speed has been an important element in understanding broadband, particularly
since the data transfer rate determines the types and range of content, services
and applications that a user may access.
Speed matters for users: An increasing
number of Internet applications, such as those that display high-quality video content,
require high speeds to work. These applications often cannot be downloaded or viewed
unless the Internet connection is of a certain speed and quality. When a user tries
to access an application hosted on a remote server, the speed and quality of the
user’s connection is measured by the server, and an error message is displayed if
the connection does not meet the minimum requirements to provide the service. Even
if an Internet application or website does not impose these requirements, there
are other consequences to users on slower connections. Usability suffers when an
application or website meant to be used over broadband is accessed over dial-up,
often to the point of futility. A website or application that is accessible but
effectively unusable over slower connections will lead only to frustrated users
and, for commercial websites, higher expenses for customer support. In addition,
as broadband connections have become faster and more widespread, website designers
have taken advantage of the added bandwidth to offer richer and more complex websites.
Consumers on slower connections, and especially those on dial-up, may find that
their experience on the Internet worsens with each website redesign.
Box 1.1. Understanding Broadband Speeds
1 kbit/s = 1,000 bits per second
1 Mbit/s = 1,000,000 bits per second (1,000 kbit/s)
1 Gbit/s = 1,000,000,000 bits per second (1,000 Mbit/s)
However, definitions of the precise threshold of transmission rates
that determines whether Internet access is considered broadband vary. At the low
end, broadband is often defined as download speeds of at least 256 kilobits per
second (kbit/s). A 2009 ITU document, for example, defines broadband as at least
256 kbit/s.* This is the definition used
by other organizations, including the OECD, the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development, and the Partnership for Measuring ICT for Development, a consortium
of international organizations and agencies. However, Recommendation I.113 of the
ITU Standardization Sector, defines broadband as “transmission capacity that is
faster than [...] at 1.5 or 2.0” Mbit/s, and in reality, broadband services are
increasingly being offered at 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s), with the goal of
reaching 1 Gigabit per second (Gbit/s) and beyond.*
The higher the data transfer rate, the faster that files can be transmitted and,
in this way, broadband speed is linked with functionality.
Attempts to define broadband more specifically in terms of speed
can be challenging. As a 2008 study on behalf of the European Union (EU) noted:
Definitions based on data transfer
speed are not able to take into account the very fast evolution in technologies
and uses. Is a bandwidth of 256 kbit/s a broadband connection? Should the lower
limit be set to 1 Mbit/s? There is no definitive answer as the bandwidth required
to run internet applications is continuously increasing and infrastructure standards
are also continuously improving to face the growing demand. Such a definition can
only be relative to a particular moment in time in a particular country.*
Defining broadband in terms of speed presents several difficulties.
First, broadband speed definitions vary widely among countries and international
organizations from at least 256 kbit/s on the low end (such as in India)*
to faster than 1.5 Mbit/s on the high end (such as in Canada). Second, as referenced
in the above-mentioned EU study, definitions based on speed may not keep pace with
technology advances or with the speeds services and applications require to function
properly. In other words, what is considered “broadband” today may be seen as too
slow in the future as more advanced applications technologies develop. Thus, any
speed-based definition of broadband will need to be updated over time. Third, such
definitions may not reflect the speeds realized by end users such that the speeds
advertised by commercial broadband providers may be much higher than the speeds
set by the government as broadband or vice versa. For example, while Colombia’s
broadband speed definition is 1 Mbit/s, its average broadband connection speed is
already 1.8 Mbit/s.
Policymakers and regulators are struggling to develop definitions
of broadband that are appropriate to the time and that reflect rapidly improving
technological capabilities. In July 2009, for example, India’s telecommunications
regulator suggested that the government redefine broadband as connectivity of 2
Mbit/s or faster, up from the 256 kbit/s defined in the Broadband Policy of 2004.* Some countries
have developed different categories in addressing broadband. The Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunications Commission, for example, distinguishes between “high-speed
Internet service,” defined as at least 128 kbit/s, and “broadband service,” which
must be at least 1.5 Mbit/s.
In addition to or in place of these definitions, a number of countries
have minimized or avoided the issue of defining broadband in terms of speed and
have focused instead on setting ambitious minimum speed goals. Broadband speed goals
in these countries include:
- Australia’s goal is to make connections with speeds of 100 Mbit/s available
to 93 percent of homes, schools, and businesses by 2018.
- Finland has the goal of making 100 Mbit/s connections available to every
household by 2016.
- Germany’s goal is 50 Mbit/s connections for 75 percent of households by
2014.*
- The EU’s “Digital Agenda for Europe” calls for all Europeans to have access
to connections with speeds of at least 30 Mbit/s by 2020, with 50 percent or more
of households having access to speeds in excess of 100 Mbit/s.
- Korea, a country where broadband connection speeds already average almost
50 Mbit/s, has set the lofty goal of 1 Gbit/s connections by 2013.*
- Sweden aims for 40 percent of households and businesses having access
to 100 Mbit/s connections by 2015, and 90 percent by 2020.*
- The United Kingdom has relatively modest goals. Its “Digital Britain”
plan aims for universal connections of at least 2 Mbit/s by 2012.*
- The United States set a goal of providing 100 million households with
access to actual (not advertised) speeds of 100 Mbit/sMbit/s and all households
with access to actual speeds of at least 4 Mbit/s downlink and 1 Mbit/s uplink by
2020.*
Given the speed and unpredictability of technological progress, the FCC plans to
“review and revise” these goals every four years.*
Some countries are moving away completely from understanding broadband
in terms of speed and instead seek to define it in terms of functionality. This
is because minimum upload and download numbers do not always paint the whole picture,
and definitions based on bandwidth run the risk of always being a step behind. Defining
broadband in terms of functionality cuts to the chase: what can and cannot be done
with a certain connection. As with many information technologies, broadband has
demonstrated that it is quick-to-market, continually changing and unpredictable.
Customer expectations are continually ramping up as the need for more bandwidth
and faster connections is driven by more advanced services and applications.
For example, Brazil’s broadband plan avoids attaching a minimum
speed to its definition of broadband. Instead, broadband is defined as “the provision
of telecommunications infrastructure that enables information traffic in a continuous
and uninterrupted manner, with sufficient capacity to provide access to data, voice
and video applications that are common or socially relevant to users as determined
by the federal government from time to time.”*
This definition identifies those Internet applications that must be accessible over
an Internet connection in order for that connection to be considered broadband.
At the same time, it allows for the government to adjust the set of Internet applications
that serve as the benchmark.
However, for some purposes, defining broadband in terms of functionality
can be problematic as meeting the definition becomes more subjective. A definition
based on speed is easy to apply: if broadband is defined as at least 1.5 Mbit/s,
a 2 Mbit/s connection is broadband while a 1 Mbit/s connection is not. But when
broadband is defined in terms of functionality, the distinction between what is
and is not broadband becomes fuzzy. Admittedly, this can lead to positive outcomes,
for example, if citizens of a country can appeal to operators and regulators for
speeds that meet actual current usage criteria. Yet, the questions that need to
be answered also become more equivocal: Is being able to watch a YouTube video equal
to a broadband connection? What if it takes minutes to buffer and starts and stops
throughout?
For several contexts, being able to universally quantify broadband
can be useful. If a country wants to compare itself to its peers in terms of broadband
penetration, for example, it needs to follow a common metric. If it wants to be
able to track its growth in broadband availability from year to year, it needs to
set a standard that can be easily and reliably measured over time. Likewise, if
it wants to hold accountable telecommunications providers to their broadband deployment
plans it must provide a clear definition or set of expectations for providers to
meet.
To allay some of the aforementioned shortcomings, some countries
seem to be embracing a “hybrid” approach to defining broadband. On one hand, they
specify the minimum speed that will qualify as broadband. On the other hand, they
list the Internet applications that a broadband connection should support. For example,
the Canadian National Broadband Task Force has defined broadband as “a high-capacity,
two-way link between end users and access network suppliers capable of supporting
full-motion interactive video applications to all Canadians on terms comparable
to those available in urban markets.” Nonetheless, the CRTC defines broadband as
at least 1.5 Mbit/s (with anything faster than 128 kbit/s being defined as “high-speed”).
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission divides broadband into tiers as described
above, but also describes broadband as an “advanced communications systems capable
of providing high-speed transmission of services such as data, voice, and video
over the Internet and other networks.”*
Next to speed and functionality, in addressing “what is broadband,”
it is also useful to identify the various wireline and wireless technologies that
deliver connectivity to users. Generally, the three main wireline technologies currently
in use to deliver broadband to end user locations are: 1) digital subscriber line
(DSL); 2) hybrid fiber coaxial cable (HFC) or cable modem; and 3) fiber optic cable.
Fiber networks generally offer the fastest speeds. Particularly if fiber network
access reaches directly to the end user’s home or business, referred to as fiber-to-the-premises
(FTTP), then download speeds can reach 100 Mbit/s or more.*
Maximum download speeds ranging from 40 Mbit/s to over 100 Mbit/s can be achieved
through fiber-to-the-curb or -cabinet (FTTC), which carries the fiber network to
within a few hundred meters of the end user location with the remaining distance
covered by copper or coaxial cable.* Fiber, as well
as cable modem and the more advanced versions of DSL (such as Very-High-Speed DSL),
can support the latest business services, such as videoconferencing ‘or triple play’
services for households (Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), television services
and video-on-demand, and high-speed Internet access).
Third generation (3G) networks are the main mobile broadband technologies
available today. In 2011, there were nearly three billion 3G subscriptions,*
of which over 70 percent had peak download speeds of 7.2 Mbit/s or higher.*
As the number of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) deployments grows, mobile users will
be able to take advantage of the wide array of services available with fourth generation
(4G) networks offering download speeds of up to 100 Mbit/s. Notably, LTE deployments
are occurring at the fastest rate of any mobile technology ever, faster than both
second generation (2G) and 3G networks.* For greater detail
on the evolution of mobile broadband, as well as greater technical specifications
of wireline broadband, see Chapter 5 of the Broadband
Handbook and Module 2 of the Broadband Toolkit.