What is Broadband?
FCC’s Definition of broadband: The term broadband commonly refers to high-speed Internet access that is always on and faster than the traditional dial-up access.
As part of its 2015 Broadband Progress Report, the Federal Communications Commission has voted to change the definition of broadband by raising the minimum download speeds needed from 4Mbps to 25Mbps, and the minimum upload speed from 1Mbps to 3Mbps
Internet Speeds Explained One thing to consider when comparing Internet service providers is the speed of the Internet. A number of abbreviations are used when explaining Internet speeds.
The slowest is Kbps, or kilobits per second. The bit is the smallest measurement of information and was used by mobile carriers until speeds got faster. A kilobit is 1,000 bits. The average dial-up modem operates at a maximum of 56 Kbps, however its speed is more often between 40 to 50 Kbps.
Next up is KB/s or kilobytes per second. A byte is made up of eight bits, and bytes are often the measurement used for files on a computer. An average image on the web is around 1,000 KB, and would take around 2 minutes and 22 seconds to download on a dial-up modem running at maximum speeds.
Just like 1,000 bits make a kilobit, 1,000 kilobits make a megabit. The speed of megabits is called Mbps, or megabits per second.
MB/s stands for megabytes per second. A megabyte is made up of 1,000 megabits, and is the unit of measurement for larger files. A typical MP3 is around 4MB and would take 1 second to download on a more modern Internet speed of 25.6 megabits per second.
The next level is Gbps, or gigabits per second. A gigabit is made up of 125 megabytes. The fastest commercial Internet speeds are currently measured in gigabits per second, such as the service provided in Minneapolis, which offers a whopping 10 Gbps. The speed rate of 10 Gbps basically means that users will be able to download their favorite flicks in under a second, according to US Internet.