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 Broadband
technology is a key driver of economic growth.
The ability to share increasing amounts of information, at greater
and greater speeds, increases productivity, facilitates interstate
commerce, and helps drive innovation. But perhaps most important,
broadband has the potential to affect almost every aspect of
our lives... The United States and the Commission have a long
history and tradition of making sure that rural areas of the
country are connected and have the same opportunities for communications
as urban areas.”
— FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin
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| Broadband Services |
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A range of different technology platforms can be used, either independently
or in conjunction with one another, to provide broadband services.
The links below provide additional information on how each of these
various technologies works.
Broadband over Power Line (BPL)
Power lines reach virtually every community in the
country; thus BPL has the potential to play an important
role in providing broadband services to American
homes and consumers.
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Cable
 Cable
operators have been upgrading infrastructure and
employing the use of digital technologies to allow
the offering of high speed Internet access.
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Digital Subscriber
Line (DSL)
DSL electronically enhances the conventional copper
telephone voice line, enabling it to simultaneously
provide both voice service and high-speed data traffic.
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Fiber
Fiber-to-the-premises technologies use fiber optic
cables that run from a distribution frame directly
to a customer’s home, property, or neighborhood
to provide high-capacity broadband services.
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Satellite
 The
ubiquity of satellite signals has long held the
potential to deliver broadband communications anywhere
and everywhere in America.
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Wireless
There are a variety of terrestrial wireless technologies
available or being developed to provide broadband
services.
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| The FCC and
the U.S. Department of Agriculture oversee programs
that provide funding for broadband deployment in rural
areas. The USDA provides low-interest loans that may
be used to build new and modernize existing telecommunications
networks in rural areas, and the FCC’s Schools
and Libraries Universal Service Program and Rural Health
Care Support Program provide financial support for broadband
services to schools, libraries, and rural health care
providers.
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| A number of organizations
outside the FCC have information on broadband technologies
and deployment.
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