Common questions about broadband

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What is broadband?

Broadband and equipment

Connecting to broadband

Broadband and your phone

What is broadband?
Broadband is a collective term used to describe a digital high-speed internet connection. Broadband has a higher bandwidth than a dial up connection, allowing more information to be transmitted quicker and easier.

How does ADSL and cable broadband work?
As broadband uses a wider bandwidth, giving it a larger capacity to send and receive information, broadband 'splits' the telephone line so that both voice and data can be transmitted.

What is ADSL broadband?
ADSL or Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line is the most common type of broadband as it uses a standard phone line and is supplied via BT. It simply means that by converting your analogue phone line to a digital line the transmission potential of your telephone line can be used to simultaneously transmit data at high speed.

As a result, data can be transferred at greatly increased speeds. An analogue modem works at a maximum speed of 56Kbits/sec, but ADSL works at speeds of at least 512Kbits/sec and today can go up to 24Mb.

The term Asymmetric simply means data arriving at your computer arrives faster than data leaving your computer, which is why packages always quote higher download speeds compared to upload speeds.

What equipment do I need?
Some broadband providers will provide you with a modem, filters and installation software. This can be free or involve a charge. Or you can buy the hardware you need such as a wireless router from a high street retailer. Our broadband comparison and switching service includes details about the hardware that is included with each package.

We also recommend you read our article What broadband equipment will I need?

What are the PC and Mac specifications?

Each broadband internet provider has its own PC and Mac specifications. When you compare broadband packages, we highlight the specifications with each package’s technical details which is available from your results.

How is broadband connected to my home?
Most home users receive broadband via the following two methods:

ADSL
Your analogue BT line is converted into an Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line via a modem at your home and at the BT phone exchange.

Cable
Your home computer is connected to the internet via a high speed cable modem using a cable network.Other technologies for receiving broadband are also available, such as satellite, radio or optical wireless and power line. These methods however tend to be relatively expensive or not yet widely available. For these reasons, the uSwitch.com broadband comparison and switching service does not yet include them.

How long does it take to get connected to broadband?
It only takes a few minutes to sign up to broadband online with uSwitch.com. The actual time between signing up and your broadband account being activated for the first time ranges between 5 and 15 days depending on which broadband internet provider you have signed up with.

Do I need a phone line to use broadband?
Most broadband packages use ADSL technology and therefore need a BT phone line that can support broadband.

There are some packages that connect to broadband via a cable modem and a cable network such as ntl or Telewest and so you do not need a BT phone line.

However, whether you connect to broadband via a phone line or a cable network you still need to live in an area where the local phone exchange or cable network is broadband-enabled.

Will I need to get another phone line?
No. One of the benefits of broadband is that it allows you to run your internet connection and your phone line simultaneously.