What is High Speed Internet?

The Internet has grown from a mere curiosity in the early 1990s to one of the most important influences upon modern society. The arrival of high speed Internet access has enhanced the Internet's affects upon the world, enabling businesses and people to transmit live video to one another around the world.

Types of High Speed Internet Access

Most high speed Internet is referred to as broadband communications. Broadband is a nebulous term, but it typically means a level of service that allows the transmission of high-quality video and audio data. Examples of broadband Internet access include Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and Cable Internet services. Satellite-based Internet services can also qualify, although they are typically plagued with high latency issues.

Benefits

Originally, Internet access was achieved either by students and staff at a university, or the use of modems over phone lines at home. Universities carry implicit or explicit restrictions on how the Internet can be used, and modems were too slow to transmit anything except simple text data. The onset of high speed Internet, particularly to users at home, made a whole new global economy possible. For instance, it enabled cheap teleconferencing and the distribution of music and movies online. In addition, people can now capture video using their cell phones and transmit live footage around the world.

Problems

High speed Internet is not available everywhere. Rural areas have the least amount of access, as well as underdeveloped nations, because it isn't considered cost-effective to serve citizens who live there. Some Internet service providers offer higher speeds than they are able to deliver, which is called "over-selling"; as a result, Internet traffic can be slowed down by excessively high demand.