Broadband Technologies

How is broadband delivered?

Broadband services can be delivered in different ways - over an ordinary telephone line, over a cable-TV connection, or wirelessly through the air via a satellite dish or aeriel.

ADSL

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) was originally designed for delivery of video content over "ordinary" phone lines. It’s now being adapted to deliver internet data at high speed.

The main benefit of this technology is that, in using existing phone twisted pair cable; there is minimal disruption (e.g. digging up the road) in routing to your house. Although it uses your existing phone cable, you can still make telephone calls whilst connected to the internet.

Cable

Cable uses a special type of modem that connects to a local cable TV line to provide a continuous connection to the internet. Like a dial-up modem, a cable modem is used to send and receive data, but the difference is that transfer speeds are much faster.

Cable Modem uses the Cable TV feed to your home and so is restricted to those areas that have a Cable TV Provider.

Fixed Wireless

Using an aerial on the roof, or wall, of your building rather than a fixed landline or telephone wire, fixed wireless broadband can connect a computer to the internet.

Satellite

This is a specialised form of wireless communication, using a satellite dish as the aerial. Its main disadvantage is that there is a delay on sending the signal all the way into space and then back again. Despite this, satellite is the only broadband service available everywhere in Ireland.