Broadband technology and its distinctions from Wi-Fi

Broadband refers to high-speed internet services that differ significantly from wireless Wi-Fi. While Wi-Fi is a wireless network that broadcasts signals within a location, broadband describes the high-speed connection delivered to a premises by an Internet Service Provider.

In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission defines broadband as service providing at least 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload speeds. The average broadband speed in the US is approximately 124Mbps, a massive increase from the slow dial-up speeds of previous decades.

In the United Kingdom, broadband technologies include ADSL, which was common in rural areas but is expected to be phased out by 2027 alongside the cessation of analogue telephone services. Another common method is Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC), which uses fibre-optic cables to a street cabinet and copper wires to reach homes, offering speeds up to 80 Mbps.