Homes and businesses have many different wires or connections for telephone, cable and electricity. For many years these were separate networks and could only deliver one type of service. Telephone lines delivered phone service, cable delivered video service, and electric lines delivered electricity. Today it is technically possible to deliver broadband service and digital content (voice, video, data) using any of these wire connections or "pipes." Your phone company might also be your cable company and vice versa or your electric company might be delivering broadband and phone services. Each of these connections or pipes has pros and cons relative to broadband delivery.

The telephone network is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous communications infrastructures. Without any upgrades the same network that brought your grandparents a party line can give you access to the Internet through a dial-up modem. The telephone network can also provide broadband service using Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL). DSL is available through the local phone company. Call your local phone company to find out if DSL service is available in your community or neighborhood.

Broadband Over the Cable Network (Cable Modem)

Another pipe running into most homes is the coaxial cable that traditionally provides television programming. According to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association cable passes by 99% of occupied homes in the United States. Most cable companies have upgraded their networks to deliver cable modem broadband service over the same network that delivers video programming.

Cable modem service is adequate for residential service and many small businesses. However, like DSL it is not adequate for large businesses.

Another pipe that goes to every house is from the electric company. It is now possible to deliver broadband service through a technology called Broadband over Powerline or BPL. BPL is a relatively new entry in the delivery of broadband service. Several electric companies have developed pilot projects to determine the economic feasibility of using BPL to deliver broadband. Technically BPL service allows customers to simply plug a special modem into any outlet in their home to access high speed Internet.

Recommended Resource: CURRENT Communications Services has an excellent online video about Broadband over Powerline.

Fiber optic cable is another type of wired broadband delivery technology. Fiber optic cables carry digital information in the form of light pulses and are capable of delivering very high levels of broadband. The Internet backbone runs across the world on fiber optic cable.

There are many acronyms associated with fiber cable build outs. Below is a brief list of the common fiber acronyms you may encounter.

• FTTH – Fiber to the Home, also know as FTTP – Fiber to the premise
• FTTN – Fiber to the neighborhood
• FTTC – Fiber to the curb
• FTTx – Fiber to everyplace

Fiber to the home networks connect a fiber optic strand the diameter of a hair to each home or business. The high bandwidth available through fiber technology enables delivery of the Triple Play (voice, video and data) over the same network infrastructure.

The number of fiber to the home networks is growing. Several large telephone companies are in the process of building fiber to the home networks to deliver video services in addition to voice and data services. Most new fiber to the home connections are located in suburbs and new developments where companies get enough subscribers to pay for the network deployment or government supported projects such as UTOPIA in Utah that involves several cities.

Examples: Buffalo, Minnesota and Columbus, Kansas. In addition to fiber to the home projects several rural communities and counties such as Pickens County, Alabama are building "fiber rings" to improve the availability and affordability of broadband services to businesses and residents.