A little Microsoft humor...

[Thomas Charron]

On 5/18/07, Paul Lussier <p.lussier at comcast.net> wrote:
> Neil Joseph Schelly <neil at jenandneil.com> writes:
> > I read that quickly, but couldn't get to a point.  What difference does the
> > semantic definition of broadband mean anyway? I get 1Mbps SDSL to my home
> > with reliable bandwidth available, a line that never fails (or if it does, I
> > get an RFO), and a static IP (or more if I want them), and reverse DNS for
> > $50/month.  I consider that broadband service and a notch above the typical
> > out there, even if I can't burst to 8Mbps or whatever the going cable rate
> > is.
> An OC3 is > 8Mbps, but is not technically "broadband".  Broadband and
> bandwidth are not synonomous terms.  One is a means of delivering
> data, the other is a measurement of how much data you can deliver in a
> given amount time.
> You can have a broadband connection that delievers < 1Mpbs.
> According to Wikipedia:
>   Broadband in telecommunications is a term which refers to a signaling
>   method which includes or handles a relatively wide range of
>   frequencies...
> So, as long as the signalling is occuring over multiple frequencies,
> regardless of *HOW MUCH* data is being delivered, you have a broadband
> connections.  DSL is broadband, a T1 is not.

  And in the true spirit of 'truthyness'.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadband_Internet_access

    'Broadband Internet access, often shortened to "broadband
Internet" or just "broadband", is a high data-transmission rate
Internet connection.'

  I wonder how to term broadband actually got mixed it to mean 'high
data rate', besides just sounding cooler.  I'm betting it was cable
companies which first coined it.

-- 
-- Thomas