Broadband internet has revolutionised the way in which us humble humans communicate with each other, whether it is through social networking sites strengthening old relationships and building new ones, VoIP calls giving distant relatives the opportunity to chat for free and on demand video services allowing entertainment to be enjoyed as and when the viewer wants it rather than as dictated by television schedulers.

It has also allowed businesses to grow and enter the digital age, offering Wi-Fi to their customers and clients, setting up networks and servers and storing files online for ease of access.

However, broadband wasn't conceived fully formed, and has been developing over several years and is now a term that encompasses several different technology trees rather than a singular service, so looking back over its evolution can help us understand why it is what it is today as well as where it may be going in the future.

Broadband - The Early Years

Broadband internet has been around in various forms for over a decade, though the term has covered different types of services. In essence it describes a digital internet service that allows access to the internet and all of the functionality that entails, the oldest form of which was ISDN, or Integrated Service Digital Network.

This saw it's largest use in the late 1990s though there are very few offerings of ISDN nowadays for the personal user, as there are much faster and cheaper alternatives. For the personal user, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is the most common form of broadband today, and as it uses existing copper telephone lines is available to the largest market around the globe.

Initially ADSL was only capable of speeds between 128Kbps and around 1Mbps, and this was a relatively expensive service when compared with dial up offerings. However, with the improvement of ADSL networking technology you can now receive anywhere between 2Mbps and 24Mbps using ADSL broadband.

However, ADSL is restricted by offering a much higher download speed than an upload speed, and the actual speed of your connection will depend on the length of your line, and as a result those in particularly isolated areas may not be able to receive ADSL broadband internet services.

Wired Alternatives to ADSL Broadband

Rather than using an ADSL service there has also been the option of using underground cabling to receive broadband for a few years now, and in the UK Virgin Media are the largest supplier of these services. Thanks to the latest fibre optic cabling, which doesn't have the same disadvantages as ADSL, up to 50Mbps can be achieved, although this is of course an expensive option and only available in areas with a cable network.

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Wi-Fi and Mobile Broadband

Liberating broadband from wires is a relatively recent development in the broadband story, and began with the development of Wi-Fi technology for the home users, to the point that most ISPs will offer a free wireless router to new customers. Wi-Fi allows users to create a wireless internet network in their home and access their land line broadband connection without the need for a wired solution anywhere within range of their router's signal.

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This has made laptops hugely popular and relegated the desktop to hardcore gamers and multimedia fanatics. Mobile broadband has taken this liberation even further, using 3G mobile networks to connect users without a land line up and down the country at speeds of up to 7.2Mbps.