Current broadband trends and developments

Broadband

Internet architecture and infrastructure have come a long way since the copper wire dial-up modem. A wave of cable and ADSL has infiltrated most of the world, penetrating into all but the most rural areas in which satellite remains one of the only viable options for getting online. As Comcast Business Class (2012) points out, "Optical fiber has long been in use providing the major long distance wiring that makes up the backbone of the Internet." Although Comcast Business Class (2012) has a vested interest in promoting the use of optical fiber infrastructure, the company's observations are correct. Bandwidth consumption has risen not just due to the growing numbers of consumers around the world demanding content, but also because of the content itself. High -- definition multimedia and other large size file transfers are increasing user bandwidth needs. So too is the potential that cloud computing has opened up for individual and enterprise consumers. Added to that is the growing interest in bandwidth-demanding services from gaming to communications. Optical fiber options remain the most potent solution to growing bandwidth needs.

In addition to fiber optics solutions, a new wave of wireless broadband solutions have become available for many consumers. Among the most common wireless solutions are 3G, 4G, and WiMAX (Lin, Dielacher, Zhan & Payne, 2011). However, the former two are not necessarily capable of handling the type of traffic that hard-wired broadband solutions provide (Comcast Business Class, 2012). Optical fiber solutions remain the most viable; consumers can take advantage of optical "fiber to the home" (FTTH) solutions.

The advent and increasing popularity of fiber to the home does not preclude wireless options from being viable in many situations. In fact, there is increasing pressure on wireless 3G, 4G, and WiMAX providers to expand their capacity for greater bandwidth as more and more people are accessing data via portable devices such as tablets and smartphones. A convergence of data streams is occurring, in which voice, video, image, document, email, and other types of information are being transferred across the same networks. "Data hunger" is driving companies to enable faster, more reliable, and safer transfers of data (Comcast Business Class, 2012).

Broadband trends cannot be analyzed without reference to the legal and ethical challenges they pose with regards to intellectual property protection on open systems. Future trends in broadband will not only take into consideration capacity for bandwidth but also encryption, and protection for digital rights. Especially as proprietary feeds, streams, and products are being shared and distributed, the need for advanced security and privacy protection is critical. This is true also for the protection of consumer data within an e-commerce environment.