Internet service providers (ISPs)—typically private businesses, electric and telephone cooperatives, or municipal utilities—own and operate broadband networks, which employ a range of technologies to connect customers to the internet. Those technologies are generally described in terms of the “speeds,” rates at which they transmit data, and “latencies,” the amount of time required for data to travel to its destination and back along the network, of the connections they provide. Understanding how the various technologies work and their relative strengths and limitations is important for policymakers engaged in debates around broadband funding and deployment.
Most broadband customers in the United States are connected to the internet by a wireline connection, which involves a physical line—typically using fiber optic cables, hybrid coaxial cable, or copper telephone wire—running to a structure. There are three primary types of wireline service:
However, FTTH coverage remains well below that of cable. According to the Fiber Broadband Association, fiber accounts for 20% of internet service market share in the U.S., compared with just above 50% for cable. To help expand the availability of fiber networks nationwide, ISPs have committed to investing $60 billion over the next five years to build out FTTH. And the guidelines for the American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and Capital Projects Fund prioritize funding for fiber infrastructure projects.
In rural areas and places with low housing density or long distances between homes, wirelines for last-mile connections—the segment of the network that connects an ISP to a customer—are cost prohibitive. However, ISPs are increasingly using fixed wireless or satellite service to deliver internet access to homes and businesses in these more remote communities.
Fixed wireless connections are transmitted through towers, similar to cell phone towers, to an antenna mounted on a customer’s premise. Like DSL, fixed wireless connections get slower as distance from the transmitting tower increases, so the service is fast and reliable for consumers close to a tower but slower and less reliable for those farther away, particularly if the line of sight between the tower and the antenna is disrupted. Although fixed wireless covers less than half of U.S. households to date, it does provide a reliable last-mile option for rural areas, especially when the towers are connected to fiber cables.
Similarly, internet provided via satellites may present another alternative for consumers in rural or remote areas. Traditional geostationary satellite technologies use individual satellites orbiting at over 22,000 miles above the Earth to deliver service at speeds of up to 40 Mbps. However, geostationary satellite service is marked by high latencies, up to 900 milliseconds, which create challenges for customers seeking to use real-time applications, such as online gaming and video streaming. A new technology, low-earth-orbit satellite broadband, uses constellations of satellites in orbit 200-800 miles above the Earth to offer greater reliability, faster speeds, and lower latencies compared with geostationary service, but it does not yet have the capacity to support the large subscriber bases reached by the dominant wireline providers.
More than 83% of people in the U.S. access the internet on their smartphones, tablets, or other mobile devices. And these devices are the only means of internet connection for 15% of Americans. In general, because mobile access and wireline connections offer different speeds and functionality, consumers tend to view the two types of service as complementary and subscribe to both if they have the means.
ISPs deliver mobile connections via three technologies:
Wireless infrastructure depends on spectrum—electromagnetic radio frequencies—to transmit data to end users’ devices. Spectrum may be “licensed,” specific frequencies granted by the FCC to individual ISPs for their exclusive use, or “unlicensed,” that is, available for use by anyone. Different technologies require different spectrum. For instance, 5G uses high frequencies that enable data to travel faster but not as far as lower frequencies, and so it requires a greater density of receivers and transmitters to move data across long distances than do 4G and earlier generations of wireless service.
Each day in the U.S., Americans access billions of webpages, stream millions of videos, and participate in thousands of hours of virtual meetings over broadband networks.
Significant parts of American life, including education, health care, shopping, and workforce training, are increasingly happening online. And because of this trend, households need reliable broadband—high-speed internet connections—more than ever before. In response, policymakers at all levels of government are working to expand the availability of broadband service.
Policymakers working to improve the availability and affordability of high-speed internet service, or broadband, need to understand how data travels across the millions of miles of pipes, cables, wires, and other equipment owned by various ISPs between users across the country and around the world.
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