Broadband

Broadband Internet access, also called "broadband Internet" or just "broadband", is a high speed internet connection. Broadband ISPs fall into 2 main categories:
Cable (using the same cable as for TV), DSL (using phone lines). They will usually have a minimum speed of 256 kb/s up to 30 Mbit/s.

Just recently we are starting to see offers of fiber optics to the home. This will permits speeds of 100Mbits/s and more. Availability is still limited, but growing every day!

Today broadband is available in most US households via TV cable providers or the phone companies. In the US, broadband is rapidly become the standard. If you can afford it, broadband is strongly recommended. It is a totally different experience then dialup. With broadband you will very rarely wait for pages to load. You will experience the web in a much more productive way.

Technical Specifications

The most common Broadband Internet access or high-speed Internet are DSL and Cable modem. The futur, already available for some, is Fiber Optics in the Home.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line):

You basically have main 2 types of DSL: ADSL (Asynchronous-DSL) and SDSL (Symmetrical-DSL).
With SDSL downloads and uploads speeds are the same. With ADSL the the upload speed is slower the the download speed (this is fine for most internet users), since we tend to download a lot more then we upload.

The DSL speed with depend on the service you purchase. DSL providers usually will charge higher prices for higher speeds. Your distance to the "central office" (CO) might limit the speed you can actually get. In some case you can be so far from the central office (1¼ miles+), that DSL will not be reliable. I experienced this in Colorado and had to switch to cable-modem. Usually speed will range from 256kb/s to 1Mb/s. Lately we are seeing more and more variant of DSL. Like ADSL2+ which can deliver up to 24 Mb/s.

When using DSL and you main phone line, you will have to install filter (provided by the ISP in most cases).
You will also often here, from people selling DSL, that DSL is a dedicated line. This is true, in the sense that, from your home to the central office. your connection is on a dedicated physical cable. But once at the central office you use the same connection then all other DSL customers. So this is really more of a marketing selling point then a real difference. In fact most often cable-modem is faster then DSL.

Cable modem:

Cable modem is usually faster then DSL. Speeds range from 640kb/s to 7Mb/s (and more). With cable-modem all the home of a neighborhood share the same physical cable. If you are in a neighborhoods were many people tend to download large file you could experience slower speeds then usually. In other words the speed can vary based on how heavily your neighbors use the cable-modem connections.

Cable modem speed are capped (since the actual speed permitted by the physical coaxial cable is a lot more then what cable-modem providers offer).
For details see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncapping

Fiber Optics or Fiber To The Home (FTTH):

This is the future of the internet. Some lucky ones can already get this service in the United States. Fiber Optics is basically a fiber (think glass) that conducts light Yes think speed of light. Initially FTTH will offer speeds up to to 100Mb/s but will be able to grow with time. FTTH is far superior then any previous technologies and will permit Internet, TV and more on the same cable and still have room for more services in the coming decades.

How to select a high speed internet provider, ISP

Here a list of points that could be important when selecting an ISP for your high speed internet:

Which technologies can be delivered to your home. You will probably have a least two choice: Your cable TV provider and your phone provider.
What is the price of the services (this will range from about $30/month to $99/month).
What speed is offered by the ISP (and at what price?).
If you will need some help make sure this company can provide the good support (many support centers nowadays can be frustrating).
What will be the set-up cost (they often run special offers with $0 setup. It does not hurt to ask, they might give you fee setup).
Do they offer free dial-up in case you are on the road away from home ?
Do they offer any other software like (anti-spam, anti-virus, security, site-restrictions) can be a plus. Although you can buy these software on your own, don't base your decision just on these "add-ons", since they are usually "marketing gift" that are not as powerful then the commercial versions.
If you plan on using multiple emails addresses or hosting your own website, check the ISP's offering and add-ons prices, if application.

Once you are a customer, verify the speed you receive and do not hesitate to report problems with your connection. I had to get out of my 1 year contract with Covad, just a few weeks into it, since they could not deliver the speed I had purchase. In fact that connection was so bad it was "down" most of the time.

Recommended Broadband Providers: ISP

You're choice for a broadband ISP is usually restricted by where you live.

1) Cable-modem:
I'd have to say that after using DSL for many years (ADSL, SDSL...etc...) cable-modem appears to be a lot faster.
Although, I do notice an occasional slowdown, cable-modem appears faster then DSL (especially compared to the basic DSL offers you usually see in the $30/month range).

For cable-modem, today you will have mostly one choice: You local cable TV provider.
So check their web site to review their offer (contracts?, services ?, price ?).

In my market (Colorado) Comcast is the main provider. I've been using their "deluxe" cable offer and have been pretty happy with it. Click the following link for a Comcast special offer:

Additional high speed internet services cable TV providers:

Charter Communications:

2) DSL:
Today DSL is offered by all regional phone companies, a few specialized DSL entities, and some larger Dial-up companies that entered the DSL market. You will usually have a choice up to 5 providers.

Here are some of the major DSL offers:

Verizon DSL:

BellSouth FastAccess DSL:

AT&T High Speed Internet (Yahoo!):

3) Fiber Optics:
Availability of this service is still very limited in the US.

Verizon FiOS:

Remember to ask friends or neighbors around you. Usually this is a good way to know which offers are the best in your area.