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 ”Broadband can be the great enabler that restores America's economic well-being and opens doors of opportunity for all Americans
to pass through, no matter who they are, where they live, or the particular circumstances of their individual lives.”
— FCC Commissioner Michael Copps April 8, 2009
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A range of different technology platforms can be used, either independently
or in conjunction with one another, to provide broadband services.
The links below provide additional information on how each of these
various technologies works.
Broadband over Power Line (BPL)
Power lines reach virtually every community in the
country; thus BPL has the potential to play an important
role in providing broadband services to American
homes and consumers.
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Cable
 Cable
operators have been upgrading infrastructure and
employing the use of digital technologies to allow
the offering of high speed Internet access.
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Digital Subscriber
Line (DSL)
DSL electronically enhances the conventional copper
telephone voice line, enabling it to simultaneously
provide both voice service and high-speed data traffic.
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Fiber
Fiber-to-the-premises technologies use fiber optic
cables that run from a distribution frame directly
to a customer’s home, property, or neighborhood
to provide high-capacity broadband services.
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Satellite
 The
ubiquity of satellite signals has long held the
potential to deliver broadband communications anywhere
and everywhere in America.
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Wireless
There are a variety of terrestrial wireless technologies
available or being developed to provide broadband
services.
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| The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) established several broadband initiatives. One initiative included funding for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
(BTOP), which is is administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in consultation
with the Federal Communications Commission. The BTOP is designed to develop and expand broadband services to rural and underserved
areas and improve access to broadband by public safety agencies. Another initiative included funding for the Broadband Initiatives Program, which is administered by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This program
is designed to support the expansion of broadband service in rural areas through financing and grants to projects that provide
access to high speed service and facilitate economic development in locations without sufficient access to such service.
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| A number of organizations
outside the FCC have information on broadband technologies
and deployment.
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