The wonder that's broadband

FREEZE FRAME

"What actually is broadband," a friend who is technologically challenged but otherwise well informed asked. Like most evolving technologies, the meaning of the term itself is changing.

A few years ago Webster's dictionary defined it as a new way of connecting homes and businesses to the internet, a way that is dramatically different from the dial-up modems used.

Broadband uses phone lines, cable TV lines and satellite; it is a type of data transmission in which a single medium (a wire or wireless) can carry several channels at once.

Basically it is a system to transmit and switch vast amounts of voice, video and data using high bandwidth two ways. It can carry multiple signals by dividing the total capacity of the medium into multiple, independent bandwidth channels, where each channel operates only on a specific range of frequencies.

Traditional TV broadcasting, in engineering terms, is broadband "� most video broadcast signals occupy a six megahertz slice of the spectrum, broad by anyone's definition, and HDTV signals take up even more space.

Conversely, traditional telephony is the very essence of narrowband "�the good old POTS (plain old telephone, stupid) uses very little bandwidth. The confusion gets compounded because, until recently, cable TV companies and telcos eyed each other with scepticism.

In the US particularly telcos did not make the broadband grade, in the eyes of most cable operators. Telcos, meanwhile, used newer technologies to extract more bandwidth out of existing copper wires.

Certainly, ADSL is broader band than conventional telephony. Any student of telecom history knows never to underestimate the telephone companies. They have been around longer than cable or any filmed content and have deep pockets.

Several new technologies are emerging to use legacy networks, including those based on the old twisted copper pairs, to deliver higher bandwidth to users. DSL and its derivatives like ADSL and vDSL are the most deployed broadband technology around.

In non-legacy markets, taking fibre-to-the curb/building and using the ethernet as a last mile solution, so unleashing humongous bandwidths, are challenging this.

Broadband will be the new de facto service of the digital world. Soon internet content that expands upon text, graphics, audio and still-frame video and interactive services delivered by wireless cable and satellite systems will be commonplace.

Broadcasters will ship their video content to PCs via the internet or offer high-speed multicasting services within their digital spectrum or otherwise push past the technological limitations of their medium to offer something new, like interactivity.

Or telcos will be delivering rich media like video-on-demand and time-shifted TV channels to their customers. It is then that a true convergence era will have actually begun.

Emerging wireless standards like 802.16(WI-MAX) will further this. The important proviso is consumer friendly pricing and very little government intervention.

India, in a way, is uniquely poised to leapfrog into the digital world with little legacy of the past, in a networked society.

Think of the internet like electricity 100 years ago. Edison would never have imagined that 'power' would literally power our lives the way it does today.

Without the internet no one would care about bandwidth. Most internet users, however, and virtually all internet sites in their present form, don't really need broadband capability. Movies over the web and net-delivered music are conjuring up all kinds of needs for broadband.

Content companies are eyeing undiscovered riches over the internet. Broadcasters, consumer electronic product manufacturers, IT companies, telcos and cable operators are all sharing the biggest dream of the digital age: to bring the internet to the TV or vice versa.

Broadband users will have access to rich full motion video, amazing graphics, educational applications and traditional TV programming all through one pipe (eventually wireless).

Instead of viewing flat pictures, users will be able to virtually pick up objects and manoeuvre around virtual worlds or manipulate camera angles during a cricket match. Instead of waiting for hours to download video clips, users will be able to view streaming media within seconds.

Customised programme guides will allow you to access your favourite movies or shows or download songs. Businesses as well as families will be able to video conference. Keeping in touch with one another and the world will be easy and exciting.

Instant messaging will be truly instant. With broadband, you'll never have to dial up again. Broadband connections are "always on," meaning, your connection never goes away.

Broadband users will no longer need to worry about phone lines being busy or worry about missing an important call while they are online.

In fact, even plain vanilla telephony will be transformed with Voice-over IP (VoIP). Checking the news, weather forecasts or current traffic reports in the morning becomes easy and simple.

Similarly, IP-based networks redefine conventional broadcasting, as there are virtually no limits to the amount of content and the manner in which it is accessed.

From personal video recorders to digital theatres, from multi-player gaming to telemedicine and distance learning "� everything will be a reality in a virtual world!

For the media and entertainment industries, broadband opens up unparalleled opportunities. This is the highway to the future. Get the right vehicle, select the right destination and do it within cost and you could be on a journey worth a digital packet.

Amit Khanna is chairman of
Reliance Entertainment and the views
here expressed are his own