Everything you wanted to know about broadband (but were afraid to ask)

“Broadband” is short-hand for an “always-on,” high-speed internet connection provided by a company or other entity known as an “internet service provider” (ISP). We say “always-on” to differentiate contemporary internet connections from the dial-up era of the 1990s, when a user had to dial a telephone number through their computer to connect. Today, the internet comes to us uninterrupted and we cannot get “booted off” if someone lifts up a phone receiver. We say “high-speed” connection because not all internet connections are technically broadband (see below for more on this point). Currently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the federal agency in charge of wired and wireless communications, defines a broadband connection as one with a minimum download speed of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) and a minimum upload speed of 3 Mbps (commonly depicted as “25/3 Mbps” or just 25/3). At this speed, someone could stream a Netflix movie, while another user in the same household could post Instagram content and neither would experience any buffering (slow down). Many people have faster internet connections than that minimum threshold. The average fixed download speed in the United States in 2018 was 96.25 Mbps, while the average upload speed was 32.88 Mbps.