Broadband is a way of sending information very quickly between computers, mobile telephones and television screens.

Imagine a ‘road’ carrying information to and from your home – bringing messages and text, images and video, music and voice. In the broadband world, this information is called data.

In the old days of communication, the ‘road’ was very narrow. Data took ages to download onto a home computer using your telephone line. But every time you used your telephone, the road was effectively blocked.

It took so long to deliver big data packages – like video – to your computer that it wasn’t worth the wait. A lot of time was wasted waiting for data to arrive.

Now broadband technology has changed all that. It’s made data delivery fast and efficient.

You can think of broadband as a massive motorway which brings all kinds of information very quickly straight to your home. The motorway is never closed. Using your telephone doesn’t interfere with the constant flow of data to your computer.

You will hear people describe broadband as ‘always on’ technology. That is because your computer is constantly linked to the Internet once you have a broadband connection.

You don’t have to dial up or log in. Broadband saves you time. And it gives you access to all kinds of visual information which you wouldn’t be able to access without it.

I use BSL. Is broadband useful for me? >