Broadband Types Explained

In Taranaki there are three main types of broadband solutions as listed below. PrimoWireless provides wireless broadband over its own purposely built wireless network to bring you high speed broadband to Taranaki.

ADSL Broadband

ADSL uses your phone lines (that single-lane road) to transmit data, except ADSL divides the single lane road into many lanes, so that more data can travel back and forth. The phone line is divided out so that voice travels over one set of lanes, while data uses different frequencies to travel on other lanes. This allows even more information to be sent back and forth, thereby increasing the speed. ADSL broadband is suited to homes and businesses that are in urban areas or fringes of an urban area where the home or business is close to the exchange. Outside these areas to get high speed broadband there is either wireless or satellite.

Wireless Broadband

Wireless broadband does not use any type of cables, data is transmitted via radio links between your building and the service provider's facility. This technology uses long-range directional equipment to provide data streams, enabling the user to connect to the Internet. Wireless broadband typically uses an external antenna installed on your rooftop. It's good for areas where it would be cost-prohibitive to install cables or other wires for broadband. Wireless broadband has virtually no bandwidth restrictions; it's like an endlessly wide highway in both directions.

Satellite Broadband

Satellites are used primarily for television service and they operate on a limited number of frequencies, and are slower than ADSL and wireless. Like wireless broadband, a satellite broadband network sends signals through radio waves. These are transmitted from your satellite dish into space and then back to a receiving station. The sheer distance involved is part of the reason satellite is slower. Speeds for satellite broadband can also vary depending on where the satellite is in its orbit, weather conditions and the line of sight between your dish and the satellite.