Broadband Facts

The future of broadband is constantly developing with exciting new technologies and innovation.

Cable Broadband Providers Aid the State’s Economy and Provides Quality Jobs

NCTA- The Internet and Television Association commissioned an analysis of direct and impact of the cable operator industry on employment, personal income and gross out in 2020. The report finds that the cable operator industry is an integral provider of broadband and other communications and entertainment services to both consumers and businesses. Through its consistent investment of capital and its efforts to deploy new and innovative services, the cable operator industry has fostered the development of a highly competitive communications marketplace and has been a catalyst for broadband growth in California and the United States. As a result of these investment and innovation initiatives, the cable operator industry has had a substantial impact on the California economy.

$32.3 Billion

Economic Impact
Since 1996

194,971

Total jobs Created

21,3777

Cable Operator Employees

FAQs

Below are answers to frequently asked questions necessary to form a foundational understanding of broadband availability and service in California.

The term broadband commonly refers to high-speed Internet access, which is currently benchmarked by the Federal Communication Commission at download speeds of 25 Megabits per second and 3 Megabits per second that is always on and faster than the traditional dial-up access. Broadband includes several high-speed transmission technologies such as:

• Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
• Hybrid Fiber Coaxial
• Fiber
• Wireless
• Satellite
• Broadband over Powerline (BPL)
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Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
DSL is a wireline transmission technology that transmits data faster over traditional copper telephone lines already installed to homes and businesses. DSL-based broadband provides transmission speeds ranging from several hundred Kbps to millions of bits per second (Mbps). The availability and speed of your DSL service may depend on the distance from your home or business to the closest telephone company facility.
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Hybrid Fiber Coaxial
Cable operators globally employ Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC) cable in their broadband networks. Hybrid fiber coaxial is used for delivering video, telephony, voice telephony, data and other interactive services over coaxial and fiber optic cables. Cable modems are then utilized to connect a home or business to the closet network facility using the same coaxial fiber cables that deliver pictures and sound to a television.

Fiber
Fiber optic technology converts electrical signals carrying data to light and sends the light through transparent glass fibers about the diameter of a human hair. The actual speed you experience will vary depending on a variety of factors, such as how close to your computer the service provider brings the fiber and how the service provider configures the service, including the amount of bandwidth used. The same fiber providing your broadband can also simultaneously deliver voice (VoIP) and video services, including video-on-demand. Variations of the technology run the fiber all the way to the customer’s home or business, to the curb outside, or to a location somewhere between the provider’s facilities and the customer, like a node which is the location within an HFC network at which the light signal traveling over a glass fiber is translated into an RF signal traveling over coaxial cable.

Wireless
Wireless broadband connects a home or business to the Internet using a radio link between the customer’s location and the service provider’s facility. Wireless broadband can be mobile or fixed. Wireless broadband Internet access services offered over fixed networks allow consumers to access the Internet from a fixed point while stationary and often require a direct line-of-sight between the wireless transmitter and receiver. These services have been offered using both licensed spectrum and unlicensed devices.

Satellite
Satellite broadband is another form of wireless broadband, and is also useful for serving remote or sparsely populated areas. Downstream and upstream speeds for satellite broadband depend on several factors, including the consumer’s line of sight to the orbiting satellite, and the weather.

Broadband over Powerline (BPL)
BPL is the delivery of broadband over the existing low- and medium-voltage electric power distribution network. BPL can be provided to homes using existing electrical connections and outlets. BPL is an emerging technology that is available in very limited areas. Source: Federal Communication Commission, Types of Broadband Connections https://www.fcc.gov/general/types-broadband-connections

image of a cell tower with the city in the background

History of
Cable Broadband

In the past 65 years, cable infrastructure has evolved from providing television services to remote communities to the nation’s preeminent means of providing access to broadband services and applications. Today, cable broadband provides video entertainment, high-speed internet, digital telephone service, and more to millions of California consumers.

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