Digital is everywhere. There’s digital music, digital cameras, digital TVs and the most inescapable of all…broadband digital services! But since ALL of the technologies are so great, why on earth would you ever want to escape any of them!?! Oh, I know. Because there are so many services and you’re confused on what is what, how things work, which is right for you, etc. That’s what I thought too before beginning this assignment but you’re with me now so forget about confusion. Read on. This is your crash course on the most popular digital broadband services currently available.

Digital Internet Service
You’ve heard of DSL and cable Internet, right? Well both are forms of digital Internet services. Those are the most popular but there is a third common form of digital Internet service: Satellite Internet. DSL and cable Internet are fairly comparable to one another, each with fast upload and download speeds. Meanwhile, satellite Internet is slightly slower than both DSL and cable Internet but it’s still faster than dial-up (analog) Internet service. The other perk of satellite service is that it’s often available in locations DSL and cable Internet companies don’t service.

Digital TV Service
There are two types of digital TV: Standard Digital Television (SDTV) and Hi-Definition Television (HDTV). You could call either of them a competitor for traditional analog television but that would be giving analog television too much credit. Basically, digital broadcasting is what the U.S. and other nations are moving towards so soon; analog television sets and analog broadcast signals will be obsolete. That means you’ll be left to choose from SDTV and HDTV. Both are good choices but if you want the sharpest picture current, widely available technology allows, it’s HDTV that you want.

Digital Phone Service
Heard of VoIP? Then you’ve heard of digital phone services. VoIP, which stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol, allows you to make phone calls to VoIP and non-VoIP users through a cable or DSL broadband connection. When the service first came out, there were some minor issues with service but many of those have long since been worked out. Voice quality is good, calls go through like any other, and your phone bill will be significantly lower. Plus, many VoIP services include (as in, not at an additional cost) features such as free long-distance calling, call waiting, caller ID, and voicemail. If there’s a broadband provider in your area, you can get VoIP!

Digital FiOS: Cable, Internet, & TV
FiOS is the newest type of digital broadband services. It’s so new, in fact, that it’s “in-progress” to the mainstream market with services being provided only by select providers. Similar to the other digital services described above, all FiOS services are quick and clear. The main difference between FiOS services is that they operate through fiber optic cables rather than DSL or cable lines. Voice and video data travel much faster through fiber optic lines so once FiOS technology is widely available, it will be the premier digital broadband technology…until something better is invented, at least.

At minimum, a broadband connection is required for each of the services above. Any of these services are available to anyone—individuals, small businesses and large corporations—and many service providers categorize services accordingly. As for equipment, that will depend on the location where you want service and how that locale is wired.

That wasn’t so confusing, was it? Of course not! You can find out more about any of these services by researching on the Internet but the most useful site I found was Bridgevine.com. There was a wealth of information on all of these services in simple language. The site includes information on companies across the USA that provide digital broadband services plus, site visitors can use the site to compare pricing and features of the services from each provider. So now that you’re informed, go get your digital services through Bridgevine!

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