Bandwidth is defined as the information-carrying capacity of a communications channel and is usually expressed in Hertz (cycles per second) for analog circuits and in bits per second (bps) for digital circuits. The most popular development within bandwidth technology is broadband, a term that has many meanings, but was coined originally to describe a channel with more bandwidth than a standard voice grade channel which is usually a 48KHz link.

There are two main contenders in the broadband access market: cable and digital subscriber line (DSL) technology. Traditional cable companies, aiming to increase their revenue by providing voice telephony, high-speed Internet access and interactive programming, have built broadband cable networks.

Cable is easy to install and get running, and cable operators are trying to bring down the cost of installation by selling their cable modems through retail channels. DSL on the other hand is being promoted by telephone companies that historically have copper-based local access networks. Subscriber numbers for DSL have recently exploded in Europe and this is primarily for three reasons: first, the telephone companies have improved the logistics of providing service to customers; second, there have been significant price cuts for the service; and third, customers now have the option of installing their own DSL connections.

The development of increasing network bandwidth will enable new applications and drive significant increases in Internet usage penetration. As a result, an increasing number of profitable customers will have high-speed access anywhere - in their home, office, hotels and anytime -even when they are mobile. Organizations will also be able to provide richer and more relevant content to various devices, and hence they will need to think harder about the services they want to offer. Moreover customers will have a choice of more channels such as phone, Web, television, or a new device, and hence businesses need to think about what the interface will be. The carrier's backbone network will be able to support these initiatives, as most of the optical fibre that has been laid in recent years has been used to speed up the backbone network, almost creating a glut of capacity ensuring its abundance and cheapness.