© Mark Ollig
In 1958, the Bell 101 modem enabled vital data transmissions within the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE), a large-scale computer system developed in the U.S. during the Cold War to coordinate and automate military air defense.
The modem weighed 25 lbs. and operated at 110 baud (110 bps) due to its modulation scheme, Frequency-Shift Keying, in which each signal change (baud) represents one bit of data.
In the 1980s, many of us used 1200 and 2400 bps modems to connect our personal computers to remote computing networks and bulletin board systems.
These modems connected to our computer’s RS-232 serial port and an RJ-11 modular connector cord plugged into a telephone line.
During the 1990s, various modem standards, including V.32 (9.6 Kbps), V.32bis (14.4 Kbps), V.34 (28.8 Kbps), V.34bis (33.6 Kbps), and V.90 (56 Kbps), established the connection between our modem and the ISP (Internet Service Provider) modem, enabling us to connect to the internet and explore the early web.
Remember the sounds of the high-pitched beeps, chirps, and whistles during the data “handshake” negotiating process with the ISP?
In 2000, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set a new broadband standard of at least 200 Kbps for download or upload speeds to adapt to the increasing demand for high-speed internet.
The 2000s also saw DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) 1.0/1.1 offering cable broadband speeds ranging from 5-15 Mbps (megabits per second) downstream and 1-5 Mbps upstream over existing coaxial cable TV infrastructure.
In addition to DOCSIS, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) technology allowed for simultaneous voice and internet use over existing telephone copper lines at speeds of 1-3 Mbps.
The maximum distance limit for ADSL was around 3.4 miles from the serving telephone office.
In 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2000, 4.4% of U.S. households had home broadband connections, while 41.5% relied on dial-up connections with speeds of 28.8 or 56 Kbps.
In 2003, cellular 3G (Third Generation) data download speeds averaged 1-2 Mbps, sufficient for basic mobile internet use at the time.
After 2003, telephone companies began installing ADSL2+ (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line 2 Plus), which bonded multiple copper cable pairs to provide average download speeds of 9 Mbps in urban areas and 6 Mbps in rural areas.
In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allotted $7.2 billion to expand broadband access and promote digital inclusion in underserved communities.
The grant money was used for fiber-optic networks to bridge the rural-urban “digital divide” caused by slower internet speeds in sparsely populated areas.
In 2010, the FCC updated the definition of broadband to require a minimum download speed of 4 Mbps and a minimum upload speed of 1 Mbps.
A 2013 report from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) revealed that the average global internet speed in 2010 was 2 Mbps, while the U.S. average was 4.7 Mbps.
By the early 2010s, cellular 4G (Fourth Generation) LTE (Long-Term Evolution) significantly increased mobile internet speeds, initially averaging around 6.5 Mbps.
On Sept. 15, 2010, the Electric Power Board (EPB) in Chattanooga, Tennessee, offered a groundbreaking 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) internet service to residents and businesses via its fiber-optic network.
At that time, 1 Gbps was considered incredibly fast, far beyond standard speeds offered by most internet service providers.
In 2015, the FCC updated its definition of broadband to a minimum of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds.
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the significance of universally accessible, reliable, high-speed broadband networks for remote work, education, healthcare, and commerce.
Verizon activated its commercial 5G cellular service in Minneapolis on April 11, 2019.
Using my FCC Speed Test app, I recently checked the speed of my mobile broadband connection from my Verizon 5G Ultra-Wideband cellphone while away from home and measured an 89.68
Mbps download speed.
At home, my Verizon 5G Ultra-Wideband internet gateway router reached an average download speed of 247 Mbps.
In 2023, the FCC estimated the average U.S. broadband speed to be 170-180 Mbps.
Minnesota’s Broadband Grant Program allocated $100 million for 2024 and 2025 to expand broadband access to approximately 8,900 unserved and underserved homes and businesses across the state.
What data speeds might we see in the future?
An international research team presented their groundbreaking research findings at the 47th International Conference on Optical Fiber Communications in San Diego on March 28th.
They achieved a record-shattering 402 Tbps data transmission rate after conducting an experiment using all six wavelength bands and advanced modulation techniques over 32.1 miles of standard fiber optic cables, which was officially verified on June 28th.
To put the sheer scale of this breakthrough into perspective, consider that a binary data rate of 402 Tbps (412,608 Gbps) connection could download 24,120 two-hour 4K movies (3840 x 2160-pixel resolution) in just one minute.
Over the past 65 years, data speeds have progressed from bits per second to kilobits, megabits, and gigabits, with terabits per second on the horizon for widespread commercial internet use.
What comes after terabits per second? Well, it would be a petabit per second (Pbps) data transmission rate.
To put it in perspective, 1 Pbps is equivalent to 1,073,741,824 gigabits per second (Gbps).
Stay tuned.