content is cached, etc. For example, the YouTube phenomenon is indicative of the
upsurge in the amount of “user-generated” content, which increases the demand
for upstream bandwidth (from the customer’s premises towards the CO or network
facility) and possibly for symmetric service offerings.
This raises the question, what exactly is “broadband?” In the United States, the
FCC has defined broadband as more than 200 kbps.
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The OECD has defined it as
more than 256 kbps downstream and 128 kbps upstream. The ITU has defined it as
faster than primary rate ISDN, which is 1.5 Mbps in many markets. OfTel in the
United Kingdom has defined it as more than 128 kbps. Some analysts have
proposed a definition that scales up through “generations” starting at 256