Broadband Applications Characterization

Broadband networking refers to data transmission at rates above 2Mb/s up to 600 mb/s from the customer interface. Today's local area networks are evolving towards Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) at 100 mb/s and Metropolitan Area Networks based on IEEE 802.6. ISDN is expected to evolve towards Broadband ISDN by mid 90's. The applications of these high speed networks though generally known are not well understood. In this paper we have identified, described, and classified some potential broadband applications. A general framework for characterization of these applications is described. The focus will be the data applications.