Baseband vs. Broadband
Data signals can be sent over a network cable in one of two ways: broadband or baseband. One good example of broadband signaling would be how you view different channels through your cable box and a signal coaxial cable carrying multiple signals in cable television.
While, baseband signaling only sends a single signal over the cable. This type of signaling is typically used in Ethernet networks, with the exception of 10Broad3 standard. Baseband uses very simple transceiver devices that send and receive signals on a cable. The simplicity behind baseband signaling is that only three states need to be distinguished: one, zero and idle. Broadband transceivers are much more complex because they must be able to distinguish those same states, but on multiple channels within the same cable. Because of its simplicity, baseband signaling is used on most Ethernet networks.
In a baseband transmission, the entire bandwidth of the cable is consumed by a single signal. In broadband transmission, signals are sent on multiple frequencies, allowing multiple signals to be sent simultaneously. Baseband refers to a message signal that is transmitted and broadband refers to send the message to everyone who is having a receiver. Baseband can carry both analog and digital signal where as broadband carries analog signal. Baseband is like point to point communication and broadband is point to multi-point communication. Baseband will carry single signal in a medium but broadband can carry multi signals through single medium with shared bandwidth.
When you have a single cable and you have more than one computer on that network, it can get crazy if the entire computer network tries talk on the same cable at the same time so rules need to be put in place to put order so all transmissions can be successfully received. Baseband, generally network communications use baseband technology. This transmission method uses the media in such a way that the entire capacity of the cable is taken up by a single transmission.
Broadband communications the communicators use different frequencies to separate their messages from others by using the same media at the same time; this is like when you have cable television. When you tune on the television, you only watch one channel at the time, even though all the channels are being broadcast on the same cable.