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More people are getting connected to the internet every day and more users are increasing their hours online. With 63% of the global population being connected in 2022, amounting to over five billion users, we need greater efficiency and speed and to avoid rush-hour traffic jams on the net. Cable can no longer cope with the demands we are making, and fiber is currently our best option. Let us examine why this is so.
Cable works with copper wires. These can overheat, tune into other signals, and fade. This is one key reason why optic fiber is preferable to DSL (digital subscriber line) and cable.
Thin plastic or glass fibers are contained in a cable as thin as a single thread of a person’s hair. Configured rays of light pass through the fibers. This light is the data being transported along a fiber optic internet connection. Cable speeds are slow at 50 to 100 megabits per second compared to fiber at one gigabit per second. Fiber is between ten and twenty times faster.
Digital signals (versus analog) are sent via a laser in 0s and 1s as data packets. Cladding is used to keep the light from going outside its tube. It reaches your modem where it takes on a usable format for your device.
There are three types of fiber, but their performance is dependent on how far from your modem they are. It makes sense to get the first type, Fiber To The Premises (FTTP) or Fiber To The Home (FTTH). Fiber To The Curb (FTTC) and Fiber To The Node/Neighborhood (FTTN) will not deliver the same service at all. FTTC only goes as far as the utility pole in the street, after which it uses cable with all its disadvantages, especially a bottleneck effect where data gets jammed right outside your property. FTTN is understandably very slow. Luckily, you can get reliable fiber to your premises through a reputable ISP such as Foothills internet.
We have already discussed speed as an advantage of fiber. A movie that takes seven minutes to download on cable takes 30 minutes on DSL but only 40 seconds on fiber at 1 Gbps. It is not affected by peak traffic. Fiber can keep functioning on hot days where the power is out because it is less likely to be overloaded, while cable is rationed. Download and upload times are equal, unlike cable where there is a large (hours) difference. 4K TV has become the rage and fiber can handle the streaming. You won’t get killed in your favorite game due to a lag at the wrong moment.
The biggest disadvantage with fiber is that it has only rolled out to a quarter of US residences in the bigger metropolises. A lot of providers are focussing on 5G wireless internet instead, with ten times faster speeds than fiber. If you are frustrated by cable or DSL and have the option of fiber, this is still your best option if it’s available in your area, until 5G is obtainable.
