Is Fiber Optic Internet a Good Option?
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Benefits of Fiber Optic Internet
Fiber-optic internet is the future of broadband technology. The infrastructure allows the households to get speeds as fast as 1,000 Mbps. Such high speeds have become crucial to people all over the world as it allows them to get their job done via the internet quickly. But why is Fiber optic preferred over other connections? In this article, we’ll try to answer that question.
What Is Fiber Optic Internet?
A fiber optic internet connection is provided to households through fiber optic cables. Fiber cables are made of glass or plastic and are only one-tenth the thickness of a single strand of human hair. Data travels through the cables in the form of pulses of light that travel at 70% of the speed of light. These cables are also the reason why the connections are so efficient.
Benefits of Fiber Optic Internet
When you sign up for fiber optic internet, some of the advantages that you can enjoy are listed below.
High-Speed Internet
We explained earlier that data pulses travel very quickly through the cables. It is also, why fiber internet offers the fastest speeds in the market. The Federal Communications Commission defined broadband speeds to be 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload. With fiber, you can enjoy speeds as high as 1 Gbps, which is significantly higher than those recommended by FCC.
Symmetrical Speeds
Most fiber internet plans will advertise two kinds of internet speeds in their features. These two kinds of speeds are known as download and upload speeds and usually vary. Download speeds are defined by the rate at which data is downloaded from the server to a device. Upload speeds define the rate at which that data will be uploaded to the server. Let’s consider a social media app like Instagram. When you open the app, the images download as quickly as your internet speed will allow. If you plan to upload your images or videos to your profile, the time taken for the content to appear on your profile is dictated by the upload speeds.
With high download speeds, you can easily stream movies and TV shows on Netflix and download files of large sizes. With high upload speeds, you can upload videos to your YouTube channel in a matter of minutes.
Fiber internet offers households symmetrical speeds, meaning that you can enjoy the same download and upload speeds. So, if they advertise download speeds of 200Mbps then you can also enjoy upload speeds of 200 Mbps. These upload speeds are significantly higher than those available through cable internet where you can enjoy upload speeds only as fast as 50 Mbps.
A Reliable Connection
Most users will have to deal with spotty connections at one point or another. When you are streaming videos, those spotty connections will make the video buffer and display pixelated images on your screens. If your speeds fluctuate a lot, you will notice these issues repeatedly.
Fiber internet connections are reliable and you will not face these problems. These connections can handle large amounts of data and help you multitask without any delays.
Connect to More devices
Today every person owns more than one device that is being used at all times. In an average-sized household, with four family members, each person would probably own one smartphone, a tablet, or a laptop, along with household appliances like Smart TVs, PCs, and other home security devices.
When at home, all members use their smartphones to text friends, scroll through social media apps, listen to music and do about anything else as well. When multiple smartphones and laptops are connected to the internet, each device uses up some of the bandwidth that a fiber connection is easily able to handle.
To Sum It Up
Fiber Optic internet can provide households with a number of advantages. A fiber connection offers benefits such as fast speeds, reliability, convenience, and symmetrical speeds that make it much quicker than cable networks as well. If fiber optic is not available at your address, then consider opting for Mediacom. With a simple search for ‘cable companies near me,’ you can find suitable options in your area.
