December 23, 2022 — Internet service via fiber optic cable is the fastest and most robust communications technology available, and its availability is growing fast. Businesses that rely on cloud storage, e-commerce, multiple users in multiple locations, and more can count on fiber to feed their appetite for bandwidth and speed while enjoying previously unattainable levels of reliability and security.
Here are 10 reasons why.
1. Fiber is just plain faster and better.
Businesses can see big results from faster Internet speeds. With fiber, small businesses can up to 1 Gbps symmetrical service (same download and upload speeds) while larger businesses can get up to 10 Gbps symmetrical service. Compare that to the typical download speed of 500 Mbps or less you might get from standard copper cable: even 1 Gbps service is up to twice as fast with much higher, consistent performance. Make that 20 times faster at 10 Gbps.
Cable download speeds are even slower and generally limited to 35 Mbps. Compare that with a fiber 1 Gbps symmetrical service. That’s 28 times faster!
2. Higher performance
Fiber optic networks eliminate many of the buffering and other performance issues users experience on cable Internet, particularly when downloading or uploading a video or consuming high-definition content. The technical terms are latency and jitter which describe the delay and timing of data packets. The business benefits of lowering your latency could include better voice quality, the ability to move more apps to the cloud, download and upload huge files without disruption and improved collaboration between employees.
A fiber cable connection at any speed can handle multiple users and more data while providing superior performance. Just one example: a two-hour training video that would take seven minutes to download via traditional cable takes 40 seconds at 1 Gbps.
3. The same speed coming and going
Downloading is usually faster than uploading for a simple reason: Internet service providers (ISPs) provide more bandwidth for downloads because residential and some small-business customers consume more data than they send. A typical example would be browsing the Internet. A short search phrase or word is sent and much more data is returned as search results.
Fiber cable’s greater speed and bandwidth allow for the same speed coming and going. With faster upload speeds over Fiber, you’ll have a better experience with conference calls, web-hosted applications such as Quickbooks or Salesforce, file sharing, and more.
4. No throttling down
Relying on copper cable doesn’t always let you keep the petal to the metal. ISPs often find it necessary to throttle service to business and residential customers over copper cable at peak times. A typical reduction would be from 100 Mbps to 20 Mbps.
That’s a significant slowdown that Fiber optic-based service doesn’t require. When you choose fiber for your business, you can rest assured you’ll have the speed you need ready when you need it.
5. Greater bandwidth means doing more at once
Bandwidth and speed are often used in the same breath but they’re not the same thing. Bandwidth is the peak amount of data that can be transferred per second, while speed is how fast the data is moving per second.
Simple physics dictate why Fiber provides more bandwidth as well as speed than copper. Light pulses travel faster than electrical pulses so Fiber can handle more data at higher speeds. That translates to your business being able to easily accommodate multiple users even if they’re using bandwidth-hogging applications like transferring massive files or videoconferencing.
6. Greater reliability
Providing reliable service to customers is critical to the success of any business. Near total reliance on the Internet for at least some of the core functions of most businesses makes Internet reliability equally critical.
Fiber optic cable service is more reliable than copper cable for multiple reasons, including its ability to hold signal strength much better over long distances and its resistance to outside signal interference, as well as the effects of weather and time.
7. Greater security
Those light pulses that move data on Fiber optic cable are moving at nearly the speed of light. That’s much harder for hackers to intercept than copper-transmitted electrical transmissions or even wireless satellite signals.
8. The immediate threat of lightning
Lightning is always a threat to property and people. After all, power surges have been frying computer equipment ever since we’ve had computers. Fiber optic cables can help mitigate that threat.
Fiber cables simply don’t propagate an electrical charge like copper cables. They are often installed with metal cores as a kind of armor, so they do require traditional grounding, but they’re not as prone to damage or as good at passing along the charge when lightning does strike—protecting your connection and your equipment!
9. Long-term benefits of water and temperature resistance
Data transmission cables are exposed to harsh outdoor environments. Copper-based cables are susceptible to water, humidity and temperature changes that can deteriorate performance over time. After all, water can corrode copper, and temperature changes can cause contraction and expansion over time.
Fiber optic cables don’t corrode, since they’re made of glass, not metal. They don’t react to temperature changes like copper cables do, either. That’s another reason they’re superior for outdoor and long-distance applications.
10. No crosstalk from electromagnetic interference (EMI)
You—and your IT folks—will appreciate this. Fiber cables don’t cause electronic magnetic interference (EMI), a condition that can cause hiccups in data transmission and overall performance when electronic cables are bunched around each other.
Improperly installed and maintained copper lines can be a source of that crosstalk between cables, but Fiber optic lines just keep it to themselves. That’s because they’re carrying light rather than electricity.
Investment in the future
At Clearwave Fiber, we invest in Fiber optic cable because it’s what modern businesses like yours need and deserve, now and into the future. Fiber provides you with better service now, while also holding the capacity to continually increase your bandwidth. As technology in your industry expands and demands more from your Internet connection, you can trust us to keep you on the cutting-edge for years to come.
We’d love to talk to you about high-speed Fiber Internet for your business. Clearwave Fiber wants to be the business Internet provider that keeps you connected!
Click here for more information about our business Internet and phone service.
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