What is Fiber Internet?
Fiber-optic internet, also known as “fiber,” is a cutting-edge internet technology that utilizes tiny glass strands to transmit data via light. These strands stretch across cities, states, and countries to deliver lightning-fast internet speeds to homes and offices. Fiber cables can be hung from utility poles or buried underground, and they’re connected directly to your home or business to deliver internet speeds that are significantly faster than traditional copper-wired internet.
Did you say light?
Yes, indeed.
When you strip fiber-optic internet down to its basics, its data is transmitted to your home via light. Not copper wiring or airwaves, but light. Of course, this is no easy task.
The light travels through the fiber-optic strands, which bounce off the glass at an extremely shallow angle of fewer than 42 degrees. It then reflects back in a similar way to how light interacts with a mirror or a prism. This allows the light to move straight to your connected devices. That’s a brief explanation of how Fiber brings the internet to your home. But what about the rest of it? There’s more to those cables than just glass.
How does Fiber-optic Internet work?
Each fiber-optic cable has two parts: the Core and the Cladding. The Core is made up of the glass strands we’ve been discussing (which are smaller than human hair), while the Cladding is a covering or wrapping for each strand, typically made of thicker plastic or glass.
The Core and Cladding together create an effect necessary for Fiber-optic Internet called internal reflection. This is the process we mentioned earlier by which the light can move through the fiber cabling without being dispersed or lost.
This effect is how the glass is able to bend. It is also the process that slows down the beam of light through fiber optic glass cables transmitting your internet data.
All of this creates the incredible speeds that Fiber internet can achieve.
How much faster can Fiber really be?
Internet speeds are typically measured by how many bits of data travel through your connection per second. Internet speeds are similar to a car speedometer, only significantly faster.
Mbps (Megabits per second) refers to millions of bits per second. Most copper-wired internet connections register in the Megabits range when conducting an internet speed test.
Gbps (Gigabits per second), on the other hand, refers to billions of bits per second. For reference, a single Gigabit is 1000 times faster than 1 Megabit!
While speeds such as 25 Megabits per second used to be considered to be a strong internet connection, Fiber-Optic Internet can now reach speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second, limited only by the equipment in your home today.
As our need for connectivity increases, faster speeds will become increasingly important. At FiberOne Broadband, we offer symmetrical home internet connections of up to 500 Megabits per second – one of the fastest in cities like Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Ilorin in Nigeria.
But what kind of internet did I have before?
Before fiber, most traditional internet was delivered via copper wiring, not glass cabling. While copper may sound like a stronger material, the wires that DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and cable internet use were originally designed to transmit voice and audio, and only later upgraded to transmit video as well. As a result, there are limits to the amount of data they can handle.
It must be noted that both DSL and cable have improved their internet connections over the years, so comparisons can sometimes be difficult when looking at different internet plans.
If Fiber is so good, why isn’t it everywhere?
Fiber-optic internet is a game-changer in the world of internet connectivity, offering lightning-fast speeds and unmatched reliability. However, the major hurdle to its widespread adoption is the high infrastructure and construction costs that internet service providers face. In some cases, there may be little to no competition, making it less lucrative for ISPs to invest in deploying fiber networks.
Nevertheless, the good news is that more and more neighborhoods and residential estates in urban cities like Lagos, Port-Harcourt, and Abuja are beginning to realize the value of fiber-optic internet and are partnering with ISPs to integrate fiber-optic cables into their existing internet infrastructure. FiberOne Broadband is committed to providing fast, reliable, and affordable fiber-optic internet to as many people as possible using the latest technology available.
In conclusion, fiber-optic internet is the future of internet connectivity, a new way of life and we at FiberOne Broadband are dedicated to making it accessible to everyone for work, play and learning purposes.
To switch to FiberOne Broadband, visit our sign-up pages for Lagos, Abuja/Port-Harcourt and Ilorin or contact us at +2349087981900 or 0700FIBERONE.
You can also reach out to us on our social media platforms;
Facebook: @Fobng
Twitter : @fobroadband
Instagram: @fobng
LinkedIn: FiberOne Broadband
