Is Fiber Broadband Really Better?

If you are considering updating your internet to a faster package, you may be wondering whether fiber broadband is worth all the buzz surrounding it, and the extra dollars a fiber subscription commands.

In this article, you will learn about some of the differences between a fiber optic connection and a standard broadband connection, so you can make a decision on whether it’s a good fit for you.

What Exactly is Fiber Optic Broadband?

Fiber internet is essentially a faster broadband than traditional broadband. This is because the cables that transport the signal to your home or place of work are fiber optic cables, as opposed to the standard copper cables used in older broadband models.

However, you will see some providers advertising ‘fiber’ and others ‘full fiber’. Full fiber is when the optic cables go entirely from the source to your home, giving you the fastest possible connection. Some fiber connections will only take the cable from the source to a local exchange, and then you may have copper cable to transmit data the rest of the way.

This is why there are so many differences between fiber packages in terms of both pricing and speed.

What Are The Main Differences?

It really depends on the package you purchase, and also your own personal usage as well. A connection that is dealing with ten devices and many of them streaming simultaneously has a lot more pressure on it than a connection with only two devices used for browsing.

In general, though, regular broadband will provide speeds of up to 11mbps whereas broadband will give anywhere between 35 and 75 Mbps. Which you can agree is a significant increase.

In terms of cost, however, fiber is going to set you back a lot more than standard broadband. In many cases more than double. So, this is a trade-off you have to be willing to make for a faster connection.

Do I Really Need Optic?

Fiberoptic is great if you do a lot of streaming (such as movies or games) or have a large family all attempting to use the broadband at the same time. You will find having fiber internet is going to be beneficial for you in these circumstances, as it will cope with these pressures with no issue.

However, if there is just you living in the house, and all you do is a little internet browsing and streaming the odd movie from time to time, then you could end up paying over the odds for fiber internet that you don’t need.

Assess your personal circumstances and then decide on fiber or standard (ADSL), but it is worth remembering that even the highest traditional broadband package is going to have much lower speeds than a low-end fiber one, so check pricing comparatively.

Summary

Fiber internet is going to speed up your connection dramatically, however, there are variations in fiber packages available, so it’s worth asking providers what the average speed is for your postcode before purchasing.