Why would you NOT want to make use of the speed of light?
Because let’s face it: nothing in the current known universe is faster.
Except for The Flash, who can apparently run 13 trillion times faster than the speed of light.
The DC Universe aside, the speed of light is an amazing thing. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, it’s the fastest speed in the universe: 300,000 kilometres per second in optimal circumstances.
It’s even more amazing to think it can be used to power our Internet usage.
But this only happens if your Internet service provider is using Fibre Optic cables. If your service provider is still using copper lines as the (much) older technology, Internet at the speed of light is completely out of the question.
How Fast Do You Want to Go?
Internet speed means the speed at which information or Data travels from the web to your connected device. It’s calculated in megabits per second (Mbps) and the downloading speed (getting information from the Internet to your device) is often higher than the uploading speed (the other way around – sending information from your device to the Internet).
In the old days, our Internet connections were only able to run on ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line). ADSL uses telephone lines (Telkom lines) to transmit Data along copper cables from your nearest telephone exchange to your home or office. These are frequently unreliable and heavily shared among users – which slows down the possible speed of your connection.
Two factors slow down ADSL speed significantly:
- Distance:The further away you are from the exchange, the greater the distance the Data has to travel, and the slower your Internet.
- Traffic:When copper cables experience more traffic, the wires heat up and the connection slows.
It’s a bit like driving on the highway: when you’re the only driver on the road, you can reach a very satisfying speed, but when it gets crowded, traffic slows down. ADSL can provide average speeds of approximately 4Mbps.
In contrast, Fibre Optic technology transmits Data as light impulses along flexible glass Fibres, enabling users to achieve speeds that are about 500 to 1,000 times faster than your average ADSL line. So how does the marvellous invention of Fibre Optic cables use this speed for Internet services?
- Fun fact: The first actual Fibre Optic cable was invented in 1952 by UK-based Indian-American physicist, Narinder Singh Kapany, who was a pioneer in the field of Fibre Optics and popularised the term.
Harnessing the Speed of Light for Communications
Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and Fibre to the Business (FTTB) services use Optical Fibre to deliver high-speed Internet directly to individual buildings. These Fibre Optic cables, composed of strands of glass, transmit Data using light pulses. Users can achieve incredible speeds of up to 1,000Mbps.
Some of the benefits of Fibre Optics include the following:
- High speed: Starting with the most obvious point, Fibre Optics brings you the best available speed within the current Internet landscape.
- Reliability: Lots of ‘hiccups’ take place during transmission in a copper cable Internet, all the time. With Fibre Optic Internet, a smooth and constant flow of Data means this no longer happens.
- Fun fact: This is important for gamers, where a small blip at the wrong moment can lose the game.
- No difference between upload and download speeds: Depending on your needs, you can choose an Internet package that gives you symmetrical speeds for both downloading and uploading. With ADSL copper cables, this isn’t possible (it’s in the name, after all: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line).
- Connecting multiple devices: The steady signal, with more bandwidth, means you can connect with multiple tablets, laptops, smart TVs and phones at once. Even with different people streaming music and video simultaneously, Fibre Optics can handle the load.
- Safety and security: Unlike copper wires, Fibre Optic cables have no second-hand value for criminals, which means cables are not usually targeted for theft. They are also much less easy for cybercriminals to hack.
- Higher quality: Ultra High-Definition TVs pack significantly more pixels into the same area, which makes for better images, but also uses more bandwidth. For Fibre Optic networks, it’s not a problem.
- Consistent reliability: Fibre Optic cables are less susceptible to interference from weather conditions or other devices, so you’re less likely to experience outages or slow speeds on your network during peak usage times.
It’s clear that Fibre Optic networks are capable of much greater speeds and bandwidth than copper-based ADSL. In recent years, prices have also come down substantially.
Why not look into Fibre to the Home from Vox? Just plug in your home address and a map will show you all our Connectivity options available in your area.
What are you waiting for? Move towards the light!
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