About Fiber Internet

The Future is Fiber Optics

Fiber is transforming the way we:

• Deliver your service
• Provide you with significantly improved choices

We are expanding our fiber optic network for a number of reasons including:

1. Speed – Bandwidth up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) (that’s 1000 megabits per second!) with affordable pricing
2. Value – Increases your home’s resale value by $5000+
3. Reliability – More consistent connection critical for rural areas
4. Longevity – “Future proof” infrastructure is more easily upgraded
5. Security – Private connection that is more difficult to hack or intercept

What Is Fiber-to-the-Home?

Fiber to the home (FTTH) is the delivery of a communications and entertainment services over optical fiber operating equipment all the way to your home or business, replacing the existing copper infrastructure.

Optical fiber is:

• A hair-thin strand of glass
• Designed to transmit light pulses

Instead of electricity, fiber uses:

• Light to carry a signal

Fiber can:

• Carry high bandwidth signals over long distances
  • At greater speeds
  • Without degradation
• It can provide those signals simultaneously in both directions
  • Upload
  • Download

How Does Bandwidth Work?

Let’s say you are trying to download and image, which is 5 Mbps in size. Think of bandwidth like a freeway filled with cars traveling the same speed.

To get more cars (your data) to the desired destination (your computer or device):

• You need a wider freeway (more bandwidth)

1 megabit per second (Mbps) is the equivalent to:

• 1 lane freeway

With the same image, If you have bandwidth of:

• 1 Mbps (1 lane freeway) it would take:
  •  5 seconds to download the image
• 5 Mbps (5 lane freeway) connection, it would take:
  •  1 second to download the image

More bandwidth means that you’ll receive more data at the same time. In this example, you can download 5 images with the wider bandwidth in the same time you could download 1 with the narrower bandwidth. Now imagine what you could do with 1 Gig – 1000 Mbps of bandwidth!

Do I need a Gigabit of Bandwidth?

When is the last time you counted all of the internet-connected devices in your home? Think beyond your:

• Computer
• Laptop
• Tablet
• Smartphone

To name a few, many of us now have:

• Smart TVs
• Smart home hubs
  • Google Home
  • Amazon Echo
• Video baby monitors
• Smart appliances
• IP security cameras

If you have children, the number of devices – and the strain it can put on your WiFi – grows exponentially.

Consumers

Consumers are increasingly using their Internet connections to view:

• Movies
• Television programs

From content providers and websites like:

• Netflix
• Hulu
• Amazon
• Facebook
• Youtube

Did you know one HD movie takes up as much bandwidth as 35,000 web pages!

Software as a Service

A growing number of companies are offering “software as a service,” meaning you:

• Subscribe to applications over the web
• Do not need to install them on your own computer

These “cloud computing” applications are now available for:

• Word processing
• Emailing
• File backup
• Host of business
• Personal services

A Gigabit Internet plan can handle:

• All of these tasks
• The myriad of devices in your home

Even a 15 Mbps connection can buffer if you’re watching HD streaming video on multiple devices. Please contact our Sales and Support Specialists about upgrading your internet speed.

What’s In A Fiber Optic Cable?

The most common fiber cables are made of 5 layers.

1. Core

The core is the:

• First layer
• Most important

The core is made up of:

• Thousands of glass tubes bundled together
• Supported by a central strength element (e.g. a metal rod).

2. Cladding

The cladding is the:

• Second layer
• Protective sheath

This increases the core’s total internal reflection to prevent data loss.

3. Plastic Coating

The plastic coating is:

• Wrapped around the fiber optic cable to reinforce the core
• Cladding for the third layer

4. Strengthening Fibers

The strengthening fibers are:

• The fourth layer
•  For added support

5. Cable Jacket

The layers are wrapped in a cable jacket, which:

• Protect against elements
• Are found on every cable and wire

How Do Fiber Optics Transmit Data?

Your data signals go through 3 steps when being transmitted by fiber optics. Let’s take liking a post on Facebook for example:

Stage 1:

After clicking “like” that action becomes:

• An electric data signal sent to your internet transmitter

The transmitter then converts the data into a light signal by changing its:

• Pulse
• Intensity

Stage 2:

Light signals traveling long distances:

• Pass through regenerators that give boosts to avoid attenuation (loss of signal strength).

Thanks to the boosts, the strong signal arrives at the destination attenuation-free.

Stage 3:

To complete the transmission, the destination’s transmitter:

• Receives the signal
• Decodes it back to digital format