There are concrete benefits to doing away with a cable internet connection and converting to fiber. Below is a comprehensive look at what streaming data involves. However, for our purposes, we are going to look at the basic household requirements of streaming movies and music.
Streaming and Fiber
If your internet connection is currently via cable, you need to consider whether fiber would be a better option for you and your family. Cable cannot match fiber when it comes to bandwidth and speed. When you are streaming a movie on Netflix, for example, you might find that the connection is slow or that a lot of buffering takes place. This is a sign that you should look into the merits of fiber over cable to have a steady streaming experience without hiccups.
What Is Fiber?
Cable delivers data (e.g., an album) to your device (e.g., your TV, tablet, or smartphone) by means of coaxial cables. Satellite services operate via communications satellites. Fiber is yet another way of getting data to the user.
If you do a lot of streaming, using a cable, for example, you may find that the bandwidth and speed are insufficient for a smooth user experience. You may get it right to watch a couple of short video clips but find it woefully inadequate when you want to watch a movie in high definition. Live sports watching could become extremely frustrating.
Fiber, on the other hand, can provide the speed, bandwidth, and connectivity you need to enjoy these pursuits.
How Does Fiber Work?
With normal internet cables, data is transmitted at the speed of electricity using copper telephone lines. But with fiber, this transmission moves at the speed of light via minute slivers of fiberglass in a fiber optic cable.
This has a positive effect on downloads and uploads. You can download a movie lasting 120 minutes in far less than two minutes. Uploads reach as high as 1000 Megabits per second, which is a game-changer when you are playing online.
Multiple Streamers
No doubt, unless you live alone, there are several people vying for bandwidth in your household on normal cable. One person might be streaming music, another watching a movie, and a third member of the family could be gaming. In addition to this load, chats are taking place on Zoom, and work brought home from the office requires huge files to be downloaded. If this sounds like your family, you are way overdue for fiber.
With fiber, you don’t need to put family members on a schedule of whose turn it is to stream. Fiber is perfectly capable of handling this load of data simultaneously.
Choosing Your Internet Service Provider for Fiber
The benefits of fiber streaming are many. However, the key drawback is whether or not it has been rolled out in your area. You will need to choose an internet service provider (ISP) that is servicing your suburb with fiber.
With a bit of luck, fiber has already been rolled out in your area or is scheduled to roll out soon.
