Should You Upgrade Your Business to a Fiber Internet Connection?

Different businesses will have different connectivity needs. However, it is a pretty safe assumption to say that the faster your internet connection speeds are the better that will be for conducting all your day to day business operations. When we start to consider the different web connected technologies that businesses and organizations are utilizing today, the better your connection speed the more prepared you’ll be to utilize these systems as well. That is why a fiber-optic installation or upgrade can make a huge different for your company both now and moving into the future.

What is a Fiber Internet?

Fiber internet utilizes fiber-optic cable lines which are made of tightly bundled stands of glass (yes glass). Each strand is a conduit for light signals which relay digital data from one end of the connection to another, all at the speed of light. The tech allows for internet connection speeds that vastly exceed the speed of traditional cable or DSL for a few reasons. Firstly, each fiber-optic line is able to carry more than one signal at light speed at the same time. Secondly, fiber internet is able to work around latency, signal degradation, and congestion unlike older DSL and cable networks.

Pros of Fiber Internet

• Faster Speeds – fiber-optic lines are able to carry far more data than cable or DSL which uses copper wires. On your end that simply means far faster download and upload speeds. This is especially beneficial when using VoIP and Cloud based services.
• Less Latency – Fiber-optics light signals (traveling at the speed of light) are of course far faster than standard electrical signals used in DSL and cable through copper wiring. This means that with fiber the time it takes for data to travel from point a to point b is far shorter. Henceforth low latency (lower lag).
• Improved Reliability – where as copper wiring can degrade over time or distance away from the main connection port/room/server. Also the fiber infrastructure supports far more bandwidth which means there won’t be a connection issue if everyone in the office is uploading to the server at once.

Cons of Fiber Internet

• Limited Availability – this is newer technology and will require a suitable installation infrastructure. Meaning that some rural areas may not have the ability to use fiber as it’s is mostly available in more populated metro areas. For us here in Westchester County NY this is not a problem.

How Fast is Fiber Internet?

Here is where you can really see the benefit of fiber internet. Most providers will offer connection speeds up to 2GB, that is 2,000mbs. Streaming services like Netflix which stream in 4K high definition use only 20-25mbs for the clearest video images. Fiber is also capable of much greater speeds and there have been tests and studies done where fiber has been used to transfer data up to 160 Tbps which makes it 10,000x faster than modern day residential high speeds. This means those speeds available to the public will increase in coming years.

To put it in simple terms, fiber is capable of keeping up with even the heaviest of internet consumption. Connecting computers, smart phones, gaming consoles, streaming services, tablets, smart watches, connected home devices, servers, Alexa and other AI’s; and any other device that been internet connected. Fiber upload speeds are also one of the major differences between traditional copper cabling connections. Cable and DSL are asymmetrical speeds, meaning that download speeds are far faster than upload speeds.

Because most people are using their internet to download information as opposed to upload those differences in speed don’t really hurt day to day life. But for businesses (especially when working from home) having higher upload speeds is also important. For things like VoIP, video conferencing, cloud computing, database management, server maintenance and more fiber will be far faster because the upload speeds which are required for these activities are far superior.

Fiber Internet vs. DSL and Cable

All of these connections transmit data (internet signals) in similar ways. They use the computer language known as binary (a series of numbers consisting only of zero’s and one’s) through the systems cables. The main difference is the fact that fiber internet uses fiber-optic cables which sends light signals and DSL/cable use copper wiring which sends a more traditional electrical signal.

Because fiber uses light signals which travel at or near the speed of light it is far more efficient than standard electrical signals. There is also less degradation over greater distances such as the corner office that is the furthest point away from the central connection hub of your building. With fiber that distance won’t make a difference but with traditional copper cabling the further away from the central point a user is the weaker their connection becomes.

Not only-is the fiber connection more efficient in sending and receiving data but it is also physically smaller than traditional copper wire lines. This means more glass strands which send the fiber signal can be combined which therefore leads to greater connection speeds. This also makes bandwidth greater and prevents network slowdowns.

Who is Fiber Internet Suitable For?

Every business, organization, school district, hospital, and government agency can benefit from the speed and reliability offered by fiber internet. If you’re a small family owned baker you probably won’t need the entire system put in place. Medium to large companies, on the other hand, who are using traditional copper wiring as opposed to fiber will see a difference in the speed at which they conduct business in comparison to some of their competitors. If you do international business, run websites, have internal data bases, store and source records, upload content, upload documents, run high bandwidth programs, and more; you’re ready for a fiber-optic speed upgrade.

Can I Get Fiber Internet Here in Westchester County?

The short answer is yes. Because of the population density, number of businesses, and distance from central connection hubs around the New York metro area, fiber internet is available in Westchester and the surrounding area. But not all fiber internet providers are created equal and many of them will try to sell you services in an a la carte fashion. Through a full service fiber-optic installation company you can get the best of both worlds. The best connection speeds in the businesses at the lowest rates. Then if you combine proprietary VoIP for business and cloud services you get the all-in-one solution that will bring your business into the 21st century.

For the best Fiber Internet Provider Westchester County NY, look no further than 30 years of local expertise right here at Top Line Communications. We live where we operate right here in the lower New York region and are proud members of the WBC (Westchester Business Counsel). Call us today for a consultation and see how we can upgrade your businesses communications and save you money at the same time. Stay safe from all of us here at TopLineCommunications.com 1-888-426-8647