Comparison of Fiber Optic Internet Vs. Satellite Internet

Many people are often hesitant with changes such as with new technologies. Fiber optic internet is still considered a new type of network cable but has proved itself to be the fastest and most effective infrastructure currently offered by internet service providers. Many may wonder how new services such as low orbiting satellite internet companies will match-up to fiber optical cable to the home. The issue that always comes to mind when satellite internet is talked about is, latency. Satellite internet is plagued by terrible latency in many cases, and this is due to the distance between a home’s satellite dish receiver and the satellite orbiting earth. Some newer companies are trying to make low-orbiting satellites which should reduce latency but has not been fully tested and still will not bring about the speeds that are capable through fiber optics. Issues of slower speeds from satellite internet will remain because there is not a constant connection from the ISP to the customer as well as the great lengths the signal must travel. Fiber optic internet services allow for the overall fastest speeds that ISP’s can provide with the greatest reliability. Fiber optic cables are made up of glass strands or “fibers” which uses light to pass data in the form of a digital signal. With this type of cable, it allows for a direct hardline straight to your home with no interference.

Service Type	Download/Upload Speeds	Latency	Affected by Weather
Satellite ISP	Download: 12-100mbps Upload: 3-24mbps	20-100ms avg	Frequent disconnects during storms
Fiber Optic ISP	Download: 50-1000mbps (1Gig) Upload: Symmetrical 50-1000mbps	5-35ms avg	Not affected

 

Additionally, satellite internet companies have large issues with weather and not being able to hold connectivity throughout storms. I’m sure many are familiar with the ever so common “blackouts” during storms while watching satellite cable tv. Satellite internet works in the same way such as when there is a thunderstorm, the clouds, rain, and fog block the receiver through the many layers of the atmosphere. Fiber optic infrastructure is located within the ground, unable to be disrupted by weather and other factors. Although satellite internet companies are widely available to service many areas, they do come with hefty prices for what you get in terms of speed and they usually involve large start up and installation fees. Fiber optic cable is capable of the most expansive bandwidth out of any internet service type. This allows for the download and upload of large files in a matter of seconds rather than minutes. The dependability of fiber optic cable is extremely reliable as Mid Century Fiber provides symmetrical upload and download speeds which is not seen on any other platform. Most satellite internet companies can only provide to people an average of 50mbps download speed and an upload speed of around 5-10mbps. Speeds are typically lower than average and fluctuate all the time. Mid Century Fiber currently offers equivocal upload and download speeds of up to 1000mbps or (1 Gig). Lastly, most of these companies that provide satellite internet have overage fees and data caps on usage. Packages with high data caps are typically more expensive than regular fiber optic or copper cable services. Unlike satellite internet companies, with Mid Century Fiber there is zero data caps or overage fees. Fiber optic cable as mentioned before is somewhat of a rarity unlike DSL, cable, and satellite internet.  Fiber optic internet is a fast moving and ever-expanding infrastructure and the future for providing reliable and fast internet. It is still somewhat rare to find fiber installed outside of large cities around the U.S, so being able to provide the most reliable, and fastest type of internet cable to rural and underserved areas, brings us great pride here at Mid Century.