Soon the residents in Oregon city will be able to lay their hands on faster internet. Last month, the officials of the state revealed that the city will start working on building infrastructure to support community-wide fiber-optic connectivity. The officials have already started working on the feasibility assessment and the infrastructure required to bring faster internet connection. It is believed that this step will help the government to invest in sustainable infrastructure. The city officials have further explained that they have started working on fiber-optic connectivity after realizing the importance of fast and reliable fiber internet for business during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Faster and reliable internet connectivity is especially important for small businesses that are operating in the state. This is also important to ensure that the businesses running in the state have a competitive edge over other businesses. In the month of May, the city officials are planning to carry out an extensive survey of the different stakeholders including residents, businesses and the public sector to gain a proper perspective of their requirements. This feedback will then be used to create a knowledge base to guide the project and then further estimate its cost.
How Fast Is The Fiber Optic Internet
With Oregon working on fiber optic internet, one might wonder how fast exactly is the fiber optic internet? For starters, it is important to note that fiber internet is faster than the average internet connection. It means that the user of fiber optic internet can download faster and more. Even though the fiber internet service is used, its usage is more proliferating in the businesses instead of the residential area.
Fiber optic internet carries the data connection through a cable that is filled either with plastic fibers or glass. Data in this cable travels in the form of a beam of light. Fiber optic internet is considered better than cable internet because in the latter case, the signal is sent through metal wires. When the metal heats up, the signal weakens and further, it picks up interference. This is the reason why cable wires work slower than fiber optic internet.
Advantages Of Fiber Optic Internet
The topmost advantage of fiber optic internet is its speed. It is 10 to 20 times faster than 50 to 100 Mbps. For example, if you want to download a two hour HD movie, the downloading time using the fiber optic internet speed is somewhere around 40 seconds and it is around seven minutes through cable internet. Also, fiber optic internet is more reliable because it ensures uninterrupted internet connection as it can handle more users and data without compromising the internet speed. The download and upload speed is nearly the same as the download speed. In addition to that, it is also possible to enjoy a higher definition of videos without compromising the internet speed.
The Challenges Of Fiber Optic Internet
The biggest challenge of fiber optic internet is its reachability. In the USA, only 25% of the residents have access to the internet provided by fiber optic internet. Also, the growth rate of fiber optic internet is slow. This has especially become slower with the rise of interest in 5G connection. The 5G connection can function without a wire and is powerful enough to provide a speed that is ten times faster than the fiber optics. The last and final hurdle of working on fiber optic internet is its high installation price. Creating fiber optic internet requires the installation of new infrastructure which itself is pricey and as a result, the service provided by fiber optic internet is also expensive.
Currently, Oregon houses only four residential fiber providers. The fastest fiber download speed in the state is approximately 2000 Mbps. Oregon Telephone Corp is also working hard to bring on high-speed fiber optic internet to Long Creek, Seneca and Monument. With this expansion, it is believed that there will be an improvement in the satellite internet service for the communities who rely on it. Gogo, Inmarsat (Viasat) are internet provider for commercial flights such as British Airways in the United Kingdom and UnitedWifi in the United States. It is important to ensure faster internet availability to these communities especially because a huge percentage of the population is working from home. Fiber optic internet will prove to be an asset to the residents of Oregon both in present and future.
