 espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2
 ·Clear Wireless
1 edit | reply to Simba7
Re: Advanced Fiber Network claim said by Simba7:Fiber *IS* better than Copper. Here is the reasons: I'm not going to dispute that fiber often has advantages over copper on the provider side. What I'm saying is that you, as a customer, sign up for a service based on the features it provides -- be it Internet access speed, number of TV channels, or telephone features. The factors that influence each of those options is only loosely related to the underlying transport medium.
said by Simba7:1. More bandwidth. Technically, Fiber can handle 1+Tbps connections. Add multiple wavelengths and it'll go even faster. The frequency breakdown in FiOS today is using mechanical means (prisms), which means home visits are required and complete ONT swapouts required to tap into additional capacity. So yeah, you can upgrade, but be prepared for a massive bill of materials to accomplish it.
said by Simba7:2. Longer distances. I think 25 miles without a repeater is freakin' awesome. With ZR optics you can go 80km without amplification, but keep in mind that fiber span needs to be absolutely clean. Any bulkhead connections at fiber junction boxes or splice points from recovering cable cuts will substantially reduce that distance. Still, as an end user buying a service, why the heck do I care what the distance benefits are for fiber? I only care if I can get the service or I can't.
said by Simba7:3. Reliability. No more crappy coax connections and no ugly signal fluctuations. True, with fiber you're not going to have to deal with EMI/RFI, transient voltages, or grounding issues. You still have to deal with issues of patch panel termination faults, failed connectors that allow the fiber to spin and change the connection characteristics, and any events that cause the glass to bend beyond specs or break.
Bad events can still occur with fiber: just last month the local DiecTV rebroadcast facility lost 50% of it's capacity when water flooded into a fiber conduit that was cut open when new road signs were placed by the state. After an unusually warm February day, which allowed the snow to melt and flood the conduit, there was an extreme cold snap that followed that resulted in the water freezing in the conduit and snapping the fiber. Since the conduit was also frozen solid, that prevented new fiber from being blown through the conduit as well.
said by Simba7:What's the benefit of Coax to the home? This is easy:
•Large base of infrastructure already installed
•Able to be spliced very cost effectively (no need for fusion splice gear like with fiber) in the event of a break
•Able to be split into multiple feeds using inexpensive splitters
•Less expensive amplification hardware for copper |
