fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | reply to Turbocpe
Re: Good... In the case of Qwest... you're a customer, I assume, being in Iowa, right? If so, do you remember when Qwest 'all the sudden' had "Fiber optic fast" internet and "digital telephone"...? This came about right around Comcast moving towards all VOIP services and away from their switched based digital phone which greatly expanded their reach.
Qwest is less of a "fiber" internet service when the entire connection between your home and them is all twisted pair. Cable modem service isn't possible with out the hybrid fiber/coax network. Between you and the company, there is far more fiber than there is coax. And, if you want to compare cable even to FTTH, until companies like Surewest and Verizon put a fiber connection right into your computer, it too still has some amount of copper in the mix as well.. albeit, just a few feet. I also know they just say "fiber all the way to your home".. which is fine. And, why do I bring this up? .. simple, people tried to, for month, discredit comcast's "digital phone service" becuase it was converting the all digital service to a twisted pair from the eMTA to the handset. (What's good for the goose, I say, and all points will be used against the masses here.  )
Comcast has been advertising their advanced fiber network for years LONG before Verizon came to down, and for the last 10 years while companies like Surewest were already providing it as an exclusive product in it's expanded service area. I find this, to be honest, Verizon crying foul.
To be honest, the node where I live is part of the same pedestal where my tap is. I have about a foot of coax between my node and tap. I have about 50' of cable to the splitter on my home. Is that fiber to the curb?  but, yes, cable uses a HFC system.. and technically, their system isn't possible WITHOUT the fiber in the system. It's the fiber that expanded the capability of the network to offer two-way services. I don't see cable stating that they are selling "fiber optic service" as it implied. Fiber IS in the system, and, like I said, the overwhelming majority of most customers traffic travels over fiber, not coax.
The big difference, like I said, between phone and cable, is cable has more fiber running the connection between the home and head end, while the connection of phone/dsl is pure copper. EVERY provider is "fiber connected" at their termination point - that's a given.
To be fair to Qwest, kinda, they ARE playing a little bit of a game on their "fiber fast" internet.. they're talking about their 20 meg internet services.. but that's even a long shot. That 20 meg service IS more of a fiber powered connection closer to the customer, but those speeds are hard to come by for qwest. In other words, this could be about the same as Verizon advertising their entire foot print as "fiber" when only parts of it is.. Qwest does have SOME service, but they imply that ALL of their internet is "fiber fast".. bla bla bla... Qwest is grasping at straws.
In my opinion, cable's network IS fiber to the neighborhood and then pushed out to coax with minimal amplification as it used to be.. it's not "fiber to the home".. There is a drive out there to push the definitions and redefine marketing on the part of the BBB - a self appointed agency that, like I said, really has no business doing so.
However, even with all this said, its just my opinion that these providers really ALL need to get away with marketing terms like "fiber" and fiber powered... etc. EVEN the fiber companies. My stance is that people don't care about the connection to the home by an overwhelming majority when compared. They shop on price, value for the money, and what fits their needs as well as reliable service they're happy with, performance and the company reputation. I think most of those matter most of all to more people than what kind of cable is used in the process. If the cable used mattered that much, you'd hardly have any U-verse TV subscribers out there, now, wouldn't ya?
The truth is, like I said, a well built network is where it's at. How many of those twisted pair DSL connections are FAR more reliable than a poorly managed cable plant? So, really... speak of the product you're selling in the terms of services available and stop muddling up the public with all the extra crap that means nothing.. that's like Gatorade trying to convince an average consumer that their product is better becuase it now has "more electrolytes"... most people don't care about that if they're not an athlete.. they just want a drink that tastes good. (And PLEASE, guys, don't pick apart the freakin' G example.. it's weak, but it's stands to my point) |
