A Complete Guide to Fiber Optic Internet

Fiber optic Internet is the future of broadband. It uses fiber-optic technology to reach the fastest speeds available today, as fast as 10000 Mbps (1Gpbs). Broadband is essential to the modern world we live in. Powered by fiber optic technology, fiber Internet is blowing its competitors out of the water. In this guide, we will cover everything you need to know about fiber Internet, including how it works and the challenges associated with it.

How Fiber Optics Work

When we refer to “fiber” in this guide we are talking about the fiber-optic Internet, which is a form of fiber-optic communications. By sending a beam of light through fiber optic glass cables, we are able to transfer information through what is a truly fascinating process.

Optical Fibers

Fiber cables are made up of many smaller optical fibers. These fibers are extremely thin, to be specific they are less than a tenth as thick as a human hair. Though they are thin, they have a lot going on. Each optical fiber has two parts:

• The Core:Usually made of glass, the core is the innermost part of the fiber, where the light passes through.
• The Cladding: Usually made of a thicker layer of plastic or glass, the cladding is wrapped around the core.

These two parts work together to create a phenomenon called total internal reflection. Total internal reflection is how light is able to move down the fibers, without escaping. It is when the light hits the glass at an extremely shallow angle, less than 42 degrees, and reflects back again as if reflecting against a mirror. The cladding keeps the light in the core because the glass/plastic it is made of has a different optical density or lower refractive index. Both these terms refer to how the glass bends (refraction)and therefore slows down the light.

Light is transmitted down the fiber in LED or Laser pulses that travel extremely fast. These pulses carry binary data, which is a coding system that makes up everything we see on the Internet, even the words you are reading right now. Binary code is made up of bits, which are just ones and zeroes. These bits send messages in organized eight-part patterns, called bytes. It is easy to translate the bits of binary into light pulses. One pulse means one and no pulse means zero. These pulses can travel sixty miles before they experience any degradation. To transport data across thousands of miles these pulses go through optical amplifiers that boost their signal so that no data is lost.

The Last Mile

Once the pulses reach their destination, an optical network terminal (ONT) converts the light pulses into electrical Ethernet. This is how light becomes something you can use to actually connect your devices to the Internet. This conversion happens at the end of the Last Mile, which isn’t actually a mile at all, but a term for the last stretch of fiber that connects the consumer to the backbone of the Internet.

The backbone of the Internet is what makes it possible for people across the globe to connect via the web, and most of it is made of fiber optic cables. Fiber optic Internet may seem like brand new technology, but it has actually been around since the early days of the Internet. In 1988 fiber optic cables were laid under the ocean to connect the U.S. and Europe. They were the first submarine lines to be laid, and today they have expanded to crisscross the entirety of the ocean floor.

The backbone is the core of the Internet. The instant you connect to a website, no matter the device or the destination, multiple steps are being taken to bring you there, and every one of them is connected by the backbone.

Types of Last Mile Connections

There are several types of last-mile fiber connections an Internet service provider (ISP) can install, each one varying in how pure your fiber optic Internet connection actually is. Each one is referred to as “Fiber to the X” or “FTTX”, with x representing where the optical fiber connection actually ends.

• FTTP/FTTH/FTTB/FTTD: Fiber to the premise, home, business or desktop are the most direct fiber lines. With them, you are getting pure fiber straight to your residence, with no copper cables involved. These are also the most expensive fiber connections for the ISPs.
• FTTB: With fiber to the building, the fiber line is distributed throughout the building by copper lines. This is a popular choice for apartment buildings, hotels, schools or buildings that provide Internet to several different businesses.
• FTTC/FTTN/FTTS: Fiber to the cabinet/curb, neighborhood, or street are the most common fiber connections. Fiber is delivered to a street cabinet, around 1000ft from the farthest premise, and is then dispersed by copper cables. It is the most affordable fiber-optic Internet connection for ISPs because they do not have to invest in costly infrastructure to the individual premises, and it can be re-distributed if/when new residences or businesses move in.
  

Fiber Competitors

Fibers biggest Internet competitors are DSL, Cable and Wireless Internet. DSL Internet is provided by copper phone lines that have been the norm for over a hundred years. Cable internet also uses copper, but unlike DSL it uses coaxial cables were originally used for cable TV services. Fixed Wireless Internet, like cell phone service, is provided through radio waves broadcasted from towers, and then sent over frequencies.

As with anything, there are pros and cons to fiber Optics when compared to its competitors.

DSL Pros

Low Fiscal and Environmental Costs: DSL does the least amount of damage, both environmentally and economically. Copper cables can usually be found even in the most rural of areas because it was originally laid for telephone connections. The cables can be reutilized, so new building projects are not necessary. Fiber optic infrastructure or wireless towers can be expensive, and come at the added price of natural habitats, not to mention added Co2 emissions. On the other hand, fiber infrastructure doesn’t require electricity, which is very eco-friendly. Of all the competitors, cable produces the least data for the most electricity.

Availability: Again, copper cables have already been laid in most areas for telephone use so, as long as they are in good condition, reusing them to create Internet service is fairly simple. At this time, fiber optic Internet isn’t available in many rural areas, but bringing faster and more reliable Internet to rural America is becoming a growing priority for both municipalities and providers.

Copper Cables

DSL Cons

Interference: Copper wires can do serious damage if not properly installed and maintained. They can release electromagnetic currents that interfere with wires and severely damage a network. Fiber cables will neither emit electromagnetic waves nor be damaged by them. They are made from plastic and/or glass, therefore are unaffected by the harmful waves. Copper cables also conduct electricity, so they pose a fire risk if not properly installed and maintained. This fact also means they are more susceptible to lightning and can be very dangerous if they go down during a storm.

Attenuation: Attenuation, means the weakening or loss of a signal. Given distance signals sent over copper wires degrade much faster than fiber. After 320 ft. of cable, fiber loses only three percent of its signal, whereas DSL/Cable lose 94% at the same distance.

Symmetrical Speeds: Everyone uses the Internet in one of two ways, downloading and/or uploading. When you watch something on Netflix, you are downloading. When you upload a video to YouTube, you are uploading. Downloading and uploading are usually represented as different speeds.

Most casual users only have to worry about the downloading speed, but telecommuters, those dependent on telemedicine, and most businesses need higher uploading speeds as well. One of the many things that makes fiber optic Internet superior is that it provides symmetrical speeds, meaning its download and upload speeds match. DSL and other types of Internet, only offer asymmetrical speeds, where download speeds are faster than upload than upload speeds.

Cable Pros

Price: Cable Internet is one of the most affordable Internet options. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for, since their speeds aren’t as fast as wireless or fiber, and often include data caps.

Cable Cons

Sharing is Not Caring: Cable can reach download speeds of 100 Mbps (still only a tenth of fiber but more than DSL), but cable Internet is shared from a central node where the ISP meets the local coaxial network. This means anywhere between 100-2000 homes have to share a single node. Sharing like this often leads to low speeds during peak use hours. To manage this, companies have been throttling users Internet, meaning they slow down your bandwidth after you have used a certain amount. The idea behind this is to give everyone sharing the node an even amount of service, but can often be frustrating for consumers. Cable companies have also been known to put caps on how much data your household needs, and then charge you extra for additional data.

A Wireless Tower

Fixed Wireless Pros

It’s Wireless: As a testament to its name, fixed wireless truly is wire free. Once a tower goes up, radio waves transmit a carrier’s signal across frequencies. This wireless means fewer materials are needed, bringing down the overall cost of purchasing, building, and maintaining. It also means no fallen cables resulting in loss of service.

Access: There are many areas so rural that providers can’t justify the expense to lay fiber, or build DSL to them. If you live up a mountain, have very few neighbors, or are so far off the beaten path your mail comes by carrier pigeon, Wireless maybe your only option. Usually, even the most rural areas will have some sort of tower near enough to gage a signal.

Fixed Wireless Cons

Line of Sight: With fixed wireless, the biggest limitation is that the consumer’s antenna has to be within the line of sight of the provider’s wireless tower. If a line of sight can’t be established like if you live in a hilly area, wireless won’t be an option for you.

Congestion: Fixed wireless has the potential to meet fiber-optic Internet speeds, but circumstances prevent the radio waves from ever catching up to the photons</strong>. You already know that Wireless degrades with distance, bringing the speed down with it, but there is a greater issue at hand. As with a cable connection, fixed wireless users share bandwidth across their local network, so when many people are accessing the network at once, the speed slows. To put this in perspective, let’s say you are paying for a 100 Mbps network, but your share that network with all ten homes in your neighborhood. If everyone is on at once, you are getting 10 Mbps at best. Whereas if you are paying for a 100 Mbps network of fiber, that speed is just for your home alone.

Fiber and ISPs

Despite the concerns involved, many ISPs have dedicated themselves to fiber optic Internet deployment. Some ISPs have even committed to only building fiber infrastructure going forward, and are actively working to replace existing copper. OTELCO is one of many ISPs that has decided to embrace the future by using fiber for all new infrastructure projects, while actively working to replace copper wires with optical fibers. Now that you know more about fiber optic Internet you may be more interested in how one company is deploying it.

Glossary

Aerial fiber: Fiber strung above ground, usually up on utility poles.

Asymmetrical Connections: Internet connections with different download and upload speeds.

Attenuation: The weakening or loss of a signal.

The Backbone of the Internet: A series of networks that connect the Internet across the world.

Binary:  A code of ones and zeros that builds everything you see on the Internet.

Bits: The individual ones and zeros that make up binary code. Represented as a lower case “b”, used to measure Internet speeds. As in Kbps, Mbps, and Gbps. 

Bytes: Patterns of eight bits that create binary messages. Represented as an upper case “B”, used to measure digital storage capacity.

The Cladding: The cladding is the second layer of an optical fiber that wraps around the core. It is usually made of a thicker layer of plastic or glass, to create total internal refraction.

Conduit: A tube or trough made of metal, plastic, fiber, or fired clay, that works as a protection for electrical wiring.

The Core: The core of an optical fiber where the light moves through. The core is made of glass that has a very low refraction index, allowing the phenomena of total internal refraction to take place.

Dark Fiber: Optical fiber in a fiber internet cable that is not being “lit” or used by an ISP. Often an ISP builds in the dark fiber so they can light it up when needed, or lease it out to other ISPs or interested parties at wholesale cost.

Fiber Optic Technology: Technology that transmits data using light and optical fibers (glass or plastic threads).

Fiber Optic Communications: The transportation of information through optical fibers, using glass and pulses of light.

FTTX:

• FTTP: Fiber to the premise, a last mile fiber connection that provides a pure fiber connection directly to the premise.
• FTTH: Fiber to the home, a last mile fiber connection that provides a pure fiber connection directly to the home.
• FTTD: Fiber to the desktop, the Last Mile fiber connection that provides a pure fiber connection directly to the user.
• FTTN: Fiber to the neighborhood, a last mile fiber connection that provides a fiber connection to a neighborhood cabinet, that is then distributed to the neighborhood through either a fiber splitter or through copper wiring.
• FTTB: Fiber to the building, or fiber to the basement, a last mile fiber connection that brings fiber as far as the building, and then distributes it throughout the building with copper wiring. FTTB can also refer to fiber to the business, a last mile fiber connection that provides a pure fiber connection directly to a business.
• FTTC: Fiber to the cabinet, or fiber to the curb, is a last mile fiber connection as far as a local cabinet that is then distributed to residences, and businesses through either a fiber splitter or (more commonly) copper wiring.
• FTTS: Fiber to the street, is a last-mile fiber connection as far as a local cabinet that is then distributed to customers through either a fiber splitter or (more commonly) copper wiring.

Gbps: Gigabits a second, or a billion bits per second.

Internet of Things: The IoT is actually complicated, and constantly changing a thing. Simply put, it is the concept of the interconnectivity of many different devices (phones, cars, appliances, etc.) that are all embedded with technology that connects them to the Internet.

Kbps: Killa bits per second, or a thousand bits per second.

Last Mile: The last stretch of fiber that connects the consumer to the backbone of the Internet.

Mbps: Megabits per second, or a million bits per second.

Optical Amplifiers: A device that amplifies optical signals without having to convert them into electricity. Also known as optical repeaters.

Optical Density: The degree to which a refractive medium retards transmitted rays of light.

Optical Fibers: A flexible transparent fiber made by drawing glass or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair.

Photon: Light particles.

Refraction: Refraction is the bending of light (it also happens with sound, water, and other waves) as it passes from one transparent substance into another.

Refractive Index: An equation that describes how light travels through an object.

Symmetrical Connections: Broadband connections that have different download and upload speeds, for example, 25/10 Mbps.

Telecommute: Working from home with the use of technology.

Telemedicine: Remote patient care via telecommunications technology.

Total Internal Reflection: when the light hits the glass at an extremely shallow angle, less than 42 degrees, and reflects back again as if reflecting against a mirror.