Exploring the Difference Between Cable and Fiber Internet

In today’s world, you can’t get far without a solid internet connection. The internet connects us to information, socialization, business operations, and more. Businesses across the country are discovering the benefits of SD-WAN services, Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), and fast internet.

There are many ways faster internet enhances business operations, including higher productivity levels, robust security, and efficient cloud access. There are two primary types of internet: cable and fiber. Let’s take a look at the differences and similarities of cable internet vs. fiber internet and narrow down which type is best for your business.

What Is Cable Internet?

Cable internet is also referred to as broadband internet. Cable internet is quite literally delivered using cables. The same copper coaxial cables that provide cable television also deliver cable internet. A coax cable can supply internet and television connections at the same time. The wires are comprised of:

  • A copper core
  • An insulating sheath
  • Copper and aluminum shields
  • A plastic outer layer

Typically, a cable internet modem delivers internet, but neighborhoods and areas connect each network. Connections from different households, offices, or businesses converge together, often on a utility pole on the street, and they share bandwidth.

How Fast Is Cable Internet?

Cable network speed can usually accommodate large downloads. However, since the network is connected and shared by neighborhoods, slow speeds often occur during high usage times. If your business is located in a highly populated area, you may experience dramatic slowdowns during peak business hours when you need to be productive.

Cable download speeds range from 10 to 500 megabits per second (Mbps). The upload speed range is 5 to 50 Mbps. You select your preferred speed when you sign up for cable internet. The higher the speed, the more money you pay. Even still, the speed you pay for isn’t guaranteed. Many cable service providers have data caps, and if you go over the data limit, you may need to pay additional fees.

Cable Network Availability

Cable networks are available just about everywhere across the country. If you live in an area where you can access a television network, you can also access cable internet. Cable internet is available in all 50 states and has 89% coverage across the United States. Cable internet availability is higher in urban areas compared to rural areas.

Cable Reliability

For the most part, cable internet for business is very reliable. However, electricity outages can affect cable connection. Cable internet is not as reliable in areas with frequent electricity outages and cable interruptions. Backup internet sources may be needed during power outages. Even still, cable internet is more reliable than other internet sources such as digital subscriber lines (DSL) or satellites.

What Is Fiber Optic Internet?

Now that you have an understanding of cable internet, let’s explore the offerings of fiber internet. While cable internet uses copper cables, fiber internet uses fiber optic cables to deliver internet to homes and businesses. Fiber optic cables are comprised of optical fibers, which are incredibly thin strands of glass or plastic.

Fiber utilizes LED or laser pulses to transfer internet data over long distances. Fiber cables carry more bandwidth than copper cables, which makes fiber internet a popular choice. Fiber internet technology is newer, so it is not as widely used as cable internet.

How Fast Is Fiber Internet?

Fiber internet is the fastest internet available today. Fiber cables can transfer large amounts of data without delays in processing. Additionally, fiber optic internet does not have bandwidth caps, so you can use as much as you need.

Fiber internet does not share networks, so peak-time lags are not an issue as with cable internet. High-speed business fiber internet help improves productivity and customer satisfaction. Fiber speeds for uploading and downloading are no less than 250 to 1,000 Mbps, which is significantly faster than traditional broadband internet.

Fiber Network Availability

Fiber internet is still in an expansion stage, so connections are not as easily accessible as cable internet. However, as fiber internet gains popularity, it is becoming more available. Fiber optic internet would be more difficult for rural businesses to obtain, but it is more accessible in metropolitan areas.

Fiber Reliability

Fiber internet is incredibly reliable. Electricity disruptions do not affect fiber network availability, so internet connections continue if the electricity goes down. This reliability is because fiber optic cables are made of glass, and they do not conduct electricity.

It is incredibly rare for a fiber network to get interrupted. This consistent network reliability makes a considerable difference in productivity for businesses when they need it most.

The Best Choice for Businesses

Fiber internet is the most efficient choice for businesses in metropolitan areas with access to fiber. Fiber internet boasts the fastest speeds, large bandwidth capacities, and network reliability unimpacted by power outages. Companies with high productivity demands will find that fiber internet best suits their needs.

For rural companies or businesses with less demanding needs, cable internet is suitable. If businesses don’t have many content needs, mission-critical internet applications, or on-location servers, cable internet can adequately meet their needs while saving a little bit of money.

Are You Ready to Upgrade Your Internet?

Even though cable and fiber internet have many similarities, they also have differences that distinguish them from each other. Gone are the days of satellite and dial-up internet connections. At a minimum, businesses need cable internet to operate. However, the best way to improve speed, productivity, and reliability is by installing fiber internet.

Are you curious to know if fiber internet is right for your business? Integrated Communications can help. We will perform a free telecommunications and networking audit for your business. Don’t wait any longer to determine how your business can improve user experience, save money, and increase productivity; instead, contact us today!

Woman Working on a Laptop

5 Ways Faster Internet Can Enhance Your Business

Businesses of all sizes in every industry rely on fast internet access to be competitive. The speed of a business’s internet directly affects its success. As technology improves, internet speeds get faster and more reliable.

Traditional cable or DSL internet providers offer speeds between 10 and 30 Mbps (megabits per second.) However, businesses that operate with fiber-based internet experience speeds up to 1000 Mbps. Fast internet for business is essential for ensuring the satisfaction of customers and employees alike.

Keep reading to learn 5 ways faster internet improves your business.

1. Access to High-Speed Internet Reduces Costs

Don’t let the initial startup costs of high-speed internet deter you from signing up for it. The initial costs often pay for themselves through the added efficiency and productivity that your business will experience.

Other direct savings options are available with fast internet for business. High-speed internet offers a telephone service called Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). This gives companies the option to have a telephone voice service connected to their high-speed internet. Depending on the number of employees and extensions your business has, you could save thousands of dollars by connecting a VOIP service to your internet.

VOIP allows your business to make calls through a handset, headset, laptop, tablet, and an app. All your business needs is a connection to high-speed internet to utilize this service. The best part of this telephone service is that caller IDs will register your business name and number.

2. Faster Internet Allows for More Productivity

Businesses majorly lose out on productivity levels if employees are waiting on a slow internet connection to load their work. Most employees in many types of businesses are incredibly reliant on internet access to successfully perform their job.

High-speed internet not only cuts down on the time that employees wait for applications and software to load, but it also supports multi-tasking across multiple applications at once. Delayed internet speeds affect research capabilities, customer service, emails, and in-house communications. All of these areas add up and cause your business to lose valuable time and money.

High-speed internet for business allows employees to operate efficiently between tasks and projects. Employees can complete tasks faster without dealing with the frustrations of a slow internet connection.

Traditional DSL internet easily gets interrupted with:

  • Poor weather conditions
  • Physical breakdowns
  • Electrical interference

These circumstances are far less likely to interfere with high-speed internet.

Reliable connection keeps your customers productive, too. If your business’s website loads slowly or even crashes, customers will be quick to take their business elsewhere. Maintain a loyal customer base with a reliable and fast internet connection.

3. High-Speed Internet Has Better Security

High-speed internet is better equipped against hacking and security breaches compared to traditional internet services. Security breaches present considerable risks and damages to businesses. Recovering from illegal access is always an expensive process.

Preventing security breaches before they happen is the safest and most affordable way to handle the cybersecurity of your business. You don’t want to risk losing valuable information about your business, or about your customers. Customers will not be happy with you if their personal information gets leaked in a data breach.

To further protect valuable data, many businesses backup their data offsite. As the amount of data increases, so does the need for reliable internet service. Slow internet connections interfere with data backups, often leaving some attempts unsuccessful.

Fiber optic internet can accommodate large data transfers. These smooth and quick transfers put your employees, customers, and owners at ease.

High-speed internet also protects your business with:

  • Security systems viewable from anywhere
  • Clear HD imaging
  • Protection against cybercrime
  • Adding phones, tablets, and other devices to your security system

4. Effectively Collaborate Remotely

High-speed internet allows your employees to work remotely with ease. You can extend your talent pool to the entire country if you can effectively operate remotely.

Remote workers depend on quality internet connections in order to successfully collaborate with other remote and in-house team members. Running a successful remote operation also allows you to save money on overhead costs.

Even if your employees only work remotely while traveling, high-speed internet allows them to share files, print necessary documents, and collaborate on company platforms as if they were physically in the office.

Isn’t it frustrating when a video meeting crashes or glitches? Slow internet gets even slower when multiple employees are working at the same time, not to mention an entire team. High-speed internet supports multiple employees each working on multiple devices during the day.

You can count on your video meetings to run smoothly with fiber optic internet. This is guaranteed to make your employees happy because the only thing worse than meetings is meetings that last way longer than they need to.

5. Faster Speeds Improve Cloud Access

The constant need to upload, download, and store items in a business setting is supported by cloud access and remote data storage. Things like software-as-a-service (SaaS), content management systems (CMS), and customer relationship management (CRM) programs rely on the cloud.

Slow internet speeds negatively affect the performance of these programs and applications. If customers on the other end of CRM programs experience a lag in processing data, they will lose their confidence in your business.

Almost all new software programs are designed to rely on fast cloud access. If your business has traditional slow internet, it will directly affect how these programs perform. High-speed internet is essential for utilizing new software that is designed to help your business find more success.

Take Your Business to the Next Level With Faster Internet

Fast internet for business is what takes your profits from good to great. Save money, collaborate productively, and keep your data safe with high-speed fiber optic internet. Faster internet is a valuable investment that pays for itself with the benefits it offers.

Are you ready to take your business to the next level and improve the lives of your employees and customers? Integrated Communications is here to help. Reach out to us to get started today!

What Businesses Can Expect with Voice over Mobile Broadband

shutterstock_258863234Technology is advancing at a steady rate, constantly changing the way businesses and individuals communicate in today’s marketplace. Formerly, switching from a legacy network to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) lowered the costs and reduced the delays associated with long-distance calling, which enabled greater global outreach.

Currently, the need for faster connections and more bandwidth has spurred the increased adoption of Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) networks. However, the next big change in business communication will involve Voice over Mobile Broadband (VoMBB), and knowing what to expect can help companies make the transition.

​VoMBB Basics

VoMBB is essentially the process of connecting cellular calls over mobile broadband networks like LTE and WiFi. As more businesses continue to deploy cost-saving flexibility through remote work stations and an enlarged mobile workforce, broadband requirements have increased.

However, since massive, commercialized LTE networks are widespread, VoMBB will utilize that availability to escalate the speed and quality of voice and data transmissions, offering enhanced services for a variety of organizations.

Security Concerns

Maintaining data protection is always a top priority. Although utilizing a public network to transmit voice data involves heightened risks, security concerns will be addressed as they were for VoIP. Encryption and authentication support provided by Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and H.323 protocols will offer businesses the cost benefits of VoMBB with familiar methods of protection.

Over-the-Top Apps

To combat the lag time created by over-the-top (OTT) apps like Skype, VoMBB providers will need to develop relationships with OTT app developers. This change will also provide an opportunity for businesses. Mobile carriers will be able to structure voice and data transmission costs according to specific usages, which will provide businesses with enhanced regulation metrics. By monitoring this type of data transfer, improved efficiency and cost controls can be enacted.

Cloud Options

In addition to the internal controls that companies can develop by using VoMBB, providers will be able to utilize cloud resources for immediate activation. With voice over WiFi, providers are able to offer the VoLTE infrastructure required now, and then support high-speed packet access later. This lowers costs and delivers the mobility needed by today’s businesses.

As mobile workplaces expand and the number of users who need instant remote access to business information grows, changes in the way voice data is transmitted will continue to evolve. VoMBB will offer faster connections and greater bandwidth agility through the cloud, allowing providers to lower the costs and improve service capabilities. Businesses will reap the benefits of heightened capacity and mobilized solutions that enlarge profits and support growth.