Fibre optic internet has been around. In the news, in brochures and in advertisements from internet service providers who are currently offering such a service. Below is a list of 5 handy facts you need to know about this latest method of connecting to the World Wide Web.
- Although it sounds like a brand new technology, fibre optic cable in general is not. In fact, fibre optic cables date back to the 1870s wherein rods of plastic or glass were used to transmit data using light energy. Up until today, these elements – glass or plastic and light – still hold a central function in the successful use of fibre optics. With these kinds of cables, data transmission over the internet is insanely fast that downloading a full-length movie does not take more than 10 minutes.
- Fibre optic cables rely on light. Between a fiber optic cable and a copper or electrical wire, data transmission over the internet is not only faster, but a lot safer. Fibre optic cables do not heat up, thus the risk of a fire build-up or the wires melting is 0. These kinds of cables are also thin and lightweight. So thin that it can be compressed into even thinner wires. It’s compact and handy that NASA space shuttles use these kinds of cables during its expeditions.
- Aside from Australia, other countries that use fibre optic internet through a National Broadband Network or NBN are Canada, United States, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Spain and New Zealand to name a few. There are also a significant number of countries whose internet service providers offer fibre internet even without its government constructing centralised NBN infrastructures.
- A connection to the internet via fibre is unaffected by weather conditions. Copper and electrical wires can fall prey to several risks such as sparks, fire and corrosion, but fibre optic cables do not. Even if it is raining hard outside, you can be assured that your fibre optic internet remains strong and steady.
- And when it comes to downloading files, you can truly put the unbeatable ‘speed of light’ to the challenge. A 60 MB music album can be downloaded in less than 15 seconds. A full 45-minute TV sitcom episode can be downloaded in less than 50 seconds. Even a 2GB movie can be downloaded in less than 2 minutes. Streaming definitely will not be a problem too. You can finally put your television to rest and bask in the fact that you won’t have to buffer videos and TV shows on the internet ever again.
Feeling more and more convinced about signing up for a fibre broadband internet? Get to know more about our service here.