I need help here. Can someone please explain to me how fibre optic works?
I am having difficulty grasping the concept of getting fibre ( from the same provider) and presumably the send me a different router and bingo, my spread and everything improves.
They don't do anything to the cable that connects my broadband.
Is that how it works? |
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You'll probably get fibre to cabinet rather than fibre to home, unless you're on cable 
This means there'll be a fibre optic line to the nearest BT cabinet in the street (the green boxes) and copper into your house from the cabinet 
The distance from the cabinet to your house will determine the speed you'll receive, further = slower
You'll probably have a new wireless router with the service that can cope with the speeds.
Then it's down to internal structure in your property as to what the speeds at computer are.
Fastest option is to have a network cable to the router rather than using wifi
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"You'll probably get fibre to cabinet rather than fibre to home, unless you're on cable
This means there'll be a fibre optic line to the nearest BT cabinet in the street (the green boxes) and copper into your house from the cabinet
The distance from the cabinet to your house will determine the speed you'll receive, further = slower
You'll probably have a new wireless router with the service that can cope with the speeds.
Then it's down to internal structure in your property as to what the speeds at computer are.
Fastest option is to have a network cable to the router rather than using wifi
"
This my streets cabinet is full and can’t get fibre to home.  |
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"You'll probably get fibre to cabinet rather than fibre to home, unless you're on cable
This means there'll be a fibre optic line to the nearest BT cabinet in the street (the green boxes) and copper into your house from the cabinet
The distance from the cabinet to your house will determine the speed you'll receive, further = slower
You'll probably have a new wireless router with the service that can cope with the speeds.
Then it's down to internal structure in your property as to what the speeds at computer are.
Fastest option is to have a network cable to the router rather than using wifi
This my streets cabinet is full and can’t get fibre to home. "
Hmm; irrespective of which provider you use? |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
|
"You'll probably get fibre to cabinet rather than fibre to home, unless you're on cable
This means there'll be a fibre optic line to the nearest BT cabinet in the street (the green boxes) and copper into your house from the cabinet
The distance from the cabinet to your house will determine the speed you'll receive, further = slower
You'll probably have a new wireless router with the service that can cope with the speeds.
Then it's down to internal structure in your property as to what the speeds at computer are.
Fastest option is to have a network cable to the router rather than using wifi
This my streets cabinet is full and can’t get fibre to home.
Hmm; irrespective of which provider you use?"
Afraid so- village life |
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The fibre only goes as far as the nearest Openreach cabinet in the street. It goes the rest of the way to your house on the same wires as you use now.
The new router just handles the technical difference in how it sends data over the last bit.
It's the same if you use Sky, BT etc. I think only Virgin do fibre direct to the house. |
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Fiber, is a long strand of glass. When you turn on a light the light travels along the glass and is read by the modem.
Old cable is copper, and it is a signal sent along the copper, think of electricity on a copper line.
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Fiber is faster, because it can go at the speed of light. Cable is slower because it gets held up travelling through the copper.
Fiber to the home means they have put the glass cable right up to your house, which means you are now capable of enormous speeds.
What speeds will you get? That all depends on their server sitting on the other end of the wire. Lets say your cable can now do 10gbit. They would need to install a 10gbit server on the other end, and remove all bottlenecks along the way, and get a really massive conncetion themselves like 100's of gbit, so many people could be downloading at 10gbit at the same time.
So in reality they give you slower speeds, like 100 - 500mb, if youre lucky 1gbit.
It will require a different modem, but its future proof, your connection is capable of way faster than you can go now.
The old copper cable, is pretty much at its maximum capacity now, it will only get modest upgrades.
Some people have fiber to the cabinet, and then copper to the home. This means you dont have the glass cable to your home.
This means you are limited to the speed of the copper line between you and the isp server. The length of the copper cable plays a huge part in this, the longer it is, the slower the singal, the slower your internet.
In an ideal world, you want fiber to the home. |
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Most telephone exchanges have BT equipment in them, some may have other providers, but on the whole you'll be running off a BT system.
This is one of the reasons that BT and Openreach (who run the fibres) were separated as a business.
You may have a local cable operator.
use Samknows website to find out what is in your local exchange |
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"Most telephone exchanges have BT equipment in them, some may have other providers, but on the whole you'll be running off a BT system.
This is one of the reasons that BT and Openreach (who run the fibres) were separated as a business.
You may have a local cable operator.
use Samknows website to find out what is in your local exchange "
So despite what a lot of adverts may imply the actual physical connections are the same, and it then boils down to the router they provide |
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"So, depending on your location, your fibre connection could be only as good as somebody's standard broadband connection, right?"
Yes. They'll give you a fibre speed estimate online from your address. |
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