Fibre optic broadband is transforming the way the nation uses the internet and connects with one another. Gone are the days of slow dial-up connections as we welcome the dawn of high-speed internet.
Whilst fibre optic broadband could become commonplace across the UK in the not-so-distant future, are you up to scratch with the latest technology?
Here are a few facts about fibre optic broadband to keep you up to speed:
1. What is it?
Fibre optic broadband works by sending information and data as a burst of light through individual optical fibres, which are made of silica glass with a plastic coating.
2. How does it work?
The glass and light combination allows data and information to travel faster than the old copper wire method, with less interference and with a stronger signal over bigger distances at a higher frequency range. The bigger the range of frequency, the bigger the bandwidth and, ultimately, the faster the connection will be.
3. What does this mean?
Faster connections mean quicker downloads and uploads. For example, providers are already delivering speeds of up to 100 Mbps and could develop 300Mbps as soon as the end of 2013! With everything being a bit faster, users can upload bigger files like photos and images a lot quicker as well.
4. Different types
Not all fibre optic broadband is equally spread and the technology comes in different types. It could be a mixture of fibre optic and copper, which falls into three configurations: FTTC (the weakest) FTTP and FTTH (the strongest).
