Fiber optics: What is it, what types are there and how fast can this Internet connection be?

Fiber optics is a type of technology data transmission that generates pulses of light through a very thin thread of transparent material that can be glass or plastic. It is widely used today and its main advantage is the speed at which these pulses of light travel, generating a very fast Internet connection.

It is one of the advances of the most important technology produced in the last decade. With this system the signals they emit can travel long distances and can transmit data along their way. Its fibers can be single mode or multimode.

Through our study that we made of this topic we want to show you all the aspects that you have to take into account when choosing this technology for your communication with the Internet.

What are the main advantages of FTTH over other Internet connections? Is the best?

The FTTH (from the English “Fiber To The Home”) It is a technology that is based on the use of fiber optic cable. and systems adapted to this technology that contribute to the distribution of advanced services. For example, him triple playis nothing more than high-speed broadband Internet with fixed telephony and television in the same cable.

These characteristics allow very high speeds of navigation without interruption or variations that result in a multimedia service without alterations.

Another point we can stand out as a great advantage of fiber optics is that several electronic devices can be used at the same time without losing the intensity and quality of the Internet signal or of another service provided by the provider.

If we compare it with another Internet system we are going to realize that its installation is much easierhas a direct connection to the central offices of the supplier companies, the fiber optic cable is thinner than the coaxial cable and they provide services 24 hours a day without being congested.

Many people choose this technology because the videos and sound are more in real time, It has strong compatibility with actual technology and has high heat, cold and corrosion resistance..

Based on all these advantages it offers, we can say that fiber optic technology is the most suitable for all people who want to work from home and for those companies in which a connection without variations is needed.

Types of optical fiber What rates can be contracted and how are they different?

It is essential that you know the different types of fiber, since each one has its particularity. We explain some technical details below:

symmetric fiber

It is that technology in which equalize upload and download speeds predict these two parameters will always have the same download and upload speed.

Many people think that symmetrical fiber is faster, but in reality it has nothing to do with one thing with another, many times depending on the cable operator, and they give more speed for marketing purposes and not because of a technical limitation.

Always we have to analyze this situation according to the real needs that we have in our homes or in the company in which we use a similar technology.

asymmetric fiber

This fiber optic technology also refers to each of the upstream and downstream data transmission connections, being the download speed greater than the speed we have to upload.

This type of service provided by providers has a significant difficulty since they are often slower than symmetric fiber optics.

dark fiber

The dark term refers to those optical fibers in which the totality that was deployed is not being used, that is, it refers to the part that it is not illuminated.

It is estimated that in Spain there are around 2.5 million km of fiber deployed throughout the country, approximately 30% of which is dark.

fiber prices

Once we have already analyzed each type of optical fiber that exists, we want to mention the best prices for symmetrical fiber that we have found in the market so that you can decide which is the one that best suits your convenience (In the previous table we show you the average speed that Spain has with respect to other countries)

As a clarification we want to tell you that we do not mention or analyze the asymmetric type since they would not suit you economically. Take a look at the approximate price list below:

• “MORE MOBILE” It offers a speed of 600 Mb with unlimited calls at a price of €29.99 for the first three months.
• The company “Yoigo” It offers a speed of 100Mb at €32 per month with fixed telephony included.
• While the companyjazztell” They have among their wide range of products a 50 Mb fiber optic service plus fixed telephony for €40 during the first three months.
• Another offer that is interesting is that of “Orange”offering a 100 Mb fiber optic speed for €30.95, but if you want higher speed it can offer you its 500 Mb product for only €45.10 per month.
• “Movistar” It has a 100 Mb service for €32.30 per month.
• The company “Vodafone” provides a service of 100 MB at €32.50 per month, including telephony.

FTTH connectors. What types are there and how much do they influence the performance of the connection?

fiber optic connectors arose with the need to quickly and efficiently connect and uncouple cables compared to if they had been made with a splice. I have a great advantage, which is that it does not lose quality of the data transmission service.

There are four types of connectors that we can find on the market. Next we will talk about each of them:

Subscriber Connector

Commonly called SCis mainly aimed at single-mode optical fiber and has a push-pull coupling, providing greater advantages for those analog CATV, GBIC and GPON cables.

Lucent Connector

You’ll find this type of push-pull connector with the name of LC, this element has a small format and is used with a 1.25 mm ferrule, which is half the size of the one mentioned above. It is highly required for those connections in which a high density is needed.

straight tip

This type of connector is refers to the so-called ST in the market of technological elements. It can be confused with the FC (which we will talk about next) but it has a bayonet type mount that is used instead of a thread.

Ferrule Connector

Known as FCis similar to ST, is used for single mode optical fiber maintaining polarization, a screw type aspect with a 2.5mm ferrule, can be used with ceramic ferrules.

The importance of the description of these connectors is necessary to be able to distinguish them and thus place the correct one so as not to have problems in the future with variations in the Internet connection.

What is a “polish” in fiber optic connectors and how many are there?

The polishing process of installing an optical fiber is Necessary as a requirement for a good performance in data transmission, trying to ensure that the insertion loss is as low as possible. To evaluate the quality that exists in the fiber optic connection, it is necessary to measure the parameters once the polishing has already been carried out.

There are four types of polishing performed in fiber optic connectors they are:

flat polished

Which is done manually and is used in multimode fibers. Their connection is based on a flat surface and when they face each other a small air space is formed which presents small imperfections generating return losses, with this kind of polishing we avoid the least imperfect surface.

polished PC

His name refers to Physical Contact It is used for both singlemode and multimode fibers.. The ferrule comes with a pre-polished spherical concave shape, the most common connection with the PC connector which finds the two fibers the same as the flat way but the surface will be slightly polished on the bends which eliminates the gap. air.

Polished UPC

This ultra polished PC, has the same characteristics as the PC but they are used for single-mode fibers where their surfaces are polished to a better finish.

APC polishing

This class of Polishing comes from the abbreviations for angled physical contact in which the surfaces with the connector are curved and also have a 8° angle, in this way they make sure that the reflections that the light transition has do not return to the core that the fiber has. Then the return loss increases to values ​​higher than 60 db for this kind of polishing, it is necessary to work with those fibers where their core is small.

FTTH cables: What types are there and how do they influence the performance of the connection?

Although up to now we have been talking about two kinds of cables, the singlemode and multimode. We can add one more variety, the plastic optical fiber (POF) but we will not deal with it in this article.

Next, we will detail the most outstanding specifications of each of the first two cables:

Single mode cable

This type of cable is a fiberglass that has a diameter from 8.3 to 10 microns providing a single mode of transmission. It generally has a narrow diameter which propagates 1,310 or 1,550 nm.

Although its load is greater than multimode fiber, but it requires a light source that has a narrower width, it goes crazy with respect to its spectral aspect. Data is generally sent as multi-frequency.

multimode cable

fiber optic cable multimode has a higher speed broadband ranging from 10 to 100 Mb. The light waves that the transmission possesses are scattered by various paths or what we call mode, they normally travel at 850 or 1,300 nm.

List of the main fiber to the home operators in Spain and their rates

Movistar

The Internet provider par excellence offers its services of €32.30 per month for fixed telephony and 100Mb of transmission.

Orange

If you want to pay for a good service that doesn’t collapse at any time, Orange presents you with 2 alternatives so you can choose the one you like best. One of its alternatives is €30.95 for a fiber optic service of 100 Mb per month and if this amount of Mb is not enough for you, they have to offer you 500Mb for only €45.10 monthly.

Jazztel

Jazztel entered the communications market with really good Internet and landline service products, offering 50Mb per €40.

Vodafone

This company has one of the best features of Internet for the home, it offers 100 Mb to €32.50.

MoreMobile

Your service of €32.30 monthly during the first three months from your registration you will be able to get a 600 Mb Internet and a fixed telephony that are highly sought after and accepted among users.

Yoigo

He came to break the market, he only has 100 Mb €32 monthly, also offers you one of the best customer support.

How to measure the speed of my asymmetric fiber? How fast can it be?

To be able to measure our data upload and download speed, there are many ways and applications that are in stores, but none of them really provide detailed and accurate information.

In order to solve these problems, we have created a really good speed testin it you will find the most exact information on your Internet browsing exchange data.