Complete Guide to Fiber Optic Internet: What Is It and How Does It Work?

Complete Guide to Fiber Optic Internet: What Is It, How Does It Work?

Across the United States, almost 350 million people are internet users. This is 94.6% of the country's population!

Obviously,
it's vital for us to get online, especially those who have
digitally-heavy work and/or hobbies. For most, regular broadband
internet is adequate, but for others, they need something much faster.
For that, there's fiber optic internet.

What is fiber optic
internet? How does it compare to other types of internet? And which
internet service providers (ISPs) have fiber optic available?

In
this article, we'll discuss the answer to all these questions and more,
including what the top service providers are in the US.

What Is Fiber Optic Internet?

What
is a fiber optic internet connection? Well, as you can guess from the
name, this is a type of internet that uses fiber optics to relay
internet signals.

You know how they say something goes at the
speed of light? This is the reason why fiber internet is the fastest
internet available to us right now.

While the fastest fiber optic internet on record is 255 Tbps (you can download a 1 GB movie in 31.25 microseconds!),
you certainly won't get speeds like that with commercial service. In
general, you can expect to get download speeds of 1,000 Gbps, which is
still miles better than other types of internet.

This technology
is cutting-edge, which means you won't find it everywhere, as it takes a
huge investment on the ISP's part. In addition, expect to pay much
higher prices when compared to other internet services.

How Does Fiber-Optic Internet Work?

With fiber optic internet, you connect through fiber optic cables. Normally, other types of broadband internet use copper wires.

Why
fiber optics works so much better than copper is because of the fact
that it uses light. Not only can it travel over long distances with very
little attenuation, but it also doesn't suffer from distortion. As a
result, this means you don't get a significant weakening of the signal,
no matter how long the fiber optic cable is.

On the other hand,
copper wires have been used for telecommunications ever since telephones
were invented. These copper wires can transmit signals quite decently.

But
as you may have guessed, they're much more susceptible to attenuation
and distortion. This is why if you've ever gotten cable or DSL internet
before, where you lived affected your signal greatly.

Fiber Optic Internet Compared to Other Types of Internet

Now
that you know how fiber optic internet works, let's take a look at how
it compares to the other types of broadband internet. They include DSL,
cable, fixed wireless, and satellite internet.

DSL Internet

DSL internet
is one of the most commonly used types of high-speed internet. To get a
connection, signals are transmitted through telephone wires. This means
that if you're located near a switching station, you'll be able to get
very fast speeds with DSL.

Because DSL internet uses telephone
wires that are currently unused, you don't have to worry about it taking
up your landline. This was the biggest problem that came with its
predecessor: dial-up internet. With DSL, you can get online and talk on
the phone simultaneously.

Compared to fiber optic internet, it's much slower. However, out of the list of options here, it's one of the quickest.

Cable Internet

Cable internet
is also a major contender for the most popular type of internet that's
used around the world. This is because like with DSL, it provides the
quickest speeds (excluding fiber optic internet).

With this type
of internet, you get online through signals sent through coaxial cables.
This same cable can be used for TV, which is why with cable ISPs, they
usually let you bundle services like internet, TV, and phone.

These
coaxial cables need to first be laid before customers can get service,
so typically, you can only find this service in more urban areas.

Fixed Wireless Internet

While
most people prefer DSL or cable internet, these services may not always
be available. This is especially true for more rural locations.

In that case, you have the choice of fixed wireless internet.
Instead of using a modem to receive signals (as you would with the
other 2), you connect through internet signals that are transmitted
through radiowaves.

While speeds are decent with fixed wireless
internet, it can be unreliable. If you reside somewhere that gets bad
weather often, then it may not be such a good choice. However, it may be
your only choice to get online.

Satellite Internet

If you live in a rural area, another option is satellite internet. It's available in practically 100% of the United States because the satellites have that far of a reach.

Internet
speeds are also decent with satellite internet, but are slower than the
other options. Also, it's expensive to get, for both installation and
monthly fees. For these reasons, you should probably keep satellite
internet as a last option for getting online.

Fiber Optic Internet Providers

Is
your heart set on getting fiber optic internet? It can certainly be
well worth the money to surf the internet at the fastest speeds
possible.

To help you out, here's a great fiber optic internet providers list for the US.

Verizon Fios

The
biggest fiber optic internet provider for our country is Verizon Fios.
They cover almost 35 million people and offer their services across 10
states. With this ISP, you can get download speeds of up to 950 Mbps.

Out
of those 10 states, Verizon Fios mainly serves Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, and New York. You can expect to get excellent coverage in
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, the Bronx, New York, Staten Island,
and Washington.

Considering they're the biggest ISP in the US and
were the first ones to truly offer fiber optic internet in 2005, you
should highly consider going with this ISP. You can count on them to
bring you fast internet and great service.

You'll also be pleased to know that they offer digital phone and TV services that can be bundled with their internet services.

AT&T Fiber

The
next biggest fiber optic provider is AT&T fiber. They serve a
little over 25 million customers but have a broader reach of 21 states.
AT&T Fiber's speeds top out at 1,000 Mbps.

The greatest
coverage this ISP has is over California, Texas, and Florida. The
biggest cities they serve include Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, San
Antonio, Dallas, Chicago, and Miami.

Should you want to bundle
your TV services, you can do so under DirecTV. AT&T is currently the
owner of this satellite TV provider. You can also bundle your phone
services if you wish.

EarthLink Fiber

EarthLink Fiber
comes in at a close 3rd, as they serve almost 25 million people as well.
They offer their fiber optic internet services across 21 states. With
EarthLink Fiber, you'll get download speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps.

You'll
get the greatest coverage from them in California, Texas, and New York.
The top areas EarthLink Fiber serves are Los Angeles, San Antonio,
Houston, Chicago, Brooklyn, Miami, and New York.

This is a great
ISP to use because their fiber optic network covers around 50% of
American homes. This is thanks to Trive Capital's acquisition of the
company.

However, if you're looking to bundle phone and TV services, you should look elsewhere. This ISP only provides internet services.

Frontier Communications

Frontier Communications
is next on the list, but with just almost 11 million customers served.
They have coverage in 8 states and unfortunately, their speeds only go
up to 100 Mbps.

You'll find the most coverage in California,
Connecticut, and Florida. The top cities Frontier Communications serves
are Long Beach, Durham, Fort Wayne, Lakeland, Rochester, Saint
Petersburg, and Rochester.

This ISP actually provides most of
their fiber optic internet through Verizon Fios's networks, which they
acquired in 2014. You can also bundle TV and phone services if you need
all 3.

CenturyLink

The 5th biggest fiber optic internet provider is CenturyLink, which serves over 9.5 million Americans. Their service maxes out at 100 Mbps.

While
they don't top the list of ISPs, they certainly do for coverage.
They're the only ones that offer service across all 50 states, which is
no easy feat.

CenturyLink has the best coverage in Washington,
Arizona, and Colorado. Top areas served include Seattle, Saint Paul,
Denver, Tucson, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.

Like with
most other ISPs, CenturyLink allows you to bundle their internet
services with phone and digital TV (called "Prism TV").

Google Fiber

Google
Fiber is an ISP that offers internet services to just over 2 million
people. You can enjoy their services in 10 states and get speeds of up
to 1,000 Mbps.

The main states you'll receive service are Texas,
Missouri, and Kansas. In addition, the top areas served by Google Fiber
are Austin, Kansas City (both of them), Olathe, Provo, Lees Summit, and
Overland Park.

As you may have guessed, Google Fiber only offers
fiber optic internet. For phone and TV services, you'll have to look
elsewhere.

Windstream

Windstream serves over 1.6 million
Americans but has a wide coverage area of 44 states. Their internet
speed maxes out at 1,000 Mbps.

This ISP mainly serves Texas,
Georgia, and Illinois. Windstream's top areas served are Lincoln,
Lexington, Charlotte, Sugar Land, Concord, Broken Arrow, and New York.

Their
fiber optic internet services are considered "hybrid" services, as they
use fiber-DSL connections. You'll see this service branded as "Kinetic"
connections.

With Windstream, you'll be able to bundle internet, phone, and TV services together.

Cincinnati Bell

Cincinnati
Bell serves almost 1.4 million people. They have a coverage area over
19 states and their fiber optic internet also gets download speeds of up
to 1,000 Mbps.

Their greatest coverage is in Kentucky, Ohio, and
Indiana. Their top areas served include Cincinnati, Mason, Hamilton,
Fairfield, Loveland, Covington, and West Chester.

As with many other ISPs, you can bundle phone and TV services with your fiber optic internet.

C Spire Fiber

C
Spire Fiber serves around 1.2 million customers and their services span
across 8 states. With this ISP, you'll also get speeds of up to 1,000
Mbps.

They serve mainly Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The
main cities you'll find C Spire Fiber in are Hattiesburg, Mobile,
Jackson, Brandon, Meridian, Madison, and Southaven.

If you want to
bundle internet, phone, and TV services, you can with this ISP. They
also have cable internet services as a viable alternative.

Metronet

Metronet
serves a little over 1 million people but you can only find them in 3
states for fiber optic internet. Get speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps with
this ISP.

The 3 states Metronet serves are Indiana, Illinois, and
Kentucky. Their top areas served are Lexington, Bloomington, Lafayette,
West Lafayette, Greenwood, Carmel, and Normal.

In addition to fiber optic internet services, Metronet also offers phone and IPTV services you can get in bundles.

Sign up for Fiber Optic Internet Today

Now you have a great idea of what fiber optic internet is, how it works, and what the best ISPs are out there.

It's
true that now, there aren't many places out there that have fiber optic
capabilities. But if this is really important to you, and you're moving
soon, it may be worth considering relocating to a more metropolitan
area to ensure that you can get the fastest internet available.

With
KonectEaze, this is entirely possible. Whether you're moving or just
want to switch ISPs, we have a myriad of resources for you to find out
if fiber optic internet (or any other type of internet) is available in
the area you're in. Let us help you find the perfect plan for you!

Are you ready to find out if you get fiber optic internet in your area? Then use our zip code search tool now. We have thousands of internet plans to choose from.