IRG DIGITAL BLOGS

Satellite, Cable, or Fiber Optic—What is the Best Option For A Residential Internet?

Living in the cosmopolitans, outskirts of the urban areas, in rural places, or backwaters far from the population and people, the Internet is the ultimate need of everyone living anywhere in the world. With the advancement in technology, the internet has changed its form, transmission modes, speed, and characteristics, and is still evolving with satellite technology.

Dial-Up, Wireless LTE, DSL, Cable, satellite, Fiber-Optic, or 5G—If you are conscious of selecting appropriate internet service and are not sure of choosing which one is for your home, let us give you 101 with an introduction of the widely used types of internet, their pros and cons, and their availability in your area. These are:

• Cable Internet
• Satellite Internet
• FiberOptic Internet

Let’s begin here, so you get an understanding of different options for internet connectivity and why you should prefer the one that suits best to your needs, area, and availability:

Cable Internet

As the name refers, cable Internet is provided through cables or wires and is usually offered by the cable TV services provider. Cable Internet can be bought as a single play or in combination with other digital services such as cable TV or Home Phone as a double play or triple play bundles. On bundling, the service providers usually offer discounted rates. A modem is required to connect to the cable to provide you a connection to the internet. For non-wired or multi-device connectivity, Wi-Fi routers are required.

Pros

Reliable

Faster Download Speeds than Dial-Up, DSL, or sometimes Satellite too

Widely Available

Affordable

Bundling Available

Cons

Network Coverage Issues in Rural Areas

Network Congestion

Typical Bandwidth

10 Mbps—1000 Mbps

Price-Range

$29.99—$149.99

Available Providers

Spectrum

Cox

CenturyLink

Frontier

Windstream

Mediacom

For more providers available in your area, check here.

Fiber-Optic Internet

Fiber-Optic is the most reliable and fastest form of internet. It is the main connective pathway for all the telecommunications systems across the globe. It is still, exclusively available in big cities. Its glass optics gives its every quality of a good and ultra-modern internet—From faster symmetrical speed to signal strength and negligible latency. It is an ideal internet connection for those who require extreme streaming, downloading/uploading, or cloud services.

Pros

Moderately Reliable

Extremely High-Speed Download Speed

Low latency

Bundling Available

Cons

Pricey

Not Widely Available

Fewer Providers

Professional Installation is Required

Typical Bandwidth

400 Mbps—1000 Mbps

Price-Range

$79.99—$149.99

Available Providers

CenturyLink

Frontier

For more providers available in your area, check here.

Satellite Internet

Unlike cable and fiber-optic internet, as its name suggests, Satellite internet is a technology that uses satellites to send and receive signals via space. Based on the size of the fleet of the satellites, a satellite internet provider service holds, satellite internet can be found anywhere, even in the most distant, isolated, and remote areas. In flights, satellite internet is used to connect to the internet.

To receive an internet connection via satellite, a user is required to have a receiving satellite-connected with a Wi-Fi modem. The service provider sends internet signals to their satellite in orbit, which then transmits the signals to the Earth that are received by the user’s satellite installed at home to connect to the internet.

Pros

Available Everywhere, even in remote areas

Faster

No chances of intrusion

Cons

Not Much Reliable

Low Bandwidth

A Clean Sky Requirement

Installation requires a satellite dish

A bit pricey

Typical Bandwidth

25 Mbps—100 Mbps

Price-Range

$39.99—$99.99

Available Providers

HughesNet

Viasat

For more providers available in your area, check here.