Why do I need faster Internet speed? Such as the fiber optic now going in my area....

[Baz]

In our area - and in fact right now on my property - a new company is installing fiber optic.

Wire 3 - based in Daytona Beach.

Special offer during construction: 10 Gbps & free installation @ $60/month for the first two years. After that cost is structured by speed.

I've always had cable for Internet here and for the most part over the 25 years I've been at this location it's been fine for my needs (computer, TV, and voice).

I even bought an Amazon fire device and have been streaming the last 2 years with no issues.

My current monthly cost is $160/month.

This new company does not offer any TV service (cable box, etc.) - just Internet.

To be honest - I love having the cable TV for it's ease of use. Streaming is OK but takes more work to go from program to program. Menus to sift through. I can do the navigation but with the cable I just hit a button and boom.

I don't game at all.

Why would fiber optic be a benefit for my situation?

Thanks for your input!

[id10t]

Sounds like it wouldn't, or rather any cost change would end up being negligible and not worth the extra hassle from scrolling thru the TV channels....

[Baz]

Originally Posted by id10t

Sounds like it wouldn't, or rather any cost change would end up being negligible and not worth the extra hassle from scrolling thru the TV channels....

Thanks - but wonder about any advantage when a hurricane hits - the fiber optic being more insulated from storm damage being underground.

It always goes down when we lose electricity.

[GH85Carrera]

I have a "gigabit" plan for internet. I never get a true 1024 Mbps, and 890 to 940 Mpbs is closer to reality. The biggest reason I pay the price is for the upload speed of 35 Mbps, and I get all of that plus a tiny bit more. For my business I often upload 2 and 3 GB files to our One Drive for customers to download.

I have yet to find a single web site that has the speed that matches my end. Even FTP from other sites is usually a less than 10 Mbps or slower.

The upload speed is my only reason to pay the extra price of the faster service. Most people never need that.

If you had several people at home all streaming movies from different streaming services the faster service might be useful. Otherwise it is just bragging rights. Like having a car that can go 200+ MPH. but you can't ever get close to using that speed except on a track.



I hear some video games can use a lot of internet speed. I don't play games.

[Baz]

Thanks, Glen.

I just spoke to the job site manager here and he confirmed the underground fiber optic cable would be protected from any high wind events/hurricanes, etc.

[rockfan4]

I'm a Luddite. Or an IT Luddite, if you will.
I'm working from home on a 10mb down, 768k up DSL line. I don't use my camera for meetings, everything else is fine. When I'm done with work, I can stream to at least two, sometimes 3 devices. Maybe not at 4k, but I don't have any 4k devices, at my age my eyes can't see the difference between 480i, 720p or 1080i or p anyway.
The only time we seem to have an issue is when my stepdaughter visits and her iPhone connects to our WiFi. I don't know what's all going on with that phone, but everything else grinds to a halt. I might have to QOS her.

[id10t]

Originally Posted by Baz

Thanks - but wonder about any advantage when a hurricane hits - the fiber optic being more insulated from storm damage being underground.

It always goes down when we lose electricity.

My phone lines go underground, when hurricanes hit I loose phone service after 24 hours when the generators feeding the phone system run out of gas....

Cell towers stay up for 4 days...

[fintstone]

Why would you just choose to get cable TV and internet from the new provider? Have you priced just TV?

Personally, my preference would be Direct TV (for ease of use) and an internet provider.

[cgarr]

You don't need it: Just like back in the 80's we got our first hard drive with 10mb of storage, we said there is no way we would ever need or use that much storage!

[LWJ]

Not sure, but all the cool kids are doing it!

I just upped an investment in fiber recently. All indicators point to this being a critical and in-demand technology.

[red-beard]

I have 1GB and get approximately this. But anything faster I would need to upgrade all of the equipment in my network. Everything tops out at 1Gbps.

My Cable Modem is technically capable of 4Gbps if the rest of my equipment can bond and accept the 4 1Gbps connections. And then I's need to upgrade to 10Gbps LAN equipment.

[masraum]

It you've never had any issues (reliability, bandwidth, etc...) with your current service, then you don't need it.

[Daves911L]

So they can sell you more stuff you never knew you needed, and add more feature that you never wanted.

[Baz]

Thanks for all the replies. Confirmed - I will stay where I am for now.

As always, I learn a lot from this board and appreciate the information provided more than you know.

Stay well my friends!

[Black968]

We had the same in our area, use this to your advantage. Call your cable company and see if you can get a better deal, let them know there is fibre in your area and you may jump. They should cut you a deal and/or offer you better service. They cut $50 off our bill TV/Phone/Internet.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Baz

It always goes down when we lose electricity.

I mean that's to be expected right?

It's not just your house, there is network node near your house.

Even if you have a gererator and can power the router in your home it won't help if the providers equipment goes down.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Black968

We had the same in our area, use this to your advantage. Call your cable company and see if you can get a better deal, let them know there is fibre in your area and you may jump. They should cut you a deal and/or offer you better service. They cut $50 off our bill TV/Phone/Internet.

I thought about that and might feel them out at some point. I will be calling to renegotiate my Mom's account soon, so maybe then. Thanks!

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

I mean that's to be expected right?

It's not just your house, there is network node near your house.

Even if you have a generator and can power the router in your home it won't help if the providers equipment goes down.

Correct.

What I really should be thinking about is getting a smart phone (or tablet, etc.) set up that can tap into the Internet w/out relying on my cable.

But most of the time, I can get along without the Internet for a few days. It's more of an inconvenience than anything else.

I also have a TV on my front deck that is dedicated with an over the air antenna and can pick up all the major stations out of Orlando - NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox 35. And a transistor radio - hey don't laugh - in years past it was all I had to keep connected!

[p911dad]

We signed up for Google Fiber here in our neighborhood when they came through about 5 years ago, worked well, no outages compared to what is now called Spectrum, which had outages often. But about 2 years ago Google stopped providing anything but internet, gave us free remotes and 2 transmitters and we started streaming various providers. We worked through a few providers and ended up with YouTube TV, Netflix, Amazon and now Showtime to watch Ray Donovan. Thinking of dumping Netflix soon. Showtime is gone after Ray is done. It is still cheaper than what Spectrum now charges with more good content and you can leave these providers anytime, no problem.
It was a total panic when we realized WE had to learn how to use streaming instead of just clicking our favorite channels on cable tv. It was like the 5 stages of grief. We made the adjustment in about a day or 2. It is definitely is cheaper than cable was but you can easily start adding providers and it can escalate quickly.
Spectrum was constantly changing things and rates, Google doesn't care if you stay or go, no negotiating over rates. Steady.
As far as internet speed, I am not sure if the claimed speeds are just marketing BS. We had the higher speed for a while, then switched to the cheap plan and noticed no difference in performance. I think the real issue here is cable will eventually go away and we will be left with fiber and that's just not a bad thing. Might as well get it while it's free installation. After Google came through, ATT and Verizon both came through and did the same thing, dug up the edge of the street and put in their own fiber

[Baz]

Originally Posted by p911dad

-snip-After Google came through, ATT and Verizon both came through and did the same thing, dug up the edge of the street and put in their own fiber

ATT put theirs in a year or so ago. Left this white tube sticking straight up about 4 feet high with an orange cap on it. Sucker got destroyed by delivery/construction trucks making that turn. You can barely see their broken off pipe now....lol....

They never did run their line down my side street though like Wire 3 just did. That pole is how my Spectrum cable comes in (3rd and 4th pic)....