Fiber Optic Internet Service
For many years after the introduction of high speed Internet, the basic choice for consumers was between cable and DSL. However, in recent years, America's major telecom companies have been investing in a new type of broadband Internet connection through fiber optic cables. All of the big DSL providers, including Verizon, AT&T, and Qwest, have begun to switch from DSL to fiber optics.
Although each of these companies currently provides fiber optic Internet plans to their customers, the area in which they are available remains rather small. Typically, you will find fiber optics in major metropolitan cities where the phone companies have had the opportunity to replace older phone line with the new fiber optic lines. As of 2009, Verizon remains the leader in providing fiber optic Internet to their customers, although both AT&T and Qwest have made a lot of progress over the last year.
Fiber Optics - A Serious Competitor To Cable Internet
Cable Internet companies are currently able to offer Internet plans with download speeds of up to 16 to 20 Mbps. While that is incredibily fast, Verizon FiOS is able to offer a maximum download speed of up to 50 Mbps. To compete with the likes of FiOS, cable companies (such as Comcast) have introduced new plans that have download speeds which match FiOS's 50 Mbps.
Now, these plans represent the fastest Internet connection you can get outside of a T1, so they are also the most costly. Comcast's 50 Mbps plan costs $150 per month, while Verizon's 50 Mbps FiOS connection costs $140 per month. That's a large bill to pay just to have the fastest possible connection in your home. The average residential Internet user won't sign up for these top-end plans, but will most likely get the standard plans for a much more affordable price.
Standard cable Internet plans will range from $19.99 to $39.99 per month. The speeds of these plans will range from 1 Mbps to 12 Mbps. That's a good price and a very nice download speed for home use. Standard fiber optic Internet plans from Verizon or AT&T will cost from $40 to $65 per month and will provide download speeds from up to 15 Mbps to 25 Mbps. Also, fiber optic plans generally allow much faster upload speeds than cable Internet does.
It's easy to see that while cable currently beats out DSL in pure speed, fiber optics are going to represent a serious challenge to broadband cable's current dominance in the high speed Internet marketplace.
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