Pros And Cons Of Fiber-Optic Internet for Small Business Owners

advantages and disadvantages of optical fiber small businesses internet connection speeds

Conflicted about the internet service you should get for your small business? Should it be cable, DSL, or optical fiber? You undoubtedly want something fast and reliable, so how about you get fiber-optic? Optical fiber communication is revolutionizing the telecommunications world.

Fiber optic doesn’t degrade with distance, thus delivers consistent data transfer speeds. Fiber optics communication represents an advanced form of digital communication compared to electrical transmissions.

That said, it’s not without its drawbacks. If you are thinking of the best internet to install for your small business, we’ll look at the advantages and disadvantages of optical fiber to help you make an informed decision.


Advantages of Optical Fiber

Fiber-optic connectivity can offer a great advantage to your small business. You most certainly need high speeds, maximum uptime, and data storage. Here you’ll learn some of the biggest advantages of optical fiber for internet connection.

High Speeds

Optical fiber is one of the fastest internet options you can choose for your small business. The fiber optics cables carry light to transmit data. This means that fiber optic speeds are only slightly slower than the speed of light, which is super impressive. This is so much faster than Cat5 or Cat6 copper cables.

Besides this, with fiber optics cables, you get minimal signal degradation. This is precisely what a growing business needs. Your business should never experience downtime because it’ll affect productivity. Your internet connection needs to be a tool that supports and instills a desire to work and be productive.

Suitable for High Bandwidth Needs

One of the most notable advantages of optical fiber internet is the capability to offer higher bandwidths. This supports faster data transmissions and supplements all your wireless communication technologies. Given the fact that optical fiber sends data as pulses of light, it offers a super high-frequency signal. This means they can carry a higher frequency range. A higher frequency range means a high bandwidth.

Offers Long Distance Communication and Transmission

Optical fiber is highly suitable for long-distance communication and transmission compared to other internet options. 

Fiber optic cables have minimal attenuation loss. This allows transmission over long distances without much need for signal repeaters. Optical fiber can go as far as 100 kilometers without the need for active or passive processing.

In comparison, copper wiring usually suffers losses, given that it runs on electrical properties. It requires signal repeaters after several kilometers. The longer the copper cables, the higher the resistance. Besides this, the higher the frequency, the lower the signal strength, which makes copper unsuitable for business.

Immune to Electromagnetic Interference

The biggest advantage of optical fiber has over electrical transmission is the fact that it is immune to electromagnetic interference, also known as EMI. EMI simply means things like radio jamming, lighting, solar flares, among others. This makes optical fiber ideal for businesses located in areas prone to high EMI, such as power or utility lines.

Cloud Access

The cloud is becoming more and more important for all types of businesses. You certainly need it for things like data storage and CRM tools. Optical fiber offers the bandwidth and speeds your business needs to access the cloud at any time. You’ll benefit from little to no delays, which means your customer services will not be disrupted.

Super Reliable

Optical fiber internet connectivity is significantly more reliable compared to copper or electrical connectivity. This is because fiber is stronger and not susceptible to weather conditions. Unreliable internet is one of the worst things a small business can experience. Downtime can slow things down, or bring the business to a stop.

Secure

Optical fiber is one of the most efficient ways to combat cybercrime. The only way to penetrate fiber-optic cable is by physically cutting them. An information security breach can cost your small business a lot in terms of financial penalties and customer deflection. Installation of optical fiber connectivity may not mitigate all your business risks, but it does offer security.

Cost-Effective

A fast internet connection means productivity for your business. Slow internet could mean thousands of dollars in losses, which means a reliable connection such as optical fiber will save your business these losses. Your business will not only gain flexibility but scalability as well.


Disadvantages of Fiber Optics

Despite having so many advantages, optical fiber has some drawbacks as well. It would be best if you considered all aspects before coming to a decision. Let’s look at the disadvantages of fiber optics.

Physical Damages

Fiber cables happen to be thinner compared to metallic wiring. This makes them much more delicate. Given their small size, they are easy to damage during rewiring or by accident during renovations. Given that optical fiber can transmit much more data, fewer cables are used for more people.

This means that if one cable is damaged, it could disrupt business for more companies and organizations, including yours. Beyond this, fiber happens to be quite sensitive to bending, so laying it around corners becomes a bit tricky. Fiber optic networks are also susceptible to chemical and radiation damages.

High Installation Costs

Despite being cost-effective, the initial installation costs can be quite high. Installation needs skilled experts from a reputable company and specialized test equipment to lay the network. The connection nexuses and endpoints require special equipment for setup. This means that repairs will also be costly because diagnosing issues will require similar skills and equipment.

Fiber Fuse

Fiber network is susceptible to something known as fiber fuse during high power. Fiber fuse is a term used to describe a situation where too much light meets an imperfection in the fiber cables. Such an occurrence could damage long lengths of fiber cables in a very short time. This is a significant disadvantage of fiber optic cable.


Knowing the Advantages and Disadvantages of Optical Fiber Means You’re Ready for Optical Fiber Connectivity for Your Business

Now that you are well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of optical fiber, you’re in a better position to decide whether it’s suitable for your business. In the long run, it’s clear that optical fiber will replace copper and electrical networks.

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