What are the Different Types of Internet and why does Oasis Broadband use Fixed Wireless?
Straight Talk on How Your Internet Works – #AskOasisInternet
This article is going to dive into the different methods that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use to transmit broadband internet service from the “backbone” of the internet directly to your home. If you want to learn more about what broadband means or how the backbone of the internet works, check out this article.
Each internet provider uses various methods to get the internet to its customers, whether it’s Satellite, Cable, DSL, Fiber to the home (FTTH), or Terrestrial (Fixed Wireless or 4G LTE Wireless). Each ISP determines the best method for reaching different types of customers in different types of environments. Let’s take a quick look at the differences between these methods.
- Satellite: Some ISPs use satellites to deliver wireless internet, however, satellites are nowhere near as fast as other internet types because the satellites are orbiting the Earth more than 26,000 miles above the Earth and data simply can’t travel this distance quickly enough. Furthermore, for people in remote mountainous and forested areas, satellite signals have trouble penetrating the trees in those environments.
- Cable: Other ISPs use cable Internet. Cable requires the internet service provider to send data signals through the Coax cable that runs into a home. While cable has fast speeds, it is often too costly and inconvenient for rural or mountainous locations to run these cables to individual residences.
- DSL: DSL was a robust and valuable technology when it was introduced twenty-five years ago but due to changes in technology and consumer demand it is no longer a viable medium for internet delivery. It uses telephone lines to get broadband internet, however, due to network congestion and infrastructure decline, the down speeds frequently don’t even reach 1 Mb/second.
- Fiber: A fourth method for getting internet is Fiber Optics, which uses fiber cables (instead of DSL or Dial up Cables) and transmits data with beams of light, making it very fast and reliable. Unfortunately, it is currently very expensive and is only available in limited areas, making it out of the question for remote locations.
- Fixed Wireless: Fixed or Terrestrial Wireless means that a radio transceiver is affixed to a customer’s home that can pick up radio signals, which provides fast and reliable internet that can be beamed through the air.
Although it is clear that there are many ways ISPs get Internet to customer’s homes, Oasis Broadband uses Fixed Wireless because it is best equipped to send signals in rural or remote areas, where the sparse population and uneven terrain makes makes it too difficult or costly to install a wired network like cable or fiber. Our Fixed Wireless service has fast speeds because it doesn’t depend on old degraded telephone lines or satellites that are far away to transmit data and it is practical for our rural communities because it doesn’t require installing thousands of miles of cable to each individual home.
Once you understand the differences between these methods, you can begin to determine which Internet Service Provider is the most convenient, efficient and cost-effective for you. For the rural communities that Oasis Broadband serves, our Fixed Wireless service provides the best combination of these factors. If you want to learn more about fixed wireless or figure out the best package to meet your needs, enter your zipcode here to find the Oasis Broadband Services available for your location.