Definition of Typical Fiber-Optic Speed

Typical Fiber-Optic Speed is referred as the average internet speed which is considered to be 50 Mbps.  It is the average speed in which a data is transmitted along the fiber optic in a second. It is very important to determine that speed since it give the user a clear knowledge of the total time required to transmit specific data from one point to another. In the United States, Typical Fiber-Optic Speed is about 12 Mbps. 

Overview

Fiber-optic speed depends on a number of different factors, and typically ranges from 15 megabits per second (Mbps) on up, including whether fiber goes directly into the home, and the level of service purchased. For most individuals, no matter what level of service is provided, fiber-optic service is the fastest available for Internet connections, outperforming both cable and DSL services. Remember that actual speed may depend on a number of different factors, including network traffic and distance from the source.

Typically, for home users, fiber-optic speed begins at approximately 15 Mbps. This is approximately 3 Mbps faster than cable Internet service and approximately twice as fast as the fastest DSL service. It is a popular option for the home user because most providers have priced it competitively to those other types of services. Still, the price of fiber-optic service is usually slightly more than most of those services, because of that increase in speed.

The entry level fiber-optic speed of 15 Mbps can handle a number of typical home uses very quickly. For example, it will upload a 5 megabyte file in 8 seconds, or a 10 megabyte file in 16 seconds. Downloading 10 songs from a download service would take less than half a minute with the lowest-tier service. This can represent a significant upgrade, and is adequate for many home users.

Businesses and users who may work from home might opt for a higher fiber-optic speed. As of 2011, in the United States, the fastest fiber-optic speed available from most Internet service providers offering fiber-optic connections is approximately 50 Mbps. This will likely change as infrastructure and competition force providers to eventually upgrade their service and offerings. Downloading 10 songs of normal file size (approximately 50 megabytes) would take less than 10 seconds with this level of service.

In other countries, fiber-optic speed is approaching 100 Mbps, including locations in Asia. Some countries in that region of the world, such as Japan and South Korea, have invested heavily in their technology infrastructure to produce those speeds, seeing faster connections as an economic development tool. While the home user may have little use for the fastest speeds, companies involved in engineering and financial services often deal with large files where transmission speed makes a big difference to the bottom line.

How does fiber-optic internet work?

Fiber-optic internet is a complex technology that allows the transmission of information in the form of light rather than electricity. There are many pieces that make up this advanced technology, but two key components are optical fibers and the so-called “last mile” of the fiber-optic network.

Optical fibers

Optical fibers are tiny — about 125 microns in diameter, or slightly larger than a human hair. Many of these fibers are bundled together to form cables (not to be confused with coaxial cables, which are made of copper). The optical fibers carry pulses of laser or LED light down the line, transmitting information in “binary” form, similar to the 0s and 1s used in electronics.

Is fiber internet faster?

High-speed internet connections transmit data at different speeds. In addition to being faster, fiber is widely considered to be more reliable, thanks to fewer outages and electrical interferences.

CenturyLink Fiber service can deliver symmetrical download/upload speeds of up to 940 Megabits per second (Mbps) over a wired connection to your router.

In thinking about speed, you can’t ignore the impact of WiFi. The everyday connection speed you experience can be limitedby the use of wireless technology, which tends to lose signal strength (meaning reduced bandwidth) as compared to the wired connection that enters your router. 

What are the benefits of fiber internet?

Fiber internet is a great choice for high-bandwidth households or businesses where multiple users want to stream video, play online games, back up data, or send and receive large files at the same time.

A fiber-connected home or business can deliver an exceptional experience across all devices and internet-connected systems, from home security to smart thermostats, ovens, refrigerators and other appliances.

With faster speeds, you also don’t get as much buffering with on-demand streaming. “Buffering” refers to the loading time that occurs when a video pauses and has to catch up. Fiber Internet from CenturyLink, for instance, lets you download a full-length 4K or HD movie in seconds.

As an example, this is how long it would take, on average, to download a large media file (6.5 GB) by internet type:

How fast does fiber get things done?

When most people talk about internet speed, they want to know how fast their internet connection can download a file or play a video. This depends on the download speed (or bandwidth) of your connection, and fiber is the clear winnerin this category.

Most fiber providersoffer speeds up to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps), but this is by no means the limit to fiber technology. Some providers already offer multigigabit speeds, such as AT&T’s 5 Gbps (5,000 Mbps) fiber plan. Google owns an undersea fiber-optic cable connecting North America and Asia that has a bandwidth of 60 Tbps (60,000,000 Mbps)—so unlike technologies like DSL, fiber still has plenty of untapped potential.1

But what does this mean in practical terms? Let’s take a look at how long it takes to download different types of media.

As you may have noticed (and might have already known), having a fast connection becomes very important if you’re watching video or downloading software. Just downloading a recent video game is almost impossible without a decent internet connection and still requires a bit of forethought with most connections.

Pro tip:

Data storage is typically measured in bytes (B), while internet speeds are usually measured in bits (b). To find out why this matters, check out our article on Megabits vs. Megabites.

Fortunately, downloads that take hours or days on slower connections can be completed in a matter of minutes on a good fiber connection. All that saved time adds up, so the more you work with videos, software, and other large files, the more a high-speed fiber connection is worth it.

What is the maximum speed of fiber-optic cable? 

The maximum speed of fiber optic cable can be up to 100Gbps (gigabits per second). This compares to the maximum speed of copper cables, which reaches as high as 300Mbps (megabits per second) and, therefore, not as fast as fiber-optic technology. 

How fast is fiber-optic internet speed? 

Fiber-optic broadband is incredibly fast and the perfect solution for your business wifi network. The average fiber internet connection speed is around 1000Mbps, about 10 to 20  times faster than the average cable speed. This means both upload speeds and download speeds are radically improved, taking a few seconds to transfer large files with fiber internet, whereas copper internet would take you minutes to hours.

How do fiber optic speed tests work? 

Of course, during a fiber-optic network installation, you’ll want to know the exact speed you can expect from your new technology. A fiber-optic speed test can be carried out and is also helpful as an assessment if repair works are required. But how do fiber optic speed tests work?

A fiber-optic speed test works by sending a light signal through the length of the cable and measuring how long it takes for the pulses of light to return. The speed of the light signal is then converted into a data rate. This will give you an accurate measure of the maximum speed that your fiber optic cable can achieve.

Fiber-optic speed tests are simple to set up and only take a few minutes to complete. However, it is essential to note that a fiber optic speed test can be affected by several factors, such as the type of fiber optic equipmentused and the length of the cable.

Conclusion

Typical fiber-optic speed will determine the total time you need to transmit data from one point to another. Therefore, you should understand the typical fiber-optic speed of every cable you intend to purchase.