What’s New in Internet Technology?

Name: Xplore Business
Address: 5 Granite Road, Brandon, MB, R7A 7V2, Canada
Telephone: 855-638-7381
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Choosing between LEO and Fibre connections

You need high-speed Internet for your business. And to get it, you want the latest technology available to you. But how do you choose the right Internet for your organization?

If you’ve been researching the latest Internet technologies, chances are two options have emerged front and centre. Fibre technology offers fast speeds and high bandwidth, and is one of the fastest growing technologies available today. But you may also have heard about LEOs – Low Earth Orbit satellites, which provide Internet through satellites..

To help determine which one is best for your business, let’s look at each in turn.

What Is Fibre?

Powered by fibre-optic cables, fibre technology uses threads of glass to carry pulses of light to transfer your data over long distances. It’s fast, reliable and secure – and offers low latency, which means you don’t have to worry about lag times.

What Are LEOs?

While fibre cables are underground, LEOs are up in space, orbiting the globe. But LEO technology is different from traditional satellite Internet because of the sheer number of satellites that are used – from hundreds to thousands, depending on the provider – and the fact that they travel so close to the Earth’s surface.

What’s Best For You?

So how do you choose between the two? How do you know which technology will meet the needs of your business? Consider the following:

Cost: With the number of satellites in orbit – which need to be built, launched and maintained – it shouldn’t be a surprise that a LEO-based connection can be costly to businesses. And that’s not counting the installation costs, which require businesses to install an on-site satellite dish. While fibre cables do cost your provider money to install, on the other hand, they’re durable and cheaper to maintain than LEOs, which makes fibre technology less costly over the long term.
Speed: Speed is critical to organizations today, letting you keep up with the pace of your business. And one of the benefits of fibre is that it offers speeds of up to 100 Gbps and symmetrical upload and download speeds. LEOs don’t offer the same kinds of speeds, and as they grow in popularity – with more satellites sharing the same frequency bands – the speed you do have available to you may also be affected, with interference impacting the reliability of your connection.

Weather: When your Internet is coming from space, bad weather – be it clouds, rain, snow or wind – can quite literally get in the way, making it difficult for the signal to find its way to Earth. Fibre, on the other hand, is underground, making it more reliable on less-than-sunny days.

Support: It’s important to consider the techinical support offered for both fibre and LEOs. Is there a local installer or service team to help with installation or troubleshooting? Or are you required to fix your own equipment?

Where to Start

As always, the technology you choose will depend on your business needs and the options available in your location. The best way to learn more about what technology is right for you is to talk to your service provider. They’ll be able to share specifics based on your area and business requirements.

Find out more about Xplore Business connectivity options. Contact a Client Executive today.

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Summer Technology for All Kinds of Business

Fibre technology offers fast speeds and high bandwidth, and is one of the fastest growing technologies available today. Powered by fibre-optic cables, fibre technology uses threads of glass to carry pulses of light to transfer your data over long distances. While fibre cables are underground, LEOs are up in space, orbiting the globe. While fibre cables do cost your provider money to install, on the other hand, they’re durable and cheaper to maintain than LEOs, which makes fibre technology less costly over the long term. LEOs don’t offer the same kinds of speeds, and as they grow in popularity – with more satellites sharing the same frequency bands – the speed you do have available to you may also be affected, with interference impacting the reliability of your connection. Where to Start As always, the technology you choose will depend on your business needs and the options available in your location.