Internet Connectivity for Laypeople Part 2

This is Part 2 of our series on internet connectivity. If you would like to read Part 1 click here to learn more about the different types of internet connectivity.

the ways you connect to the internet

At the end of the previous blog, I mentioned “coax cable” and “physical wires” which are certain items that the average person runs into while dealing with the internet at their home or office. But there are other options besides Ethernet, like coax cable, copper, Ethernet over copper, Ethernet over fixed wireless, Ethernet over fiber, and so on.

Unless you have the technical knowledge, you won’t know the difference between these. This section will clear up in common parlance, what the different types of access methods are, and why knowing the differences between them is important.  

The how you connect to the internet was with the either best effort or dedicated access. Access methods can be broken down even further. Think of access methods as the what way you want to connect to the internet. In this regard, you will have to consider even more factors other than price and speed, like company size and the number of users, application usage, and physical location among others.

coax and copper

Coax cable, EoF (Ethernet over Fiber) EoC (Ethernet over Copper) EoFW (Ethernet over Fixed Wireless) and satellite are just some of the different types of access methods available in the US. Coax Cable is the physical cable used for Cable TV. It is a good access method option for business users because it is less likely to be affected by rain or water. Due to it being a larger physical wire, coax cable can also transmit very fast internet connections.

Coax cable is a much better option than copper which has been the traditional local phone company network for nearly 100 years. Copper is still very prevalent in transmitting voice and internet connections but nowadays it has to be augmented to keep up with modern business needs. Recently EoC (Ethernet over Copper) technology has improved the ability to deliver higher internet speeds than previously experienced using copper.

ethernet

Ethernet is preferable for really fast speeds but it has its own problems in that it can only travel 300 meters. Ethernet pairs better with fiber than copper in that fiber signals are light-based being sent over small glass wires woven into the cable. Its protective coating and light-based nature allow it to not short out due to rain or water like copper or coax cable. Ethernet over fiber, if available, is the preferred access method because it provides for the fastest internet speeds available in the marketplace. 

ethernet over fixed wireless

EoFW (Ethernet over Fixed Wireless) is quite versatile in its application. EoFW is a direct line of sight using a dish on top of a building. This line of site or fixed wireless connects to a base station or head end within a mile. Once the two dishes or line of sight is established a very fast and stable internet connection can be delivered.

Rain, wind or other obstructions surprisingly do not hamper fixed wireless as much as one might suspect, resulting in this access methods reliability as a primary or back up internet connection.  When Coax Cable or Fiber is not available and the construction cost to run underground cables in underdeveloped areas is cost-prohibitive, EoFW is a very good option.

satellite

Satellite works similar to EoFW but it can reach even more remote locations because it is hovering in space. The downside is that the latency is much higher than EoFW or other access methods.  Companies that don’t need to worry about high latency or rural homes who just want a signal will opt with satellite.

different access methods working all at once

Now that we have outlined the different access methods, here is a common example of different access methods at work in a real-life scenario. If you want to connect your home to the internet a standard set up would be coax cable internet terminating into a cable modem and from the cable modem an Ethernet cable connecting the modem to the wireless router. In this case, coax cable is the access method or type of physical connection. Businesses connect in the same way, but the size of the operation is on a bigger scale.

An internet service provider like Cox will use whatever physical facility they have available to get into a building or address. This access method or physical facility is typically coax cable or fiber. Both connections can be handed off to the business via Ethernet which is the common Local Area Network protocol. Cable providers like to use their own last-mile coax cable or fiber access method to deliver internet connectivity because it will cost them and the customer much less than using another ISP’s physical facility.

The best way to summarize access methods is that they all solve the problems of price, latency, location, or application to varying degrees of effectiveness. Whichever problem is most pressing to you is what access method you will choose to go with.