All About Fiber Optics

Broadband News: Average speeds on the increase

Broadband internet connections have become the must-have item in our daily lives as more and more services become geared to providing help and assistance quickly and easily online, instead of having to speak to a helpline. It also has become a vital utility, as important as running water or central heating in our modern homes.

But the problem that has plagued many internet service providers in the UK has been the current infrastructure they have to use to provide their services to us. ADSL broadband works over the existing copper wires that have been used to provide us telephone services by BT. Unfortunately these are susceptible to degradation in broadband services over long distances – the further away you are from your telephone exchange, the slower your connection will be.

Virgin Media has already been offering its customers broadband over its fibre optic network, and BT is slowly upgrading their exchanges across the country to fibre optic connections, advertising to users that they can get speeds of up to 40mbps.

The main problem with these home broadband speed estimates have been their unreliable nature. OFCOM, the telecommunications regulator, has already expressed its concerns in the matter as more and more ISPs provide claims of the ability to provide speeds higher than is realistically possible.

In a survey carried out by the regulator, it found that across all the different internet service providers claiming speeds up to 20mbps, most broadband providers were only able to provide half, or sometimes a quarter of that. Only Virgin Media was able to provide speeds close to their estimates.

They also noted that though this is misleading customers into believing they would be able to get faster speeds than were logically possible, the average broadband speeds consumers are now getting have risen from last year’s average, to 6.2mbps. This compares with an advertised average of 13.8mpbs.

This is altogether an annoyance for the consumer. However, the positive is that with BT’s introduction of fibre optic services to through their retail division, other ISPs offering ‘unbundled’ services will be able to take advantage of the updated infrastructure and offer competitive fibre optic broadband services.

Students Ricardo and Yves talk about their experiences in the UTSEUS UV course, Optical Fiber Communication. –About Us– UTSEUS (Sino-European School of Technology of Shanghai University) was established in 2005 through an innovative partnership between Shanghai University and the network of Universities of Technology in France as an international university platform aiming to develop young engineers from France, China, and around the world, preparing them for the careers of tomorrow. –More info at www.utseus.com–
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Upgrading 88 meter length of underground burried coaxial catv cable to optical fiber by extraction of its inner core by the Kabel-X technology and and blowing of new fiber as a replacement to the free space created on jacket left underground
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What Is Super-Fast Broadband And When Can You Get It?

The average British household has a broadband connection speed of around 3.6Mb but there are plans afoot for super-fast broadband products which deliver speeds up to 100Mb, usually through sophisticated fibre optic broadband networks.

Unlike the majority of UK broadband connections, that use telephone lines, superfast broadband is usually delivered by a fibre optic, broadband network. These cables are made up of glass and plastic, which allows data to move much faster along them than the copper pipes used by ADSL broadband.

Homes where the fibre-optic cable is linked directly will benefit from the fastest speeds though you don’t necessarily have to be in a fibre optic broadband area to make use of super-fast broadband. If you live within a certain range of your broadband provider’s exchange you can still get faster speeds by signing up for specific packages.

Have a look online for super-fast broadband checkers so you can find out if these services are available in your local area.

The advantages of super-fast broadband are far reaching, especially when it comes to downloading. Super-fast broadband lets you make the most of all the entertainment on offer on the internet as you can download movies in a mere matter of minutes and you can instantly stream your favourite on-demand television programmes and watch them immediately with no interruption.

Music fans will be delighted as albums and songs can be downloaded with ease. There is also good news for gamers as a faster connection eliminates the delays to in-game responsiveness. Reduced ping means an improved response times delivered by super-fast broadband mean online gamers gain a competitive advantage over the opposition and can enjoy a better gaming experience.

There are plans to introduce super-fast internet to parts of London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast during 2010. The upgrade is part of a £1.5bn plan to offer super-fast broadband of up to 100 megabits a second to 40% of British households and businesses by 2012.

The UK government has said it wants super-fast broadband available to 90% of the country by the end of 2017 and everyone in the country to have access to broadband speeds of 2 Mbps by 2012.

If you cannot wait until super-fast broadband reaches your area then there are a few things you can do in the interim to make your time online speedier.

There is plenty you can do in and around your home to speed up your existing connection. Simply ensuring there are no electrical devices that could be interfering with your connection can make all the difference. Keep your modem and wiring well away from mains power cables and limit the number of electrical devices near your broadband connection.

The quality of your cables and modem can make a difference to the speeds you are receiving. High capacity cables and modems can help you enjoy a faster connection so if you think your hardware is slowing you down then start shopping around for replacements.

Fiber optic networks and testers generally use infrared light in the 850-1600 nm range, invisible to the human eye. But high power in fiber optic systems can be harmful to your eyes, so it’s important to know if power is present in a fiber. A fiber optic power meter can be used, but you may not always have one on hand. The camera in your cell phone is sensitive to infrared light – lots more than your eye – and can detect light in an optical fiber or from a transmitter. Here’s how to do it.
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Understanding More Concerning Fiber Optics Telecommunications

Article by Tony Farinholt

Fiber optics technology has been generally known for its transmission and communication capability. It is also being used in the world wide web. But, it is not new in the arena of communication, many people are oblivious of it. Individuals using the worldwide web may not be well-aware that fiber optics technology is being utilized whenever we glance through a website. Optical transceivers are the building blocks of this type of technology.

The first study of optical transceivers was performed by John Tyndall. He used a beam light and a jet of water. By doing this, he noticed that light makes use of an internal reflection so as to to follow a particular course. It initiated varied studies that has lead to relentless development of fiber optics technology.

Total internal reflection is the main standard at the back of the fiber optics technology. If we state optical fibers, we may just envision a lengthy cylindrical filament comprised of glass or plastic. The material have to be capable to return the beam from within. And furthermore, it should never lose its concentration. The outer coating conversely is comprised of two parts. And these are cladding and the outer cladding. When we mention cladding, it is an optical fiber which is capable of returning light. The outside one is composed of plastic material which is to blame for shielding the inner fiber. In order to have an optical cable, a hundred strand is required. Try visualize it. This is identical with a wire that has several threads.

To further understand the fiber optics technology, one needs to remember that it is working through the interior reflection of beam. Through this method, information can be transferred. After that, the data will be converted in the pulses of light. Electric signals actually play a great role in the transmission course. The electric signals will be transformed into optical signals and at the terminal part of the process, it will be converted into electric signals again.

One of the fiber optics’ lead is that it enables a larger bandwidth, not like with traditional manner of communication. This will just signify that there will be more data to be transferred. It also has fewer interference when compared with metal lines. Also, it is less heavy. Fiber optics technology can also skip the analog format of information transmission. SFP modules offer a diversity of choices for fiber needs to be able to fully obtain the advantages stated above.

About the Author

FluxLight was founded in 2003. Our focus has been on providing quality fiber optic interfaces, SFP modules, GBICs, and related products for local and wide area networking products. We stock optical transceivers from top vendors. FluxLight is convinced the path to success is through excellence and customer service. Our customers are our number one priority. We know you have many choices of where to buy so we do our best to provide the best SFP and GBIC products, at the best prices with the best possible support.

Tony FarinholtFluxLight, Incorporated1425 Daisy LaneIrving, TX 75061888-874-7574fluxlight.com

Harold DePriest, the head of Chattanooga’s Electric Power Board, discusses the community’s next-generation fiber-optic network, now available to over 170000 households and businesses in Tennessee. He answers some of the frequent claims by massive providers like Comcast and AT&T as well as defending the role of the public sector in providing essential infrastructure.

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Which is faster internet with a phone line or internet without a phone line?

Confused? No need to be. There are two different types of internet without phone line use. The first is the use of a fibre optic cable network in place of ASDL copper lines. Fibre optics can deliver 1000 times the data of a copper line in a strand the width of a human hair. Because the line and network as furnished by companies such as Virgin Media do not require use of the original and traditional BT copper phone line cable network they are sometimes referred to as internet without a phone line. But who are we kidding here? Almost all fibre optic cable spread through the UK is what is known as FTTC or fibre to the cabinet. This means that the high speed network parks outside of your door and that the last leg is still brought into your home by copper coaxial cable.

A true internet connection without a line can only be delivered one way, and that way is by wireless. The same cellular network that handles your mobile phone has been adapted to provide super high speed broadband connections. The latest technology in tower to dongles for laptops and desktop computers can deliver mobile broadband at up to 150MB. Recent testing in Cornwall delivered a steady 77MB with planned download delivery after mass use dilution of 12-15 MB.

If this seems still too slow in comparison to announcements from companies like Virgin and BT that they will soon be delivering 400 MB super broadband bear in mind that at the present time those same telecom giants only average 5MB at best.

All this means is that there exists a bonafide broadband arms race with tethered landlines on one side and wireless broadcasts from cell towers on the other. Whoever can deliver the highest speeds at the lowest price will eventually win.

So then what will determine the price we pay for broadband? In the telecoms business those that linger behind are usually in a better financial position to offer slower speeds at lower prices. Those that heavily invest in new technologies must find ways to pay for that investment by charging a premium for the faster service. The technology required for 150MB mobile broadband will not be paid with fees from pay as you go dongles and mobiles.

There will definitely be one clear cut winner in the broadband supremacy race. That will be Virgin Media. Virgin has already strung fibre optic cable to nearly 60% of UK households. It is a shorthop for them to develop the mass production of street side into the home fibre optics. This will guarantee the average home receives 50MB plus downloads. But should that plan fail to materialize Virgin Media as one of the largest mobile broadband providers in the UK will come out on top with its share of super fast wireless delivery through WiMax and other LTR long term evolution.

www.abc.net.au There’s a battle of broadband polices forming in this election. And if you want faster broadband then you need to know what both parties are offering. If elected, the Coalition will kill Labor’s National Broadband Network (NBN) and spend six billion dollars to encourage the private sector to extend broadband services through a mix of fibre optic and fixed wireless technology.
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