Can fiber internet be shared?
Fiber internet also referred to as fiber optic internet, is the latest internet service technology and is faster than any other form of internet connection. Others may be curious whether it is possible to split the fiber optic internet connection so that multiple households or units can use it, which is possible when the connection speed is 1Gbps or even more. Yes, fiber internet can be shared under some circumstances so let us explore this in further detail.
Fiber internet is primarily resold, and the most usual method of doing so is in multi-dwelling units, which include apartments and condos. Cable companies for example can lay a single fiber link to an MDU and then utilize networking equipment to distribute those links across various units. It enables tenants to access high-speed fiber service at a much cheaper price than could be spent to install the fiber directly to each of the units. The drawback is that the bandwidth can be limited, and so it may not be as fast as getting a line dedicated expressly for its use. But for the common user, the shared speeds themselves would be many times higher compared to the cable or DSL connections.
Similar ideas of shared structures can be also introduced in some neighborhoods or cul-de-sacs where detached houses are situated side by side. Fiber optics-based cables employ light signals instead of electrical signals to relay information and hence the cables can cover more distance without signals seriously degrading in quality as is the case with other connection types. Thus, it is likely to observe an ISP laying a fiber connection to a central point within a neighborhood and then distributing it to different homes. While it is somewhat similar to the direct fiber line, the performance impact would likely not be much lesser compared to the given scenario where there are fewer endpoints connected to the link. That said, shared costs ensure that fiber internet is affordable to everyone and within reach.
In a campus environment, they can also provide shared fiber configurations for multiple business structures. For instance, in a hospital one may find fiber running to one building and then one can get connectivity to other structures using ethernet cabling or wireless links if it is a corporate campus or a university. This makes use of the high speed and broadband from the fiber backbones while providing access to the public at a cheaper price.
Although the AT&T Internet providers may provide the fiber for the last mile, we get to see that when the fiber is being shared, the bandwidth has to be allocated as well as the contention ratios. Contention ratio is the number of users that are served by a particular band of the available bandwidth. The higher the ratio of remote devices to the central device the more likely there will be delays during data transmission during periods of high demand. This is especially true since fiber offers exceptionally high throughput speeds; therefore, there is a need to strike a balance between users accessing resources over the same connections and making sure that as many users as possible have accessible high-speed connections.
Some fiber ISPs flatly ban the sharing of connections across households altogether while others allow it or even actively encourage MDU and neighborhood-shared constructions. Therefore the availability of shared fiber access is directly proportional to that provider in a particular region. It could be that consumers interested in shared fiber scenarios need to undertake some research when selecting providers that will bring in fiber or neighborhoods slated for fiber rollout.
In conclusion, sharing fiber broadband entails similar strategies as sharing other internet resources, namely cable or DSL, and involves the distribution of the networking infrastructure in splitting and allocation of the connection to several recipients. The main benefit of fiber is the high carrying capacity which means that the impact of sharing is not as bad when compared to other technologies with low throughput capacity. The basic idea is to share fibers to extend the coverage and at the same time, reduce the installation costs However, contention planning and provider policies have to be taken into consideration to make it viable for multiple dwellings or commercial establishments. But it does stay technically possible to carry fiber’s higher speeds when it is configured and constrained correctly: yes, it is possible to cooperate with others and share a physical infrastructure where individual builds are impossible or too costly.
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