Fibre vs. DSL: Spot the differences

When deciding to upgrade from a DSL (ADSL) connection, it can often be challenging to distinguish the differentiating factors between the two Internet technologies. Both of them are used to access the Internet, but there are some key differences, highlighted below, which may help you decide whether or not you should make the leap across to Fibre Optics.

A couple of Fun Fibre Facts...

1. The weather has no impact on Fibre Optics – meaning you won't experience any change in speeds due to the cables shrinking or expanding as they do when made of copper (ADSL).

2. The fastest recorded speed on a single Fibre Optic line was a whopping 43 Terabytes Per Second! In other words, that's 43,000Gbps or 43,000,000Mbps (43 million megabytes!) transferred in 1 second.

3. Fibre is made from Silicon Dioxide, which is the second most abundant element on Earth after Oxygen (which makes up 46.6%). Meaning Fibre Optics is a Green technology with high sustainability.

FIBRE HAS LIGHTNING SPEEDS

One of the main advantages to using Fibre Optics is its super-fast speed, meaning you have unlimited access to downloading files, streaming movies, playing online games while connecting many devices at the same time. Fibre Optic Internet is also far more reliable than DSL, seeing as Fibre does not rely on electricity – meaning no interference to your connection.

DSL IS FOR BASIC BROWSING

Using a DSL connection gives you basic connectivity to the Internet. It's ideal for browsing the web, sending/receiving emails and a few other basic tasks that don't require a super-fast connection. It's an older technology which relies on older infrastructure to connect users to the Internet. The connecting cables are made from copper and are therefore not as sustainable and are subject to hot or cold weather conditions impacting the speed.

IN SUMMARY

Although price is becoming less of a factor these days, Fibre Optics still beats DSL in value and reliability hands down (faster with less downtime). Hopefully you can make a better informed decision next time you think about switching over from DSL to Fibre Optics!

Photo of a Fibre Optic cable showing the light being omitted