Cable vs Fiber ISPs – which is better

Industry News & Tech Reviews

Which to choose - cable provider such as Spectrum or fiber such as FIOS?

You just moved and are trying to decide what to choose – Cable vs Fiber ISPs – which is better.   Opinions may vary but fiber in my experience is more reliable than cable modem although it may differ in your neighborhood.    Fiber uploads are currently much faster than most cable providers offer.   Fiber is often cheaper for higher bandwidth than cable.   Fiber often offers better quality if you are implementing a VOIP system.  However fiber is not available in all neighborhoods and if you have to have it installed in an area that isn’t already lit for fiber it can be costly.    In the end, you’ll have to see what speeds are available for each in your area.

Most ISPs such as Spectrum and Verizon are no longer charging huge differences in high speed internet to the home and lower speeds.   For most homes 200mbit down and 10mbit up is fine.   For businesses higher upload and download speeds are recommended.   If you store large files on Sharepoint, Dropbox, Box or some other cloud based solution you’ll probably want more upload speed.

Every year, I would recommend calling your ISP and asking if they can increase the speed without raising the price.   Most of my clients save a significant amount or drastically increase their speed just by having me call their ISP for them.    Often your price will go up as the sign up deal you ordered under is expired, when you call to complain they’ll give you a similar deal.  Hopefully this explains what you need to know – Cable vs Fiber ISPs – which is better.

While fiber is not available everywhere yet, its presence is increasing.   A number of alternatives to fios are popping up throughout the country such as Google Fiber and ATT Fiber and even Spectrum Fiber.   Larger cities often get them first.   On the plus side, most cable companies either increase their bandwidth to customers or drop their prices to try to compete.

Hopefully this helps you with your question – Cable vs Fiber ISPs – which is better.