Is My Business Ready for Fiber? Part 1: Defining Gigabit+

Historically, fiber broadband solutions seemed like a luxury product that businesses couldn’t afford.  The latest and greatest broadband delivery method was scarce and in order to wire a property there were exorbitant construction costs businesses didn’t want to take on.

But for providers like Mediacom Business, who make it their business to deep root their fiber network into underserved areas in rural America – using fiber optics for data and voice solutions is more of a reality for businesses than ever before.  And this is true for businesses outside of traditional enterprise-level verticals like education, healthcare and governments.  More and more, our connected economy demands new technologies on a daily basis to advance business development and productivity. And the trick to power them all is having the most reliable and powerful internet connection without bringing the rest of their business dealings to a lagging halt.  Welcome to the power of fiber.

In this blog we will explore Gigabit broadband capacity and the many benefits this level of technology delivers. When IT leaders find their networks bursting at the seams, suffering capacity issues and maxing out their connection, they know it’s time for an overhaul of their network infrastructure.  I always say the red flag should be raised when a business brings a new innovative application that will help push the company to the next level of innovation but the broadband capacity can’t handle the usage. Moving to fiber-optic connectivity can seem daunting but my guess is that once an IT director or business owner does the deep dive – the investment is well worth it in the long run.

Before we get into defining Gigabit and its advantages over counterpart delivery methods in the market, let’s talk a little bit about our customers who are using Gigabit+ Fiber Solutions. We serve businesses of all sizes and cater to a number of industries including those that are community anchor institutions. Our customers and their IT leaders come to us seeking scalable bandwidth as they see the increased usage over the years.  Questions like “I see us needing X but I know in 5 years we’ll be well over Y.” And the great part about fiber is the scalability it offers. Any business knows what you need today in terms of broadband, is not going to be the bandwidth you need tomorrow so using a delivery method where you can just “turn up” additional bandwidth means not having to drive up equipment and construction costs every time there is a request for increased broadband.  Some of the key issues that have plagued our IT leaders tend to fall under the following categories:

• Lack of capacity and speed causing bottlenecks.  Having too many users online at once
• Instantaneious transfer of “big data”
• Simultaneous access to data among multiple locations
• Future proofing networks - to cope with the increase in online demand
• Taking advantage of advanced technology platforms
• Managed and hosted voice, internet and website solutions
• Better customer support. Finding a partner vs. a provider
• Reliability & network uptime concerns
• Budget constraints from using antiquated technology like T1s where multiple T1s are needed to reach an adequate level of bandwidth

Defining Gigabit+ Fiber Solutions

Fiber-optic solutions for data and voice are providing the pathway to push big data, connect multiple locations and enable users to access information simultaneously no matter where they are located.  It’s simply the fastest transfer of data technology available to date.  Gigabit is the buzz word right now in the technology space – essentially it means the speed by which 1 billion bits of data per seconds are delivered.  It’s a superfast connection, transmitting data at the speed of light.  That ultra-high speed is maintained both downstream and upstream, something that is hard to come by with other internet service providers. Mediacom Business Gigabit+ Fiber Solutions is distributed using light wave technology through a fiber-optic cable to deliver superior data, voice and video capabilities. It's exceptionally secure and reliable because it runs on a dedicated, private fiber-optic network, not the open public internet.  Think of it as your own lane on the “broadband highway”.

Benefits of Gigabit

The most immediate benefit is the astonishing speed. Emails, large files, record transfers, web pages, videos and internet phone services move instantaneously, seamlessly and reliably. There's no more video buffering, no more spinning wheels on your computer screen, no more tapping your fingers anxiously while you wait for your files to send. Large amounts of data can easily move across the network and traffic is much better profiled. For those businesses adopting and investing in the cloud, Gigabit level internet provides immediate access to the platform. Lower latency and more efficient IT management are additional perks. The infographic below touches on some of these aspects:

Mediacom Business has 20 + years and a wealth of in-house expertise managing and monitoring our fiber network. We serve over 1,500 communities throughout the country and have invested billions of dollars to build a nationwide fiber optic infrastructure to deliver a wide array of advanced data and voice solutions. Creating a robust and secure network is part art and part science and we are well versed in both.  Building fiber is the easy part but maintaining a network of this stature is a whole other story.  This is a common oversight for a lot of cities who look to build their own network.

Through Gigabit+ Fiber Solutions from Mediacom Business, the days of your business being defined by its physical location are gone. Having this type of high capacity broadband access allows businesses to thrive in today’s climate but easily positions them for the scalability needed for future demands. It makes the world a much smaller place to do business in.