A little history lesson all about full-fibre internet
We’re ready to take a little trip down memory lane and look back at how far internet has come since the 90’s. From part-fibre and copper wires to full-fibre and reaching speeds never seen before in the world of internet. Plus, whenever you’re ready and want to quiz yourself on your knowledge, you can get crowned as the Jargon Busting Wizard.
Back in the day: Dial-up Connections
The early days of internet usually included involved a modem (use our jargon buster to find out what this means) to connect your computer to a telephone line, which would eventually connect to an internet service provider. We’ve definitely come a long way since then. Dial-up connections were very slow and had the added inconvenience of not being able to use the phone line at the same time!
Dial-up was really the only option for people in the 90’s and early 00’s, but it helped get the job done for accessing basic websites and sending out emails. Downloading large files and streaming anything was a bit out of the picture.
The rise of broadband connections
With the internet becoming more popular, the demand for faster speeds increased. Fast forward a few years and dial-up connections were pretty quickly replaced with broadband connections. This meant a variety of frequencies we used to send data super quickly, giving you faster speeds and better connections that you could rely on more.
The beginnings of cable internet connections
Cable connections started off by using the same cabling that you would use for your television to bring you an internet connection to your home. They’re pretty well recognised for their faster speeds, with some speeds reaching up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps). It’s a big level up from telephone cabling, because you’re now able to connect multiple devices in your home!
Back to basics: DSL internet connections
Unlike any of the modern internet technology, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) still use the existing telephone lines to bring internet to the home. The main difference however since the 90s when these cables were last used, is that you can still make sure of the phone line and get internet at the same time. DSL tends to be a little slower than the typical cable connection, and speeds only really reach 1 to 100 Mbps. This options tends to work well in the more rural areas, where getting cable has some extra hurdles.
Lightning-fast internet as we know it
Enter fibre-optic internet connections, the ultimate gamechanger in the internet space! Fast forward to today, and full-fibre internet is taking stage as the newest technology that makes your internet go much further – and up to 18x* faster. And at Lit Fibre, we’re super proud to be bringing in these lightning-fast connections to new towns on a rolling basis.
No more buffering and no more waiting, just seamless internet at the speed of light (literally). It’s the fastest type of broadband available to date and it’s all to do with the fibre-optic cabling we use, which transmit all data using light signals. It’s the perfect mix for streaming, gaming, downloading large files, you name it.