[QUOTE=LexInVA;5714028]
EVERYONE uses fiber networks to sling their services to customers and they have been for many years now. Verizon simply decided to heavily promote their use of it whereas others did not.[/QUOTE]
In some form or fashion, yes. In my area, Comcast operates a FTTN network - fiber to the node. The node converts the signal from light to RF (radio frequency). From there, lines leave the node in separate directions and get fed to customer premises through amplifiers and line extenders which essentially amplify that radio signal thatās being sent along the copper wire.
(Note: I used to work for a cable company in SC, so Iāll try not to over-techie this, but hereās a somewhat technical explanationā¦)
1200 feet (400 yards) is certainly too far for a standard coax RG-6 or RG-11 drop to work. In fact, 400 feet is pushing it with RG-11 (the thicker of the two mentioned). As the signal goes down the copper line, the further it goes, the weaker it becomes. Think of it like thisā¦ youāre driving away from a radio stationās broadcast tower. Eventually you are too far away and canāt pick up the signal anymore. (Some radio stations will install repeaters, which take the signal it picks up, amplifies it and re-broadcasts it.) The same goes for RF that is sent down a copper wire. The thicker the wire and better the insulation (to prevent outside interference), the further the signal will travel. For longer distances, at some point the signal gets too weak and you have to introduce an amplifier into the system to ensure that the signal is able to be delivered. One of several problems is that amplifiers can also introduce noise - something thatās not very nice to digital signals. It wasnāt too bad with analog. It was somewhat tolerable with some of the earlier used digital broadcasting technologies like (Q)PSK - (Quadrature) Phase Shift Keying. But as you get up into the QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) 256 technologies, the signal has to be pretty darn clean (interference free) for you to be able to really use it. (Think of this like talking to someone on a cell phone with bad reception or static. If you only hear every other word, you may not really understand what it is theyāre talking about.)
So yes, everyone uses fiberā¦ to a point. But in most cases, theyāre not running FTTH / FTTP (Fiber To The Home / Fiber To The Premises) yet. Some people doā¦ some even have FTTC (Fiber To The Curb). But most of America is still stuck at FTTN configurations when it comes to cable. (Which is significantly different than DSL technologies, which I wonāt even begin to go into here.)
He used:
No cell coverage, HATE Verizon but no other choice for phones, and have Hughesnet and Dish Network. (Both satellite providers work well now - locations of dishes on the house had to be adjusted and some small trees taken down, but coverage is great - except the Yankees refuse to work with Dish, they are only on Direct, but I love my HRTV & TVG and I donāt believe Direct has both of those. Would rather have unlimited racing than see all the Yankee gamesā¦)
Our town has TimeWarner/Roadrunner. High speed cable is so much better. Iāve been belly aching about this for yearsā¦somehow I have a feeling it wonāt be possible, but Iām sure looking into it!:yes: