Types of online connections to internet:
- Physical wire or fiber optic
(potentially fastest option, limited by lack of competition)
- Cellular based
(slower speeds, weak signals)
- Satellite based
(medium speed, typically more $, antennas can be blocked or damaged by weather)
Speed Deceptions:
"G" vs "G"
In the network world a "G" is a speed measurement short for Gigabits per second.
So 1G means 1 Gigabit per second (1Gbps) or 1000 Megabits per second (1000Mbps).
In the cellular world a "G" simply implies the generation of hardware - not speed.
So 5G just means the 5th Generation of cellular technology.
Usable speeds:
When you see the speed for a service quoted, they always brag of their "fast" speeds.
"Fast" is very subjective and an intentionally vague term used to confuse and deceive the consumer.
Even knowing this still comes with two problems...
First:
The speed they sell is for DOWNLOAD speed.
They often hide or ignore their UPLOAD speed since it is terrible.
Guess which one is going to improve your work-at-home experience such as data upload,
video calls (Teams, Zoom, WebX) or group online game play?
Second, how fast is actually fast?
This is the shell game of the internet providers to sell slow speeds for high prices.
For residential use in 2025 where you only consume data and stream media,
300Mbps DOWNLOAD should be considered the minimum.
Unfortunately, even with much higher advertised speeds (1G-6G) the UPLOAD speed
can typically be an abysmal 35Mbps at best.
You need to verify before choosing provider.
If you are a content creator, someone who uplads big files, host a server or participate in
shared multi-user applications this upload speed is unacceptable.
If you are considered a business/commercial customer this issue only gets worse with
higher prices and questionable speeds
Options for service:
Wired/Fiber Optic
Here in Sienna, TX (and many other places) there is an amazing lack of competition for wired internet service.
This is not accidental.
Many years ago regions were split up and decided who would get control of an area and the neighborhoods.
It will be a great day if any of the new companies (like Ezee Fiber of Frontier) ever break into Sienna and start providing both new infrastructure and competition.
As a result, prices are always artifically high and the infrastrure continues to deteriorate.
In some newer neighborhoods fiber is avaialble while in the older sections only the old coaxial feeds remain.
If you can get fiber - do it!
In many areas they even offer "syncronous" speeds which means your upload speed is a fast as your download speed.
However, the providers that offer wired/fiber service play their pricing games.
They offer you an introductory rate (which is already higher than it should be in 2025) and then jack up the price as soon as they can at the end of whatever contract period.
Every year they offer higher speeds to new customers, but never contact you to upgrade.
Instead they just jack up your price and you have to call and threaten to leave to get it reduced.
And, of course, their idea of home connectiviety is a joke.
Put their base station "router" in a closet and setup a pathetic mesh network.
Not a serious solution - but one they can sell consumers and make empty claims.
Cellular based
The next option for people tired of the pricing games was to turn to cell based solutions.
The providers offer familiar plans and pricing we are already desensitized to from our cell phones.
They dazzle people with their "5G" speed claims and offer only a fraction of the speeds available from a wired connection.
And that assumes you receive a decent signal from the cell provider to your home.
Here in Sienna we have MANY dead cellular zones.
It has been my experience that people need good network at home to overcome the cell phone dead zones by using "wifi calling".
But, here again, connecting the service to the home devices becomes the weak link.
Satellite based
This strategy is great for areas where there is no other connection available OR as a backup option for people who need to be online and are willing to pay for the extra service.
The antenna can be blocked by weather or even damaged in storms.
In my mind this is not a good first choice for service in 2025.
And, as before, connecting the service to the home devices becomes the weak link.
I've chosen a service, how can I actually use the speed?
Let's get this out of the way..
DO NOT use a mesh network, wireless extenders, "routers" with multiple antennas, pods or any easy wireless devices to serve as your network foundation.
All of these rely on having strong signals between devices, steal the signal bandwidth away from your intended devices, and are generally slower that expected even in ideal conditions.
A proper network uses ethernet wired hardware to connect stationary devices in conjuction with nearby access points for WiFi devices.
It's how businesses connect their users and how your home should be.
Here's a simple anology using the idea of watering your lawn...
The cheap and simple way to water a lawn is to connect a hose to a sprinkler head.
You move the sprinklet around and try and reach all the little spots.
If your lawn is big, this process is not efficeint.
In this case the hose is the internet and the sprinkler is the wireless wifi device.
The alternative is to build a managed system.
The controller gets connected to the water supply and is linked to underground pipes
and valves.
Those pipes are organized and they operate a group of pop-up heads for watering.
The system is designed to reach all the areas of your lawn.
In this case, the water supply is the internet, the controller is the firewall/network control unit, the pipes and valves are ethernet and switches, and the pop-up heads are access points.
It's not difficult to achieve professional grade connections in your home or business.
It begins with quality hardware and planning.
I use equipment from Ubiquiti (ui.com) like below:
I have installed networks all over Sienna and nearby areas.
A recent job is shown below.
CONTACT ME to discuss your job!
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