Users are increasingly demanding with their Internet connections . Speed is the most important aspect, but stability and latency in the signal we receive are also key. For this reason, WiFi can fall short at times, and it is essential to carry a cable to where we are. However, is it better to carry an optical cable or an Ethernet?
If your house is new, or you are concerned about having good Internet connections, it is very likely that you have Ethernet sockets at various points in your house. Doing so implies carrying dozens of meters of cable along the wall to reach the destination, usually having a router or switch as the point of origin.
Ethernet cable: the best ally for Internet at home
With an Ethernet network cable , the stability is perfect with respect to WiFi. We can take a cable to distances of even 100 meters without losing speed if we have a Cat-5e cable or higher and we have 1 Gbps Ethernet ports . In addition, at the destination we can connect that cable to a router or a repeater and create a WiFi access point that is integrated into our main network, so we do not have to change the access point and we can also enjoy maximum speed via WiFi in another room.
For this reason, traditionally, the best option to carry wiring throughout our house has been Ethernet, since it is rare that distances of more than 100 meters have to be covered with a single cable. Other options such as WiFi amplifiers or PLC also allow us to bring the Internet to areas where we do not have it without pulling the cable, but the result is usually worse. However, there is another option to have maximum speed at home: plastic fiber optic cables.
Movistar did a pilot test to offer the installation of this wiring at home , but finally they did not add it to their commercial offer, probably due to its high cost. However, there are many plastic fiber optic kits that we can buy online to make our own.
These kits are usually quite expensive, especially the more meters of fiber they carry. In Amazon we found one from ACTELSER with a 20 meter cable for 128 euros. The operation of the kit is very simple: you connect an Ethernet cable to the router, and you take it to one of the converters. This converter carries the signal through the fiber cable until it reaches the receiver at the other end, from which another Ethernet cable comes out.
The operation of this technology in the eyes of the user, simply identical to that of the Ethernet cable. In the end you will not notice any difference in the user experience, since for example with a 1 Gbps fiber connection you will receive exactly the same speed at the other end, in addition to the same latency and stability. And the Ethernet cable is much cheaper, since a roll of 100 meters Cat.6 costs just 40 euros.
Ethernet cable is better and cheaper
Thus, it is much cheaper to use the Ethernet, and you have for much greater distance. For what the plastic fiber optic costs you, you have to put several outlets throughout the house, in addition to buying a crimper, RJ45 heads, one or two switches , and even paying a technician to install it for you. In addition, the electrical consumption is lower, since with the plastic optical fiber it is necessary to have the transmitter and the receiver connected to the current, while the Ethernet cable goes directly to the router.
Going forward, a Cat.7 Ethernet cable will be more than enough for 10 Gbps fiber , and even Cat.6 at less than 34 meters . In the future, if new speeds appear, it may be that if you don’t want to pass new cables, the plastic optical fiber will suit you, since in that case you only have to change the receivers and transmitters. Although even in that case the investment is still much higher.