The future of broadband is fiber-optic Internet. Greenlight Networks uses fiber-optic technology to provide the fastest speeds currently available – up to 8 Gpbs. Fiber Internet, which is powered by fiber-optic technology, far surpasses other competitive Internet technologies like cable. We’ll go over everything you need to know about fiber Internet in this blog. This includes how it works, how it’s built, and why Greenlight Networks is the best option for your Internet needs!
What is Fiber Internet?
Fiber-optic Internet is sometimes known as fiber Internet or just “fiber,”. It is a high-speed, low-latency broadband connection that can achieve speeds 100x faster than what most Americans receive today. The technology uses fiber-optic cable, which transports data at the speed of light. Fiber-optic cables are much less sensitive to harsh weather than other types of traditional wires, which helps to reduce disruptions.
A fiber-optic Internet connection to the home brings benefits like:
- Zero buffering
- Super-fast download and upload speeds
- Ability to stream over-the-top TV service, movies, and music on multiple devices at the same time
- Superior online-gaming experience
- Improved reliability and reduced susceptibility to inclement weather
What does it take to construct a Fiber-Optic Infrastructure?
The most common question we get from people interested in our service is “when can I get it for my neighborhood?”. Greenlight Networks would love to get the entire Rochester, Buffalo, and Binghamton regions up with our ultra-fast Internet. However, it is important to remember that fiber is a marathon, not a sprint.
While the road to fiber may appear to be long, it is a worthwhile endeavor. Fiber infrastructure is becoming increasingly important for cities to participate in today’s digital economy, access educational resources, and deliver cutting-edge healthcare, among other things. We’ll walk through how Greenlight Networks goes about bringing fiber-optic Internet to homes and small businesses.
Identifying a District
There’s no single factor that makes a town or neighborhood a candidate for Greenlight Networks’ fiber-optic Internet. It’s a combination of customer demand, cost, and complexity of building the district, and the number of easements and permits required for us to build the necessary infrastructure within the district.
Planning and Design
Once we have determined the district is a good fit, we start planning the fiber build. Greenlight Networks collaborates with local officials and utility companies to review existing infrastructure. We look for existing utility paths and explore permitting options in the easement or right-of-way. Obtaining permits to attach to utility poles is a large part of our process and often takes the longest amount of time due to the number of parties involved.
Receiving the necessary easements and permits provides Greenlight Networks the legal right to use another’s land for specific limited purposes and the necessary right of way for us to build out our fiber-optic network. If we are unable to obtain the easements required to provide service in a neighborhood, our team of Design Engineers must remap a district. Additionally, we must receive a permit for each utility pole from the utility pole owners to access their poles.
Lastly, we explore the many types of fiber construction processes that will be used. Every community has different demands, thus while one town may be ready for fiber to flow through conduit underground, another may require aerial installation with the fiber carrier medium strung along utility poles.
Community Engagement
Once we start planning and designing our network, there’s a good chance you’ll see Greenlight Networks out and about at some events in the community. We will attend and sponsor local events like farmer’s markets and festivals so community members and residents have the chance to learn more about our service!
We hire locally and you can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube! You can post on our wall, respond to a Tweet, or drop us a line whenever you want. We’re always available to talk or answer any questions.
Pre-Ordering
You can pre-order Greenlight as soon as we announce we’re coming to your neighborhood!
What does pre-ordering mean? It’s a vote for your neighborhood to get fiber first and puts you and other pre-orders at the top of the list when we start building on your street. The good news is we don’t require a deposit and you are not charged anything until your service is installed. There is a one-time installation fee of $100 that can be split up into four different payments or paid in full, but this won’t appear until your first bill.
Construction
We announce we’re breaking ground on our neighborhood status map and via email to everyone that has expressed interest by checking availability on our website for the neighborhoods impacted. We let you know what to expect from construction and provide email updates as progress is made throughout your neighborhood. Building a new Greenlight District can take anywhere from 60 days to 6 months depending on the type of construction it is (aerial vs. underground).
Cost-effective and timely access to utility poles, underground conduits, and rights of way needed to reach residential neighborhoods are essential to our ability to continue to build out a network. The lack of consistent, efficient, affordable, and fair access to utility poles and rights of way can significantly slow down our ability to expand. When this happens, we work with the pole owners, utility companies, NYS Public Service Commission, and others to resolve these issues.
We divide our construction process into two main stages. The first, dirt and hard effort is where our crews will dig to install conduit. Conduit is used to transport the ultra-thin glass fibers that will deliver data to homes and small businesses. The second stage of construction is where we attach our fiber to the utility poles, as well as homes and small businesses, ready to get them lit, which is to say online with New York’s fastest fiber-optic Internet!
Installation
As far as the end-user is concerned, the final step is to connect. Greenlight Networks will reach out to schedule your installation. Our general turnaround time is 2-4 weeks. This is from the time that we receive your order to when the in-home installation is completed (barring any issues that may arise).
Fiber comes to your home or small business in a little white plastic square. This is known as an ONT or “optical network termination.” From there, you can plug your router into the ONT. We recommend updating your router if it is older to ensure you are receiving the fastest possible speeds on our network. Learn more about what routers will work for fiber-optic Internet.
Most of the work is done outside and the install team only needs to be inside for a short amount of time to connect the fiber to the ONT and ensure everything is working properly.
That’s all there is to it. The long journey of fiber from hope to reality in your house or place of business!
It takes a lot of work to connect cities and towns, street by street, business by business, and house by house. Fiber is the only infrastructure designed particularly for Internet access. It replaces aging copper networks to provide Internet connectivity that is both fast and dependable.
Bringing fiber to town today entails far more than just enhanced Internet access. It holds the promise of a brighter future.
With Greenlight Networks, you get a local company based in Rochester, New York. We build, own, and operate our own fiber-optic networks to provide amazingly fast Internet connections to our customers.
Starting at $55/month for 500mbps a fiber-optic connection to the home like Greenlight Networks provides numerous benefits such as
- Zero buffering
- Super-fast synchronous downloads and uploads
- Ability to stream TV, movies, and music on multiple devices at the same time
- Superior online-gaming experience
- Improved reliability and reduced susceptibility to inclement weather
