Internet
Technologies

Cable internet is delivered to the customer over cable TV infrastructure (coaxial cables).  

Pros

• Widely available within cities and villages where cable TV infrastructure exists

• Can achieve very fast speeds

Cellular internet is delivered wirelessly to a customer's location over a cell provider's network.  This could be to a smartphone, hot spot or some sort of cellular internet modem/router.

Pros

• Available to locations within a cell provider's coverage area.

• Depending on conditions can achieve high speeds and low latency allowing the connection to be used for real-time applications.

Cons

• Many low-populated rural areas still lack quality cellular coverage.

• Many providers still have some sort of data limit.  This could be a hard data limit (once you hit it you are cut off or are charged overage fees) or a soft data limit (in which your speed may be limited or prioritized during high usage periods).  

• Speed and connection will fluctuate depending on the demand of the local cell tower you are connected to. 

• These services often have long-term contacts.

DSL (digital subscriber line) is a technology that utilizes copper telephone lines to transmit Internet. There are different types of DSL such as ADSL and VDSL.  

Pros

• Utilizes existing copper lines that already run to most properties

• Newer versions of DSL are getting faster

• Customers within close proximity and utilizing maintained copper lines can achieve very good speeds

Cons

• Many companies want to abandon copper phone lines in lieu of newer technologies (such as fiber) and may not invest to maintain or upgrade copper lines

• DSL can have good speeds generally up to a mile and a half away from the distribution point.  Beyond that speeds drop significantly.  DSL can reach a little over three miles but those speeds become quite slow.

Fiber internet uses fiber optic cables to transmit internet to customer locations.  Fiber is glass and allows data to move at the speed of light.  

Pros

• Fastest current internet transmission medium.

• Equipment on both ends of a fiber line can dictate how fast the speeds are - up to the speed of light.

Cons

• There is a high cost ($60,000-$120,000 per mile) to run fiber lines.  It is hard for providers in rural areas to justify this cost without government grants or high population density.

• Fiber lines have a limited life.  Aerial fiber has a lifespan of 20-25 years, buried fiber has a lifespan of 40-50 years.  There are many fiber projects happening now which will all stack up in the future for replacement.

Fixed wireless internet utilizes a small antenna mounted at the customer's location connected to an antenna on a tower or other structure of height to setup an always-on internet connection.  Fixed wireless is a similar concept to how Wi-Fi works but uses larger antennas and stronger power. 

Pros

• Low cost to establish fixed-wireless infrastructure to service an area.  This can be done rapidly compared to fiber and at a fraction of the cost.  Due to this more often found in rural areas.  

• Speeds can be quite fast with low latency.  

• The future of fixed-wireless is bright with Wi-Fi6, Wi-Fi6E, Wi-Fi7 on the horizon in the next few years allowing providers to offer faster speeds than currently achievable. 

• Fixed wireless generally exceeds compared to DSL, Satellite options and cellular.  

Cons

• Depends on line-of-site.  The antenna at the customer location needs to "see" the tower it is connecting to.  This means fixed-wireless will not work in areas that are heavily forested, hilly, or have other man-made obstructions that block this line-of-site.  Customers surrounded by trees may not be able to achieve a connection. 

Low Orbit Satellite utilizes an antenna at the customer location communicating with a "grid" of satellite dishes located approximately 1,200 miles above the earth.  The provider of this service is Starlink.

Pros

• Available at most locations

• Fast Speeds*

• Will generally work with real-time applications (streaming, VoIP, video meetings, VPN, etc)*

• Lower Latency than high-orbit satellite

Cons

• Very high up-front equipment costs

• *While speeds can be fast and latency low, depending on the current position of low-orbit satellites, there can be times of connectivity interruptions, times of lower speeds, or higher latency.  The connection is not constant 100% of the time.

• Higher than average monthly fees. 

• No local support or technicians.  The customer must install and troubleshoot service.

Satellite internet utilizes high-orbit satellites (over 20,000 miles above the earth) to maintain communication to a satellite dish at the customer's location.

Pros

• Available almost everywhere

Cons

• Due to the distance your data has to travel (over 20,000 miles) satellite internet has very high latency and appears sluggish.  

• Satellite internet generally will not work well for VoIP phone services, real-time gaming, VPN connections, video streaming, and virtual meetings.

• All satellite providers have monthly data limits. Once you hit your limit your connection is slowed down, "prioritized" or you incur additional fees.  

• These services often have long-term contacts.