Fiber Internet or Wireless Broadband: What’s the Difference and Which Should Emiratis Get?

Whether you’re looking to line up an online connection reception or reviewing your current plan, the words “fiber” and “wireless” will presumably crop up in your search. Wait, fiber and wireless got difference meh? just in case you’re wondering too, yes, there is!

Furthermore, if you’re scratching your head trying to work out the simplest sort of internet connection for your home, then don’t worry as we got you covered. Here’s an easy guide of the differences between the 2 and which one most closely fits your home. Let’s go!

1. Fibre internet connection

Source: Celcom

So what exactly may be a fiber internet connection? Well, because the name suggests, it’s an online connection which transfers data fully or partially via fiber optic cables.

Here’s all you would like to know:

Fibre refers to the skinny glass wires found inside the protective cables that your internet provider sets up inside your house.

Glass wires are used because data is transferred using light signals, hence why it's sometimes called “fiber-optic”.

The light which carries all the info will then travel through the cable from sender to the receiver, which converts it back to its original form.

Advantages of going Fibre

Going fiber has many pros, such as:

Speed. As you would possibly expect for something that uses light, it’s super fast. Theoretically, it could reach up to 10GB per second weh!

It is also not suffering from any loss of signal and lowers the prospect of electromagnetic interference.

High reliability. resistant to temperature changes, severe weather and moisture, fiber is vastly superior to the outdated copper cable connectivity.

Longer distance. Fiber cables are ready to carry signals much farther than copper cables!

Source: DailyMail

2. Wireless broadband internet connection

Wireless broadband, on the opposite hand, maybe a high-speed internet and data service that uses a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a wide area network (WWAN).

Here are all the deets:

In wireless networks, data transmission happens by electromagnetic waves which communicate through space.

Generally, this happens through cell towers which can transfer data to your portable modem or wireless router via radio signals.

Currently, the fastest wireless signal uses 4G LTE bandwidth while expecting 5G infrastructures to catch up and be more common.

Source: your dictionary

Advantages of Wireless Broadband

So why choose wireless? Well, for starters:

Portability. Not having to depend on physical cables may be a huge plus. Just bring your wireless modem where ever you would like to travel and use it as you please!

Access to voice Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies which you'll use to call and ask anyone using an equivalent application like WhatsApp et al...

Low maintenance. You don’t need much to line up wireless broadband which usually just require a sim card and a transportable modem and you’re connected!

Speed. Theoretically, wireless broadband could reach an equivalent speed as a fiber connection, pending a robust signal.

Source: NTUClearninghub

3. So, which one do you have to choose?

Okay, both options sound tempting but which one is best for your daily use? There are a couple of factors that you simply should consider. Ask yourselves these questions below before you decide:

Do you sleep in a landed or high-rise home? – Fiber is that the best choice for high-rise homes as wireless broadband signals are weaker in these sorts of homes.

Can you accept quota restrictions? – Usually, wireless broadband has stricter data quota restrictions than fiber connectivity.

Do you often travel and need to bring your home internet with you? – Then wireless broadband and its better mobility is the best choice for you!

How long of an online contract are you looking for? – If you don’t mind committing to a long-term contract, fiber gives the all-around better deal but if you favor shorter contracts, most wireless broadband offers just that!

At the top of the day, both have their pros and cons and it really depends on your preference! Well, regardless of which one you finish up choosing, why not give Celcom a try?

Offering BOTH high-speed fiber and wireless broadband internet with Du home internet packages, you actually can’t fail with choosing UAE’s Best 4G LTE Network provider!