About Broadband

Not all fiber is pure fiber. But ours is.

Did you know that over half of the so-called “fiber” connections in North America really aren’t? These hybrid connections (known as HFC) use fiber to bring high-speed data into neighborhoods. But the last mile or two of the connection—the hookup to the home—is carried by old-fashioned coaxial cable, slowing down the data and causing the usual bandwidth issues.

Today less than a quarter of fiber traffic is sent over pure-fiber FTTH (fiber to the home) connections. If you want true speed, reliability, and upgradability, don’t settle for “fake fiber” HFC. Let OpenFiber bring pure, clear fiber straight into your home.

If you want true speed, reliability and upgradability, don’t settle for “fake fiber” HFC. Let OpenFiber5G bring pure fiber straight into your home.

Broadband: the fast lane to the Internet.

The term “broadband” refers to high-speed data access, which virtually all customers use as a gateway to the Internet. Broadband provides superior performance for data-intensive online services such as streaming, data transfer, or video communications. The FCC defines broadband as providing at least 25 Mbps of data downstream to a device and 3 Mbps upstream, though most providers offer faster speeds than those.

Fiber: broadband’s best friend.

With its seemingly unlimited capacity and reliable connections, fiber is ideally suited to tap the full power of broadband. Fiber-optic cable (or just “fiber”) is a bundle of tiny strands of glass or plastic, each the width of a human hair, which carry waves of light to transmit data. Because photons move across glass more quickly than electrons across copper wire, fiber can transmit vast amounts of data over huge distances more quickly than copper—literally at the speed of light.

Here are some reasons why fiber is the best way to experience broadband Internet.

Fiber is fastest
Fiber can support download speeds of 1Gbps and even 10Gbps (speed is limited only by existing technology and provider options).

Fiber is future-proof
It’s ready to handle new technologies and faster speeds when they become available.

Fiber is secure
You can purchase a personal fiber license that gives you a dedicated connection directly to the Internet.

Fiber is for everyone
All users in your home can stream entertainment, upload photos, game online, and video chat at the same time without affecting each others’ performance.

Fiber works
You can work from home via an always-on videoconference, collaborate on projects in real time, and securely access your company network.

Fiber adds value
A personal fiber license increases the worth of your property.

Other broadband options.

Of course, fiber is not the only way to access broadband. Here’s a look at three other technologies that also provide broadband services.

DSL

Because it delivers Internet via existing copper phone lines, DSL is typically offered by phone companies, generally bundled with a voice landline. Though usually affordable, it is also the slowest of all these options (5–35 Mbps).

Cable

As another bundled service, cable Internet is supplied by cable-television providers and transmitted over existing coaxial cables. Though cable Internet users can sometimes see data rates of up to 500 Mbps, they’ll also experience much slower speeds during hours of peak demand (evenings and weekends), because bandwidth is shared with neighbors.

Wireless

Developed for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, 4G LTE and 5G wireless (cellular data) technologies are now being used in some homes via wireless modem. Though fast and easy to install, wireless also introduces instability over its unwired “last mile” connection, compromising data that is usually sent over a fiber network anyway.

What our customers say

“It’s been over a month since we got signed up with OpenFiber5G and I’ve been pretty pleased so far. The bill is a good amount less than what we were paying Comcast each month and for the first time I can have video calls with work from home without any connection problem.” – Megan L

“Even with a bundled promo rate for ATT, Atherton Fiber with Paxio 250Mbps service will save me $40/month since I was frequently getting overage charges due to 4K streaming TV.

Getting Atherton Fiber installed (in my case with Paxio) was a painless and fast process. No install charges and now I have a dedicated fiber line and don’t need to worry what games the big companies might play in the future.” – Vance B

“I signed up last month. So far, Atherton Fiber / OpenFiber5G has been fast and reliable. Installation and setup was free. I now have a faster speed at less cost than my previous ISP.” – Alex K