What is A Metro-EI manage over 50 internet connections. The question I get asked all the time is, "Can I get faster internet?"
"Of course!" I replied. And I continued to explain their options. Here's the breakdown on internet connections.
First of all, we measure internet connections through download speed in what's called kbps or kilobits per second. The higher the number the faster the service.
DSL: This internet comes through the phone company. In our part of the world this is ATT/Bellsouth/Yahoo. DSL varies in speed depending on equipment in your area and how close you are to that equipment. Typically in my experience, DSL is around 1000kbps or 1Mbps.
CABLE: This internet comes through the cable company. In our area, this is Comcast (used to be Adelphia). Cable internet is currently king for most residences and in my recent tests gets a whopping 12,600kbps (or 12.6Mbps). That's fast!
The problem with two options above is... they are not available everywhere. For example on PGA Blvd, they are not available to businesses. This means that if you want the service, you cannot purchase it. You cannot pay the companies to install it. You cannot have what you have at home, in the office. It no-o exist-o.
One more item you should know about them. They are not guaranteed services. This means they can go out for any reason at any time. When will it be back up? Who knows. Sometimes a few hours, somestimes a few days. In one experience I had, it was over 30 days before the DSL was up at a business location. The longest I ever had Cable out was for over a week.
So companies offer guaranteed services. These are services that are guaranteed to be on all the time. That's 100% of the time. Businesses like that. There's nothing worse than paying 30 people in an office with no internet. It's office gossip time as soon as it goes out.
T1: This internet is from the phone company. It is available everywhere. The speed on this is 1,500kbps (or 1.5Mpbs). Sometimes if a T1 isn't fast enough businesses will purchase two T1's and join them together.
Metro-E: This internet is is becoming the preferred choice of services for businesses. A Metro-E is in fact a partial fiber line. This is also known as an optical cable line (OC line). But fiber is so fast, that they limit it's speed. The speed on this is 10,000kpbs (10Mbps). That's screaming fast!
Full fiber line or OC lines are also available. Unfortunately, I only know a handful of companies that have this in the Palm Beach County area. Usually limited to large office complexes, hospitals, schools and the like. I can't comment on them because my interaction has been limited.
