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May 17, 2023 - 6 min read
Fiber won't be the fastest internet speed option as long as new technologies keep accelerating.
in short:
- The 10G platform can generate speeds faster than fiber in current cable systems
- Existing 10 Gbps fiber plans will compete with this new technology
You may have heard about 10G internet and thought "what happened to 6G, 7G, 8G and 9G?" Well, this 10G is not really what you think. It's not something new that's five times faster than the 5G service your phone or home internet is running on, and the 10G plans advertised by some cable internet providers aren't exactly 10 times faster than the 1G plan you have now…yet. And then there are 10Gbps fiber plans to consider.
Confused? We'll try to sort it out so you can make informed decisions whenpurchase or upgrade of the Internet.
First, let's explain the 10G platform. It's "a combination of technologies that will deliver Internet speeds 10 times faster than today's networks," he explains10gplatform.com. It provides "faster symmetrical speeds, but also lower latency, increased reliability and better security in a scalable way."
It's basically high speed internet that can work over your existing onecablesystems. Mediacom and Comcast are two Internet cable providers that use this technology. Has the potential to be faster than thatfiber, without the need for all infrastructure upgrades, such as laying expensive fiber optic cables.
“Because this new 10G technology is delivered withby Mediacomexisting network architecture and connections already installed in most customers' homes, there's no need to dig up yards to add bulky hardware or bury the required cables," Mediacom said.
This is done using the Cable Data Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS 4.0). This telecommunications standard enables high-bandwidth data to be transmitted over an existing cable TV system.
The 10G platform will change the speed of the internet
Comcast,Xfinitythe parent company is one of the bigger cable companies betting that the 10G platform will be a true game-changer that will provide faster and less latent internet than fiber, which still holds the gold standard for high-speed internet… for now.
Comcast launched the Xfinity 10G network in late 2022, so you've probably seen the ads for "200Mbps internet with WiFi hardware onXfinity 10G network- $25 per month for 2 years. That doesn't mean you'll get 10G speeds right away. With this plan, you get 200Mbps on what Comcast sells as its 10G network, built on the 10G platform, using DOCSIS 4.0. Basically, this means less latency and faster upload speeds, which will reduce the time it takes to upload a video or large document.
The plan is to eventually have download and upload speeds of 10 gigabytes per second available, but it will take some time to achieve that on this cable system.
“Comcast engineers have tested symmetrical connection speeds and will continue to test 10G technology over the next few months as they prepare to offer 10G-enabled services to customers in the second half of 2023.press release.
Mediacom launched its 10G release in February: "The scalability of the 10G platform will seamlessly allow Mediacom to move from its current 1-gigabit offering to speeds of 10-gigabit-per-second and beyond in the coming years," according tocompany press release.
Mediacom provided actual examples of plans for how it will improve existing speed tiers:
- Internet 100 becomes Internet 100 Symmetric as upload speeds increase 10-fold from 10 megabits per second (Mbps) to 100 Mbps
- Internet 300 upload speeds get a 5x speed increase from 20 Mbps to 100 Mbps
- Internet 600 upload speeds more than triple from 30Mbps to 100Mbps
- Internet 1 Gig upload speed doubled from 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps
- New Internet 1 Gig symmetric tier introduced with 1000 Mbps downstream and 1000 Mbps up
There have been no significant changes in pricing structures, but this is to be expected as the implementation of new technologies costs ISPs and these costs are often passed on to consumers.
The near future: The 10G platform will shine in entertainment, business and beyond
There are many areas outside the home where faster-than-fiber internet will help speed up work and research. Your local ISPs will eventually offer these 10G platform plans.
I will name just a few places where this evolving platform will take the world…
- Artificial intelligenceis currently a buzzword around the world, but it is also a technology whose development depends on ultra-fast Internet connectivity, from robotics to chatbots.
- Sports fans will love being part of the game, almost literally. According toInternet and Television Association"During a match, fans will be able to see things from the athletes' perspective, using wearable technology to bring them closer to the action."
- The educational benefits are endless. With the increased availability of speed in classrooms, they could see robotic assistants, synthetic teachers and 3D screens bringing history and learning to the classroom like never before.
- According to 10gplatform.com, "wearable devices and smart sensors will enable proactive, invisible care at home, while rural hospitals will connect to high-quality care via robots and holograms."
There are already 10 gigabit fiber plans, not to be confused with the 10G platform
Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such asZiply fiberadvertise symmetric 2, 5, 8 and 10 Gig plans per afiberconnection. This means your download and upload speeds are the same.
Optical fiber is based on cables containing very thin glass fibers. A cable about one-tenth the thickness of a human hair may contain only a few such strands or several hundred. The strands of glass enable data transmission by means of light.
Fiber is mainly available in metropolitan areas because it is easy to handle the thousands of connections that exist in major cities instead of installing hundreds of kilometers of cables in rural areas. It is also the most expensive option for the business, with deep infrastructure required.
With a fiber plan, you'll typically see higher prices than cable, but lower latency.
ISPs like it,Century Link,Helmsman, Frontier, Mediacom,OptimumIVerizonoffer home fiber Wi-Fi connections in selected areas with speeds from 300 Mb/s to 5000 Mb/s.
Do you need a 10 gigabit fiber plan at home?
High-speed Internet is great when you're powering your smart home, working, and videoconferencing from your home office while your teens play heavy online games, but beyond 1G or 2G plans, do you really need 5Gbps or 10Gbps home plans?
From $120/mo and going beyond $400/mo, a financial commitment to speeds over 5 gigs is a serious consideration.
First determinewhat speed do you really need. Fiber plans likeFrontier's1G for $69.99 per month. or 2G for $99/month. these are good deals if you have a fully connected smart home with five or more users. This level of speed and fiber optic connectivity will keep everything up and running without any noticeable delays or lags.
Leap to 5G to 10G speed tiers that are available from providers like Ziply, Frontier,,Optimumand others can make sense if you stream in 8K with several users at once, create and upload videos frequently, or need static IPv6 and IPv4 addresses that allow you to host multiple servers.
With a 10-gigabit fiber plan, "You can download a 4K movie in less than 30 seconds or stream around 1,700 movies at once," saysThe fiber of utopia.
For multi-gig plans, high-speed hardware is required
Keep in mind that an average router won't help you achieve symmetrical download and upload speeds for large multi-contact plans. Even 2G and 5G plans require routers that can handle these speeds. Using a sub-$100 router like this one won't do you any goodNETGEAR 4-Stream Wi-Fi 6 Routerwhich will not reach speeds of 3+ Gbps.
For example, the Ziply Fiber 10 Gig plan tells consumers that "speeds shown are for wired connections and require 10 Gig capable hardware."
10 Gig routers can cost anywhere from $300 to over $1,000. TheASUS AX6000 Wi-Fi (RT-AX89X)or similar device is recommended by Ziply. You can also lease these devices through most multi-gigabyte ISPs.
Summary
Ultimately, it's up to you to choose the internet speed plan that best suits your home's needs. With this new technology utilizing your current cable infrastructure, expect an increase in upload speeds and reduced latency on the plans of more cable providers. It will also become available faster than fiber can reach your area.
read moreindustry newsz Allconnecta.
Scenario:
Robina LaytonaEditor, broadband content
Robin Layton is an editor at Allconnect. Works closely with content team writers to provide consumers with fair and balanced broadband health reporting to help them understand the pro…read more
Edited by:
Joe Supan MoreLead author, broadband content
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FAQs
What does 10G internet mean? ›
The term 10G internet refers to an initiative of cable internet ISPs and organizations to create a cable internet network that supports 10 gigabit per second (10,000Mbps) download speeds and 6 gigabit per second (6,000Mbps) upload speeds.
Does 10G internet exist? ›The Xfinity 10G Network is the new brand for our next-generation network. The Xfinity 10G Network delivers a powerful connection to our customers that will continue to get smarter, faster, more reliable, and secure.
How fast is 10G Xfinity? ›The short answer is no, Xfinity does not offer 10Gb Internet and its speeds max out at 6Gbps in select markets. In many major cities, Xfinity speeds max out at just 1.2Mbps. Despite what its 10G network ads may. It doesn't even mean twice as fast as 5G as its 10G name may imply.
How fast is 10G? ›10G refers to 10 Gbps speeds, and the term is most often used to represent a joint initiative between cable internet entities and technology companies to achieve 10 Gbps speeds over residential cable internet networks.
What is the difference between 1gbps and 10 Gbps? ›In theory, the maximum bandwidth on a gigabit Ethernet network refers to a node being able to send 1 billion bits per second. 10 gigabit Ethernet has data speed capable of sending up to 10 billion bits per second, tenfold the amount of original Ethernet.
Which country has 10G internet? ›Korea launches UCLP-enabled 10 Gigabits per second (10G) Korea-North America and Korea-China network circuits in August 2005, making the first major step towards the 10G GLORIAD network ring around the northern hemisphere.
Which country uses 10G network? ›China: A Chinese telecommunications company uses 10G switches to provide high-speed connectivity and reliable data transmission for voice and data communication across its network.
Who needs 10 gigabit internet? ›10G Ethernet is needed to connect routers, 10G switches, and servers in data centers and enterprises, and for long-distance and high-bandwidth trunks to enable area networks based on Ethernet and fiber.
How many Gbps is Xfinity? ›Xfinity Gigabit Internet Service, which uses the DOCSIS 3.1 standard, can download data up to 1 Gbps, and upload data at 35 Mbps.
Is 10 gigabit fast? ›10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) is a telecommunication technology that offers data speeds up to 10 billion bits per second. Launched in 2002, GbE is also known as 10GE or 10 GigE, and although it offers a 10 times speed increase over gigabit Ethernet (1 GbE), its adoption has been gradual.
What is Xfinity highest Internet speed? ›
Xfinity Gigabit Internet service has advanced, next generation technology, with WiFi download speeds of up to 1000 Mbps (up to 1200 Mbps in some areas) and upload speeds of up to 35 Mbps. Speeds are delivered over our Hybrid Fiber-Coax (HFC) network, which uses the communication lines that already exist in most homes.
What is the fastest internet technology? ›Fiber internet is the fastest internet you can get. It uses bundled fiber-optic strands wrapped in a reflective case to transmit large amounts of data with light signals. Most fiber internet plans give you 1,000 Mbps speeds, although some providers can get you speeds of up to 2,000 Mbps or even 6,000 Mbps.
Is 10G better than 5G? ›The 10G platform is a key enabler of 5G's faster speeds, better connectivity and reduced latency. This is because the cable industry can provide the supporting infrastructure 5G requires to achieve its potential and thus they complement each other.
Is 10G twice as fast as 5G? ›It's not two times as fast as 5G, and has nothing to do with phones. You probably already know that 5G is a widely used abbreviation for a version of mobile network standards. (Also, that it's the most current standard in use.)
Is 10GB a lot of hotspot? ›If you're mostly browsing the internet, 10GB will last you about 500 hours, which gives you about 16 hours a day to work with. This amount of hotspot data is perfect for someone who is working remotely or from home without home internet.
How many GB of internet do I need per day? ›Even 2GB will be cutting it close, so for some breathing room we'd generally suggest at least 3GB. Meanwhile, if you're using mobile data much of the day, every day, or using data intensive things like video streaming and tethering regularly, you'll probably want at least 50GB – and even that might not be enough.
Is it better to have a higher Gbps? ›Gbps stands for “gigabits per second,” which equates to one billion bytes of data per second. Gbps is also a measure of internet bandwidth, so the same logic applies to this measurement. The more gigabits downloaded per second, the faster your internet connection.
How many Gbps should I get? ›A good internet speed is anywhere between 25 and 100 Mbps. Speeds of 25 Mbps allow up to 2 devices to stream, surf the web and check emails. 50 to 100 Mbps allow a few more people to stream in HD or even 4K, stream music, game, browse social media, and work from home.
How many Gbps is good? ›By most definitions, anything above 100 Mbps is considered “fast.” Once you start getting close to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps), the internet plan is called a “gigabit” service.
Which country uses 7G internet? ›We can say that internet speeds such as 7G or 8G are provided in Norway. Norway's top telecom service provider 'Telenor' increased the speed of personal internet usage in September last year. There are a total of three telecom companies in Norway, including Telenor, which have established their own mobile network.
What is the best internet technology? ›
The best type of internet is fiber-optic internet because it's extremely efficient, reliable, and fast. In most cases, fiber tops out at 1,000 Mbps for both download and upload speeds.
Does China have 10G? ›Many operators across the globe are deploying 10G GPON to provide higher bandwidth and lower latency. In China, which is a frontrunner in gigabit construction, the three major operators have been accelerating 10G GPON deployment in recent years.
What is the fastest internet speed in the world? ›China launched 'the world's first 6G satellite'
6G technology is still in its nascent stages and won't likely be rolled out for public usage for several years. It is expected to be faster than its predecessor and the existing 5G network and considerably increase high-speed internet access worldwide.
The new record is 319 terabits per second (Tb/s). That's double the previous world record for fastest internet speed and about 7.6 million times faster than the average home internet speed in the U.S. (42 megabits per second).
How much is 10 Gbps internet in the US? ›Yes, that's 10Gbps Internet or ten times the speed of Gigabit. And no, it's not expensive, just $40/month (no contract required), which is very reasonable, if not cheap, in the USA.
Is 10 Gbps good? ›How fast is 10 Gbps? With 10 Gigs, you can download a 4K movie in less than 30 seconds or stream around 1,700 movies simultaneously. To put it into context, the average broadband speed in America is 94 Mbps.
How do I know if I have 10 Gigabit Ethernet? ›Device Name shows more than just the name of the network adapter. It often also indicates the type of adapter it is. For wired connection, if you see the word "gigabit" or "GbE" in the device name, the adapter is gigabit-capable, meaning it can deliver up to 1,000Mbps.
Is Fiber faster than Xfinity? ›Plans and pricing: Google Fiber vs. Xfinity. Xfinity offers a much wider range of plan options than Google Fiber, which offers only two. If you're looking for higher speeds, however, Google Fiber offers more speed for the monthly cost.
Is Xfinity faster than 5G? ›For example, Xfinity has internet speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps that are between 6 and 36 times faster than 5G home Internet, and up to 6 Gigs if you're in need of some serious bandwidth.
Is Xfinity gigabit extra worth it? ›
The gigabit download speed is useful for home entertainment use, but only if you have multiple 4K screens in your house and a large floorplan with 4+ bedrooms. The Xfinity Gigabit Extra offers higher speeds, but for the extra cash, most people won't notice the difference between 25 and 35 Mbps upload speed.
How much is 10GB internet? ›In the US, as of May 2019, 10-Gbps symmetrical dedicated Internet access costs $4,000-$9,000 per month with a 3-year contract term, based on the price ranges available from AT&T, Comcast, and Spectrum.
How do I increase my Xfinity speed? ›- Move Closer to Your Gateway. Speed and coverage diminish over distance. ...
- Clear the Way. Place your Gateway or router off the floor, avoiding cramped spaces like cabinets, closets or drawers. ...
- Avoid Interference. ...
- Manually Restart Your Gateway. ...
- Relocate Your Gateway. ...
- Try Our Internet Troubleshooting Tool.
| Product Features | Wireless Gateway 1 | xFi Fiber Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Four Total Gb Ethernet Ports | Yes | Yes |
| Dual Band WiFi | No | Yes |
| Maximum Data Throughput | 150 Mbps | 1 Gbps |
| WPS (WiFi Protected Setup) | Yes | Yes |
You can register up to 10 devices on your account to access Xfinity WiFi hotspots. To remove or rename the devices with access to WiFi hotspots, visit your personal list of Xfinity WiFi Hotspot Connected Devices and sign in to your account. Note: Only primary users or a manager can manage registered devices.
What is the fastest internet in the US? ›Xfinity: Xfinity from Comcast is the winner for the fastest internet service. In some areas, you can find speeds as fast as 2,000 Mbps, or 2 Gbps. That's twice as fast as the 1 Gbps you'll find in many metropolitan areas.
Does Verizon have 10G? ›Shared Data Plan - 10GB gives you a combined total of 10 GB of 5G Nationwide and/or 4G LTE data to use/month. After 10 GB/month, in times of congestion your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic.
Does 5G mean faster internet? ›5G can be significantly faster than 4G, delivering up to 20 Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) peak data rates and 100+ Megabits-per-second (Mbps) average data rates. 5G has more capacity than 4G. 5G is designed to support a 100x increase in traffic capacity and network efficiency.
Is 5G stronger than WiFi? ›Though 5G is typically the fastest mobile Internet connection, reliability can be a challenge. WiFi offers a faster, more reliable Internet connection when combined with a reliable router and a reliable Internet plan.
What does the G stand for in 5G? ›What is 5G? 5G stands for the fifth generation of mobile communications.
What is Xfinity 10G vs 5G? ›
Let's clarify what the two terms mean: 5G refers to the fifth generation of cellular technology, while 10G refers to the speed by which data can enter homes through cable and fiber connections. 5G is the latest iteration in an evolution of cellular connectivity that started with the very first analog cellphones.
How fast is 10 mg internet? ›10 Mbps delivers internet download speeds at approximately 10 megabits/second and upload speeds up to 1 megabit/second. That means a 10 MB file will take 8 seconds to load. This speed is ideal for small businesses with very few employees, and it functions through a DSL internet connection with a unique IP address.
What does Xfinity 10G mean? ›10G, as used by Comcast and other wired internet service providers, refers to an internet service delivery speed—10 gigabits per second (Gbps)—not yet available to consumers.
Can you stream in 10mps? ›Upload speed requirements for livestreaming across video platforms. We recommend having a minimum upload speed of 10 Mbps for livestreaming. On most platforms, this will give you a slight buffer to account for fluctuations in upload speed.
Is 10 Mbps fast enough for Netflix? ›Netflix recommends a 3 Mbps connection for one standard-quality stream and 5 Mbps for a high-definition stream. Two simultaneous HD quality streams would need around 10 Mbps, and so on.
How many GB is considered high speed Internet? ›What Is a Fast Internet Speed? By most definitions, anything above 100 Mbps is considered “fast.” Once you start getting close to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps), the internet plan is called a “gigabit” service.
What company is the leader in 10G? ›As consumers' lives become even more hyper-connected, Comcast's continued advancement of the Xfinity 10G Network will position it as the clear leader for years to come.
Who owns 10G? ›10G is trademark of the NCTA. CableLabs is the registered trademark of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. All other products and/or services referenced are trademarks of their respective companies.
Is Xfinity Gigabit extra worth it? ›The gigabit download speed is useful for home entertainment use, but only if you have multiple 4K screens in your house and a large floorplan with 4+ bedrooms. The Xfinity Gigabit Extra offers higher speeds, but for the extra cash, most people won't notice the difference between 25 and 35 Mbps upload speed.
How many Gbps does 5G give you? ›5G can be significantly faster than 4G, delivering up to 20 Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) peak data rates and 100+ Megabits-per-second (Mbps) average data rates.
What speeds should I get with 5G? ›
You get solid speeds on this hot, new fixed wireless internet service. 5G home internet commonly gives you speeds around 100–300 Mbps. But 5G internet speeds can reach up to 1,000 Mbps, depending on the plan and quality of cell service in your area.