Fibre to the business (FTTB) vs fibre to the home (FTTH)
Fibre internet has proven to be a game changer in connectivity, promising exponentially faster speeds and significantly higher reliability than older internet connections.
If you’re looking into high-speed internet options for your company, you’ve most likely come across the terms fibre to the business (FTTB) and fibre to the home (FTTH). They both sound similar, and while they accomplish the same goal, fibre to the business and fibre to the home are used in different contexts.
As the name implies, fibre to the business is a connectivity solution commonly designed for office environments with multiple users of multiple devices connecting to various cloud apps. On the other hand, fibre to the home is better suited for home users with varying connectivity requirements like streaming video/music.
For someone unfamiliar with internet connectivity, the differences between fibre to the business and fibre to the home can be perplexing, so let’s look at them.
Coverage
While the rollout of fibre internet continues, progress is being made in major suburbs. As a result, fibre to the business provides greater availability if your company is in a metropolitan area. It’s very likely that central business districts or areas with a dense concentration of office buildings are already served by a fibre to the business network. Residential areas are covered, but this is based on interest, and some neighbourhoods may not have a fibre to the home network yet.
Speed
In general, fibre internet is unquestionably the fastest option for connecting to the internet. However, when it comes to speed, fibre to the business clearly wins. It is specifically designed to allow employees to send files faster, download large attachments faster, and upload information quickly to meet the demands of hectic workplaces. Fibre to the home typically provides accessible internet packages up to 50 Mbps, while fibre to the business allows for speeds of up to 200 Mbps.
Symmetry
Fibre to the business provides symmetrical speeds, which means that your data travels at the same rate in both directions. For example, a 200/200 Mbps fibre package will provide 200 Mbps download and upload speeds. For businesses that rely heavily on cloud services and video conferencing tools, symmetrical speeds offer a more reliable connection.
In comparison, fibre to the home provides asymmetrical speeds because residential internet usage primarily focuses on streaming entertainment, which requires faster download speeds than upload speeds. As a result, you might get an upload speed of 25 Mbps and a download speed of 50 Mbps with fibre to the home.
Contention ratios
The contention ratio describes how many people on a network share the same data capacity. For example, the standard rate for fibre to the business networks is a contention ratio of 1-10:1. This means that ten people are simultaneously connected to the internet. As a result, users will benefit from faster speeds and more stable internet access because the network is under less strain. Conversely, fibre to the home typically has a contention ratio of 25-50:1. Because more people share the same bandwidth, the connection will be slower to allow everyone to connect.
Security
A cybersecurity attack on a home network can be extremely inconvenient for residents. However, a security breach can be disastrous for a company, affecting its bottom line, reputation, and consumer trust. As a result, internet service providers prioritise the security of fibre to the business networks. Significant investments are made to protect data. Fibre to the business includes security features like secure tunnelling and VPNs. Fibre to the home services, on the other hand, provide only the most basic security.
Service level agreements
Fibre to the business customers are always required to sign a service level agreement (SLA) outlining the promised bandwidth, uptime, and response times in the event of a failure. This gives businesses peace of mind that there will be little downtime or failed networks that will disrupt their operations. Fibre to the home users are typically provided with a “best effort” service. This simply means that the internet service provider (ISP) makes no guarantee that the connection will always reach the advertised speeds and will do everything possible to ensure uptime and reliability.
Contact Trunuty for details
Overall, fibre to the business and fibre to the home is basically the same thing – but if you want better quality and features, fibre to the business is the way to go. Keep in mind that fibre to the business is more expensive than fibre to the home, but it is worth paying a little more to get the benefits, such as faster speeds and better security.
Trunuty offers scalable fibre to the business solutions to meet the high demand for internet streaming for a large base of consumer usage. In addition, we provide home users high-speed data for Wi-Fi connectivity, streaming services like Showmax and Netflix, and working remotely.
Get in touch with a representative from Trunuty today for more information about our comprehensive and cost-effective fibre to the business and fibre to the home solutions.
