Tech - News
The Reason You Can't Get Fiber Internet In Your Area
By MATT MILANO
Supply chain shortages
New lockdowns in various parts of the world have continued to wreak havoc on the supply chain, as have problems with the shipping industry. The issues were so significant that AT&T missed its goals for its fiber rollout in 2021, as a shortage of available fiber caused it to deploy fiber to 2.5 million homes, instead of the 3 million that it planned.
The 'last mile'
In the case of home internet, the "last mile" means bringing the fiber into a neighborhood and individual homes, which is expensive. If a neighborhood fails to meet the demographic requirements, if there is a geographical obstacle, or if a competitor already provides high-speed cable internet at a low price, a company may not invest in fiber.
New vs. old
If a company has just recently run copper wiring, it will likely wait until it starts experiencing maintenance issues before making the investment in running new fiber. This is one of the main reasons why new neighborhoods often have fiber, while older neighborhoods are still operating on copper-based cable or DSL internet.
Alternatives to fiber
T-Mobile and Verizon both offer 5G home internet service with the help of a modem/router combo that has a SIM card, which will receive a signal from the carrier's network. Starlink is another option that uses low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide internet access, and it is already challenging traditional broadband speeds in some countries, including the US.