What Is Enterprise Fiber?

There’s no doubt that the world we live in today demands an ability to stay connected with people and businesses around the globe. It seems like practically everything we do– from online shopping to chatting with virtual employees– demands a stable connection to the internet. This is why fiber internet has made its way into our vernacular as being the internet of the future. 

In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about enterprise fiber. Simply put, enterprise fiber internet is a fiber optics connection for businesses. But before we discuss enterprise fiber connectivity services, we need to understand what Fiber is and what a business network is.

A quick recap on Fiber

Fiber, or optic fiber cables, are bundled strands of glass that transfer data using pulses of LED light. The light moves through an optical fiber and uses an electromagnetic carrier wave as a means of transferring information. 

So, as opposed to the copper cables that much of the world still relies on for the internet today, Fiber offers a much faster and stronger connection. Thus, Fiber has earned a reputation for being the future of Broadband Technology that’s as fast as the speed of light.

Everyone benefits from a Fiber connection

Whether you use the internet to join Zoom meetings, binge-watch Netflix shows, or play online games, there’s no question that fiber optic communications provide the smoothest user experience. This is because a Fiber connection gives you the fastest speeds that are currently available on the market. Plus, Fiber offers symmetrical upload and download speeds, virtually unlimited bandwidth, and low latency.

As a result, businesses are increasingly turning to enterprise fiber internet as a way to streamline their operations and experience a stress-free internet connection. So, let’s take a look at Fiber business models.

Fiber business models

Fiber services are grouped into two primary categories: Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B). Splitting up Fiber into these two categories helps differentiate the various business models that a Fiber connection offers.

B2C, which involves fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), delivers Fiber to an individual. On the other hand, B2B, which involves fiber-to-the-business (FTTB), is exactly what it sounds like– it delivers Fiber internet to businesses. It’s important to note here that B2B has two subcategories: enterprise fiber internet and dark fiber internet. We’ll revisit these subcategories in a moment. But first, let’s cover what distinguishes FTTH from FTTB.

The main difference between FTTH and FTTB is the setting where the Fiber internet is delivered. Both these connectivity services achieve the same result of delivering a lightning-speed connection. But FTTH is designed to better suit home users who have connectivity needs like streaming movies, TV, and online gaming. Conversely, FTTB is better suited to office environments where multiple people use a diverse range of devices to connect to many cloud applications.

For this article, we’ll focus on the B2B Fiber model that delivers FTTB. However, we need to understand what a business network is first.

What’s a business network?

A business network refers to the IT infrastructure that medium to large organizations leverage to offer connectivity across multiple users, devices, smart tools, and various applications. In other words, a business network lays the foundation for every modern digital enterprise. 

Remember when we mentioned that a B2B fiber model has two subcategories? We’ll explore each one below.

Enterprise fiber internet– fiber that’s lit!

The first subcategory of a B2B fiber model is enterprise fiber, which is the supply of connectivity services to medium and large businesses or enterprises. It’s also called “lit fiber” because it involves fiber optic cables that are actively available and currently in use– i.e., the cables are “lit.” 

Thus, enterprise fiber is born when a service provider lights the fiber cables and allows connectivity for the intended consumer/business. The service provider also provides a fully managed service. This means that they operate the modulating optronics and electronics equipment for the network. 

So, if enterprise fiber involves fiber optic cables that are lit, what are fiber optic cables that aren’t lit?

Dark fiber

The second subcategory of a B2B fiber model is dark fiber or “unlit” fiber. Unlit fiber refers to fiber optic cables that have been laid out but aren’t currently being used. So, because fiber cables transfer data via pulses of light, dark or unlit fiber indicates that light pulses aren’t being transmitted. 

Contrary to enterprise fiber, businesses who lease unlit fiber cables are required to monitor and maintain their network. Meaning there isn’t a service provider who conducts regular checks on the optronics, or any other supplemental equipment. 

Thus, dark fiber entices businesses that need a private network and have the resources to configure, monitor, and operate it. A couple of companies that use dark fiber so that they can have control over their networks are Facebook and Apple. Unlit fiber cables offer the privacy that these businesses need.

Alright, let’s get back to “lit” fiber. What businesses benefit from using enterprise fiber cables?

Who uses enterprise fiber internet?

Customers of enterprise fiber can include office buildings, corporate headquarters, healthcare organizations, government agencies, and financial services. Below are a few businesses that use enterprise fiber for their day-to-day operations.

• Morgan Stanley
• Goldman Sachs
• New York Stock Exchange
• United States Department of Homeland Security
• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• American Airlines
• United Airlines

How do businesses access enterprise fiber internet?

Unlike virtually everything else these days, you can’t simply order a fiber optic enterprise network on Amazon. Rather, businesses lease enterprise fiber from service providers. Their lease contracts usually last from two to five years. Once a business leases the lit fiber, its service provider monitors and maintains the equipment for the fixed period of their contract.

Why thriving businesses today choose enterprise fiber internet

Businesses across the world today rely on the future of fiber optics to scale their operations and grow with our ever-changing digital infrastructure. So, what makes lit fiber a smart choice for businesses that span multiple industries? 

Let’s take a look.

Unparalleled speeds

The most obvious reason for choosing fiber optic systems is gaining an internet connection that’s as fast as the speed of light. Likewise, fiber connections give you symmetrical speeds– meaning the upload and download speeds are identical. Symmetrically fast speeds enable the kind of performance that businesses need to run multiple, complicated applications simultaneously.

Business Ethernet

Enterprise fiber services include Ethernet connectivity that supports ultra-high and committed bandwidth. Compared to fiber-based Broadband technology, Ethernet guarantees a stronger connection where businesses can depend on consistent, high performance and low latency.

Plus, with more and more businesses moving toward a flexible work style that includes remote employees and multiple sites, an Ethernet map can provide support that spans multiple business locations. 

Increased productivity

Zoom meetings have become one of the largest narratives in our workforce over the past two years. Thus, videoconferencing has proved vital to sustain and increase the productivity of any business in our evolving work culture. But, unlike enterprise fiber internet, traditional broadband services weren’t optimized for the fast upload speeds necessary to support the transmission of a user’s video image and sound.

Also, lit fiber cuts down on the technical burden that business IT teams have to deal with. As we mentioned earlier, lit fiber services include the maintenance of all optronics and electronic equipment. This means a business can experience increased productivity by focusing on core tasks rather than focusing on operating a fiber network.

Increasing demand for enterprise fiber internet

As workforces all over the world continue to evolve, many businesses want to know where optical technology is heading in the future. From one-on-one Zoom meetings to large video conferences, video traffic growth is expected to cause an increase in our global internet traffic by 25% each year. 

Additionally, as many businesses today rely on cloud-based storage solutions, enterprise IP traffic is presumed to grow 30% each year due to increased migration to the cloud. Thus, business owners are realizing that the strength, reliability, and speed of networks they need to modernize their digital infrastructure require an enterprise fiber internet connection.

The future of the internet for businesses across the globe

Considering the benefits of enterprise fiber, like unbeatable speeds, unlimited bandwidth, and increased productivity, it’s plain as day that this “lit” fiber is the future of the modern business world. If you’re ready to take your business network to the next level, contact us to access an internet that’s specifically designed for businesses in today’s corporate landscape.