ᐅ Wired Connection vs. Telecom Fiber Optic – Making the Choice
Created on: 26 Apr 2021 14:56
K
kgeisler
Hello everyone,
At the risk of asking a really basic question, we are currently facing the decision of whether to order cable (Vodafone) or Telekom fiber optic FTTH for our new development. We want to completely give up traditional TV connections (so from our point of view, we don’t need satellite or cable per se) and instead do everything via streaming. Therefore, for us, only performance, future-proofing, or price if performance is similar, matter.
However, we are finding it difficult to decide or to break down the costs.
Telekom definitely provides fiber all the way into the house, so the performance here is certainly the best. Monthly costs after new customer bonuses, etc., are about 90 EUR (around 90 USD) for the full gigabit.
For cable, I can’t get anyone on the phone who can tell me if their fiber also goes all the way into the house; if it does, would the performance be equivalent, or am I mistaken?
For cable, there is usually a cable fee of 21 EUR (about 21 USD), or am I wrong? Or does this only apply if you actually take cable TV, and otherwise it doesn’t have to be paid?
Then cable would be clearly cheaper with 75 EUR (about 75 USD) for the last mile. Otherwise slightly more expensive.
Has anyone faced a similar decision? What did you decide and why?
Thank you!
At the risk of asking a really basic question, we are currently facing the decision of whether to order cable (Vodafone) or Telekom fiber optic FTTH for our new development. We want to completely give up traditional TV connections (so from our point of view, we don’t need satellite or cable per se) and instead do everything via streaming. Therefore, for us, only performance, future-proofing, or price if performance is similar, matter.
However, we are finding it difficult to decide or to break down the costs.
Telekom definitely provides fiber all the way into the house, so the performance here is certainly the best. Monthly costs after new customer bonuses, etc., are about 90 EUR (around 90 USD) for the full gigabit.
For cable, I can’t get anyone on the phone who can tell me if their fiber also goes all the way into the house; if it does, would the performance be equivalent, or am I mistaken?
For cable, there is usually a cable fee of 21 EUR (about 21 USD), or am I wrong? Or does this only apply if you actually take cable TV, and otherwise it doesn’t have to be paid?
Then cable would be clearly cheaper with 75 EUR (about 75 USD) for the last mile. Otherwise slightly more expensive.
Has anyone faced a similar decision? What did you decide and why?
Thank you!
If it’s purely about TV, then satellite is definitely an option. Simple and cost-effective.
It really depends on viewing habits. Until recently, I would have always leaned towards satellite, but nowadays I mostly watch online, and that number keeps growing. So it’s always important to consider a LAN connection as well.
It really depends on viewing habits. Until recently, I would have always leaned towards satellite, but nowadays I mostly watch online, and that number keeps growing. So it’s always important to consider a LAN connection as well.
Gartenfreund schrieb:
For us, satellite is not just a fallback solution. Just to clarify: This is about internet via satellite. Satellite is fine for TV only, but with fast internet, it can usually be skipped.
As a forum contributor, I’m happy to share the results of our considerations:
- Only fiber optic FTTH (fiber to the home) provides the full bandwidth directly into the house of over 1000 Mbit, making it the most future-proof internet option. We preferred to avoid cable mainly due to cost.
In the end, we chose television over IP. This way, we don’t have to install cable or satellite connections at all, which also saves on the electrical work needed to run TV cables inside the house. Any TV can be used anywhere in the house, and we are “only” dependent on a good internet connection. We see that fulfilled by fiber optic.
If the internet goes down, of course everything would be lost—but we can live with that!
- Only fiber optic FTTH (fiber to the home) provides the full bandwidth directly into the house of over 1000 Mbit, making it the most future-proof internet option. We preferred to avoid cable mainly due to cost.
In the end, we chose television over IP. This way, we don’t have to install cable or satellite connections at all, which also saves on the electrical work needed to run TV cables inside the house. Any TV can be used anywhere in the house, and we are “only” dependent on a good internet connection. We see that fulfilled by fiber optic.
If the internet goes down, of course everything would be lost—but we can live with that!
We didn’t want to rely on just one system. TV is therefore via satellite. That has worked perfectly for about 30 years now. Same again in the new build. Landline and internet are through fiber. This is available here and works great. Downside: it’s tied to Telekom. No other provider can supply us here. Some sort of 10-year contracts. Doesn’t matter. In addition, pay TV and streaming services are accessed through an Apple TV box. Also works perfectly via Wi-Fi. Costs 15 euros per month extra, including Apple Music.
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Pumpernickel130 Dec 2021 10:44Gartenfreund schrieb:
This just shows how different opinions can be.
For us, satellite is not just a makeshift solution.
@Pumpernickel1
You’re right that the costs only occur once (apart from some electricity costs for a possible multiswitch). And regarding repair costs, these are also very low.
Our current satellite system has been installed here for 20 years, and this year I had to replace the multiswitch (power supply defect, the voltage regulator also damaged it somewhat, possibly other components defective as well) as well as the two LNBs (Astra and Hotbird).
Material costs were about 140 euros. If I had chosen a cheaper multiswitch, it would have been only about 110 euros.
Just take a look at which channels are offered by your cable provider and how the situation is with satellite.
Also keep in mind that a cable operator might drop one or another channel from time to time.
PS.
In our neighborhood, several people have switched from cable to satellite in recent years. I spoke with some of them, and they always told me that cable was simply too expensive for them. Thanks for all the replies. Now things are a bit clearer. All these terms are new to me. Somehow, it has all passed me by since we’ve never had any issues with satellite before.
In our new development, the telecom provider is installing fiber optic with up to 1000 Mbit/s (about 620 Mbps). So theoretically, IPTV or TV streaming wouldn’t be a problem. What kind of connection or speed do you need at minimum if, for example, TV is watched in three rooms and someone is simultaneously browsing the internet on a smartphone? Paying for 1000 Mbit/s still comes with a quite high monthly fee.
We have already ruled out cable. The ongoing monthly costs are simply too high for us to accept over a lifetime.
Therefore, we will initially choose satellite. We’re curious to see what it will cost through the electrician. But presumably, the expenses will have paid off in about 3 to 5 years compared to cable or IPTV. Of course, you will have maintenance costs over the years as well, but they should be manageable. We mainly watch traditional TV and only about 20% Netflix. So for us, TV via streaming is still a bit far off.
Later on, we can always switch to IPTV (telecom) or TV streaming services (like Zattoo, waipu, etc.).
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