Some recent and surprising statistics indicate just how much time the typical American between the ages of 16 and 64 spends online each day: an average of six hours and 40 minutes! Of course, there are many internet activities that have become simply essential to more and more people every day—and these online activities require the speed and reliability that only fiber internet can provide.
While older forms of internet like cable or DSL may have been sufficient for early internet usages like basic emailing, web-browsing and simplistic social media, modern internet usage requires much more download and upload speeds to work effectively and reliably. And today, nothing outperforms fiber internet. Below we discuss five increasingly common—and vital—online activities and uses that really need fiber to thrive.
- Remote Work
It’s hardly breaking news that remote work is on the rise—and getting more and more popular. Indeed, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center report, more than a third of all workers who work remotely do so full-time. But remote working is only an option with a proper internet setup. Indeed, inferior internet and its poor bandwidth and lack of bountiful upload speeds can lead to conference call distortions and delays, presentation snafus, and even the basic inability to access and upload documents, records and more.
While employers have become accustomed to the remote working trend over the years, they do usually require remaining in consistent contact through clear and freeze-free conference calls and quick access to company servers and large, secure files. Having a reliable, stable, and fast internet connection like fiber is a must for remote workers to be the dependable staff members their employers are counting on.
- Online Learning
Online education is booming in America today. There are more opportunities to get a two or even four-year college degree than ever before. And many technical and trade programs now exist online to provide training and even certification for well-paying jobs.
To take full advantage of online education requires a steady internet connection that won’t let learners down in a crunch. Fiber’s generous bandwidth enables easy viewing of live streams of classes or pre-recorded videos. And students can fully participate in webinars and other online video conferences with fiber’s super-fast download and upload speeds.
- Telehealth
One of the biggest innovations in the healthcare industry over the past 10 years is the massive expansion of telehealth. Through telehealth, doctors, physician’s assistants, and nurse practitioners help assess patient needs much faster—and without the patient needing to leave their home (or even their sick bed).
Telehealth consultations also help doctors make critical decisions about whether a patient needs to be rushed to the emergency room (or if less urgent or even at-home treatment is needed instead). And telehealth appointments speed up medication refills and other prescription needs, saving both patient and doctor significant time.
Obviously, a medical care professional’s evaluation will only be as valuable as the ability to communicate with, view, and assess the patient at the time of the telehealth consultation. In fact many doctors won’t even conduct a consultation under poor internet conditions, much less even make a diagnosis or write a prescription. That’s why fiber internet’s reliable service and hefty bandwidth is crucial to ensuring clear, distortion-free medical assessments for worthwhile treatment.
- Video Calling
Staying in touch with loved ones can be difficult even in the best of times. And with so many families split up across the country, it can be hard to see each other face-to-face. Video calling using FaceTime, Zoom and similar apps brings people together in ways families only dreamed of decades ago.
But without a reliable internet connection like fiber, video calling can be a frustrating experience. Fiber’s high bandwidth capacity and greater download and upload speeds allow more data to transfer between you and your loved ones during video calls. That means smoother, clearer video calling and far less distortions and frozen screens. In short, fiber helps you stay better connected no matter how far apart you are from each other!
- Gaming
Of course, the internet is for much more than just communication, work, health, and learning—it’s also for having fun, too! And one of the most invigorating ways to enjoy the internet is through online gaming, particularly competing against friends. Online gaming has experienced explosive growth over the last several years, with more than 1.17 billion online gamers as of 2021 and an estimated 3.07 billion in 2023!
With so many opportunities to enjoy games in different genres from racing to strategy to farming to puzzle and mystery solving, people of all ages have discovered the pleasures of online gaming. And only fiber has download speeds at nearly the speed of light and enormous bandwidth capacity gamers need to test their mettle and triumph over their fellow players without the fear of lag, pixelation or dropped connections that plague inferior forms of internet.
These are just some of the ways Alpine Communications’ advanced fiber network enhances your internet experience and makes life both more productive and enriching. Whatever your online needs, whether for business, leisure, health or staying connected to loved ones, Alpine Communications’ fiber is there for you.