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Gigabit Beyond

What is Gigabit Beyond?

StratusIQ’s “Gigabit Beyond” services are Internet bandwidth packages with speeds that exceed traditional 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps). We currently offer two Gigabit Beyond packages which are 2.5 Gigabit and 10 Gigabit. These packages are symmetrical which means the download and upload speeds are the same.

Internet speeds of more than 1 Gigabit are not widely available in the market today, which means many consumer devices (routers, phones, tablets, computers, TVs, etc.) may not be able to support speeds above 1Gbps.

Because Gigabit Beyond Internet speeds are the fastest on the residential market there are some prerequisites customers must learn about:

Gigabit Beyond requires different equipment

Installation of Gigabit Beyond requires an indoor XGSPON Optical Network Terminal (ONT) at a customer’s home. This requires bringing fiber into the home and not just to the outside. Existing customers who upgrade to Gigabit Beyond will require an additional in-home installation with associated fees. Customers using the Stratus-phere Smart Wi-Fi service will require an equipment swap when upgrading to Gigabit Beyond.

Gigabit Beyond uses new technology

The technology used to deliver Gigabit Beyond is different than services up to 1Gbps from StratusIQ and puts some additional constraints on compatible products. Customers that also have TV service from StratusIQ will need to be on the new StratusIQ Fiber TV streaming platform. This platform is app based, does not require a set top box, includes Video on Demand (VOD) and Cloud based DVR service.  Stratus-phere Smart Wi-Fi service is recommended for the best quality for the StratusIQ Fiber TV platform.

In-Home Wiring is Important

To fully utilize the Gigabit Beyond service, customers are strongly encouraged to verify what type of wiring is within their home (in-home wiring). Cat 6 ethernet is recommended because it can transfer up to 10 Gigabits of data across your wired in-home network per second. Cat 5e can transfer 10 Gigabits of data per second but has distance limitations which will affect high speed throughput and can act as a bottleneck in your in-home wired network. Cat 3 wiring is not capable of transmitting these speeds at any distance. Line quality can also play a factor.  

All routers are not the same

Very few consumer-grade routers are 10Gbps capable. Stratus-phere smart Wi-Fi systems have up to 1Gbps WAN ports with Wi-Fi 5. StratusIQ has tested a variety of routers that are branded as 10 Gigabit ready and recommends that customers purchase an ASUS-RT-AX89X AX6000, QNAP QHora-301W or equivalent if not using the Stratus-phere Smart Wi-Fi service. Stratus-phere smart Wi-Fi service can also connect on the back side of these routers.  These routers have 10Gbps capable WAN ports, Wi-Fi 6, and CPU processing power to transfer 10 Gigabit data rates. All three of these aspects are required so a router does not act as a bottleneck in 10 Gigabit data transfer. Some routers may have 10Gbps capable ports, but their CPU processing cannot keep up with 10Gbps data processing.  Stratus-phere Smart Wi-Fi service is recommended for the best quality for the StratusIQ Fiber TV platform.

Very few consumer computing devices are 10Gbps capable

Consumers access the internet on a variety of devices including gaming consoles, smart phones, tablets, laptops, and computers. Many of these connect through Wi-Fi which has a variety of standards for throughput. Many Laptops today do not even have Ethernet ports for 1Gbps.

Use a hardwired connection

Directly connecting your devices to your network via a Cat 6 ethernet cable is recommended for best performance results. Wi-Fi technology is catching up, but you will still likely see better speeds if you plug a Cat 6 ethernet cable directly into your computer. 

Check your adapter

Many laptops that are produced today do not have ethernet ports. StratusIQ has tested a variety of ethernet adaptors and recommends that our customers use a Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 ethernet adaptor to connect their devices to their wired in-home network. USB based adapters do add data overhead that will affect data transfer and bandwidth speed to the device. 

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ ac standards

Just like the move from single band to dual-band that took place more than a decade ago, Wi-Fi 6E is now moving from dual-band to tri-band for more throughput.  A Wi-Fi 6E device will need to have these three bands (2.4GHz + 5GHz + 6GHz) to work with all Wi-Fi devices and transmit maximum speed. Not to be confused with traditional dual-band routers (be it a Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6 one) which have an additional 5GHz band purely to add extra bandwidth (2.4GHz + 5GHz). When a Cat 6 or hardline adapter is not available, Wi-Fi 6E is recommended for the next best performance.

Network Standards and overhead are different for Gigabit Beyond service

StratusIQ delivers Gigabit Beyond service up to 10Gbps using XGSPON as defined in ITU G.987 network standards. Symmetrical 10Gbps using XGSPON is defined in G.9807.1.  These XGSPON network standards rely on Forward Error Correction (FEC) to increase the power budget, achieve the required distance, and split ratios for residential service. The FEC is essential for the technology to perform but can require up to 15% network overhead on a 10Gbps connection. This will affect actual throughput and testing even under the best network conditions.

Pushing Technological Boundaries

StratusIQ’s Gigabit Beyond service is pushing the technology boundaries to deliver 10Gbps residential service with XGSPON. There are numerous challenges with network standards, wiring, consumer devices, LAN (Local Area Network) ports and Wi-Fi Standards that customers must be aware of and will need to accommodate within their home.

Understanding these details will ensure customers get the most value from the Gigabit Beyond Service.

See what you can achieve with Fiber Internet from StratusIQ.

StratusIQ is El Paso County’s premier Internet Service Provider. We are locally owned and operated and were founded in 2003 with the sole focus of building a better fiber network. StratusIQ’s wholly owned Fiber-to-the-Premises network brings high-speed Internet, voice, and TV service to the greater Colorado Springs area.

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