Telecommunications: Internet technology
Note: this page will not cover cell phone companies, as there is already a separate page on that.
The 3 types of Internet:
In 2022, about 49% of U.S. homes subscribe to cable Internet, then about 21% fiber Internet, then DSL at 13%, then mobile wireless at 12%. About 43% of U.S. households have access to fiber Internet connection. The world's largest produced of optical fiber, as well as the largest manufacturer of fiber cable in North America, is Corning, with its manufacturing plant in North Carolina. Corning was most famous for making Gorilla Glass for the 1st iPhones in 2007.
Fiber-optic Internet is a type of broadband Internet, which the Federal Communications Commission defines as any Internet service which delivers download speeds of at least 25 megabits/second or upload speeds of at least 3 megabits/second. DSL (digital subscriber line) delivers Internet over traditional copper telephone lines. Cable delivers via coaxial cables, which are thicker and can carry more data at faster speeds compared to traditional copper telephone lines used for DSL. However, DSL is usually available in rural areas, while cable is usually available in urban areas.
Coaxial cable is used as a transmission line for radio frequency signals. Coaxial cable conducts electrical signals using an inner conductor (usually a solid copper, stranded copper or copper-plated steel wire) surrounded by an insulating layer and all enclosed by a shield, typically 1 to 4 layers of woven metallic braid and metallic tape. The best coaxial cable impedances were experimentally determined at Bell Laboratories in 1929 to be 77 Ω for low-attenuation, 60 Ω for high-voltage, and 30 Ω for high-power. Coaxial cable was used in the 1st (1858) and following transatlantic cable installations, but its theory was not described until 1880 by English physicist, engineer, and mathematician Oliver Heaviside, who patented the design in that year.
Which type of Internet is faster?
For cable Internet and DSL, both has asymmetrical speeds, where upload speeds may be slower compared to download speeds. For fiber optic Internet this is different, where the upload and download speeds are the same or very similar, called symmetrical. However, assymetric fiber plans do exist.
Wi-Fi speeds can vary, and the concept of asymmetrical speeds is not specific to Wi-Fi itself but more to the type of internet connection it is connected to. If the underlying internet connection (such as cable or DSL) has asymmetrical speeds, then the Wi-Fi network will inherit those characteristics.
History of telecommunications corporations.
Charter Communications, Inc., with services branded as Spectrum, has 32 million customers in 2022 (or 26 million in 2017) in 41 states, is the largest cable operator in the U.S. by subscribers, just ahead of Comcast, and the largest pay TV operator ahead of Comcast and AT&T. Charter is also the 5th-largest telephone provider based on number of residential lines.
2017: top 5 largest cable operators in the U.S., by subscribers, and not by revenue.
1. Comcast Corporation (Xfinity)
2. Charter Communications, Inc. (Spectrum)
3. AT&T
4. Verizon
5. CenturyLink
6. Cox Communications
7. Altice USA (which includes Optimum and Suddenlink)
8. Mediacom Communications Corporation
9. Frontier Communications
10. Windstream Communications
On April 28, 2014, Comcast and Charter announced that, assuming Comcast's merger with Time Warner Cable was successful, Charter would acquire 1.4 million Comcast/Time Warner Cable customers, bringing Charter's subscriber total to 30 million and making Charter, by its own count, the 2nd-largest cable operator in the country. However, facing potential difficulties in reaching regulatory approval, Comcast called off its merger with Time Warner Cable in April 2015. On May 26, 2015, Charter and Time Warner Cable announced that they had entered into a definitive agreement for Charter to merge with Time Warner Cable in a deal valued at $78.7 billion. Charter also confirmed that it would continue with its proposed acquisition of Bright House Networks under slightly modified terms. The merger was completed on May 18, 2016. The purchase made Charter the 4rd-largest pay television company in the U.S., behind AT&T and Comcast (the former having completed its merger with DirecTV in mid-2015).
In 1999, Charter acquired more than 10 major companies, such as Falcon Cable TV of Los Angeles. Falcon was the 8th-largest cable operator in the U.S. with about 1 million subscribers in 27 states in primarily non-urban areas.
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On May 22, 2017, RCN Corporation (based in Princeton), Wave Broadband, and Grande Communications (based in San Marcos) announced the combination of the 3 companies to create the 6th largest cable operator across 7 of the 10 top U.S. cities. They were to be acquired by TPG Capital (Texas Pacific Group) for $2.36 billion. That is, TPG bought RCN for $1.6 billion and Grande for $650 million. RCN provides services along the East Coast and in Chicago similar to those of Wave, while Grande operated throughout Texas. The acquisition was completed on Jan. 24, 2018. In Nov. 2020, Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners announced that it would acquire Astound Broadband, from TPG, for $3.6 billion in a leveraged buyout that included an additional $4.5 billion of debt.
History of cable systems.
In 1948, the 1st cable systems are founded. Then in 1951, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), the principal trade association for the U.S. cable industry, is founded. In 1964, Newhouse begins operating cable systems with the purchase of its 1st system in Alabama, branding it NewChannels, and in 1979, Newhouse forms 2nd cable company, MetroVision, in partnership with former Cox executives. In 1989, Time Warner Inc. forms through merger of Warner Communications and Time Inc.
News.
6/23/2025.
Chinese scientists have reportedly achieved a breakthrough in satellite communication, transmitting data at 1 Gigabit per second using a 2-watt laser from a geostationary satellite, which is 5x faster than Starlink's typical speeds. This experiment, conducted from a high altitude of 36,000 kilometers, demonstrates the potential for ultra-fast, low-power laser-based internet from space. This breakthrough suggests a future where laser-based communication could surpass current satellite internet technologies, potentially revolutionizing global data networks and offering faster, more efficient internet access, especially in remote areas.