However much they give us, we will always want more…
It does not matter whether we are talking about minutes of calls, the number of SMS messages, data traffic or internet speeds. It is in human nature, and in the nature of technology, that sooner or later we want to aim a little higher than usual.
Take internet speed, for example. Today we have various speed tests at our disposal which — make no mistake — have also contributed to creating a hungrier and more demanding customer. We used to be satisfied with what we had, however much that was, primarily because we did not actually know how much we had; we were grateful to have at least something and had no idea how long it would take before we could have something better and stronger.
That "damned" technology…
Multimedia is to blame for everything, Torrent stirred it all up a hundredfold, and social networks nailed it. Internet over classic telephone lines (DSL) has for some time been unable to cope with all that volume of content, and customer demands and complaints on DSL are increasingly running wild.
Fibre is therefore becoming a "sought-after commodity", although the vast majority of average users do not even know the key advantages of optical cables compared with copper wires or pairs. Without much philosophising and throwing around IT jargon, let us note that they allow the transfer of a considerably larger amount of information and do so incomparably faster than a copper pair.
Then there is the signal, which is noticeably more stable, and what customers will certainly welcome is the fact that they are not sensitive to water or high or low temperatures. No more "it-rains-and-we-lose-internet-and-television" situations. The infrastructure is also lighter and smaller, so the price of the service can be far more adaptable to customers than is the case with a copper pair. In fact, type "fibre infrastructure" or "advantages of optical cables" into Google and in a few seconds everything will be clear.
Is internet speed higher with the big players?
Still, it is hard for a customer to think in the "currency" of fibre; they are only interested in what conditions they can get and which operator can provide them. Besides, we are witnessing continuous consolidation of the telecom market, so the customer is understandable. It is normal to turn to the biggest players, because one is sceptical of the smaller ones.
One of the domestic telecom operators that can offer high download and upload speeds on its own fibre is Terrakom. A relatively young player (2010), but with more than 120 kilometres of FTTH and FTTB optical cables in Zagreb and Sesvete. The company says that it considers internet over its own hybrid fibre-coaxial network to be its premium service, for private as well as business customers.
Download speeds reach a dizzying 100 Mbit/s, while upload goes up to 20 Mbit/s. All of it comes with guaranteed unlimited internet access (flat rate), and the service is also available on its own, i.e. without a fixed telephone line.
*article originally published on the portal Racunalo.com (23 November 2015)