Fiber optics have revolutionized everything from medicine to Christmas tree lights, but their biggest transformation involves communications.
Today, Medina County residents have a choice of internet access providers, from satellite services to cable companies to 5G mobile service to traditional and fiber optic internet service providers (ISPs). Of these, fiber internet providers have some clear advantages. Shelley Young, Medina Fiber’s customer service manager, puts it this way, “A fiber connection is 20 times faster than traditional internet service.
With fiber, you get a dedicated line to your home, so you do not ‘share’ your data with other users. The experience you’re going to get with a fiber connection is far superior to some of the outdated copper line solutions or even wireless or satellite services.
Reliability is also better. That’s a point Medina Fiber customers have mentioned repeatedly when sharing their experience. Shelley explains why: “No electricity flows through fiber optic lines, so it’s not susceptible to electrical interference. It’s also not affected by harsh weather conditions the way traditional infrastructure is.” That means no more interrupted Zoom meetings and fewer rebooted modems to restore the signal when it gets stormy outside.
Bridging the Digital Divide
Urban spaces have enjoyed having the option of multiple high-speed internet service providers for some time. For a largely rural area like Medina County, having access to fiber internet is a huge step forward for communities. A fiber connection can also increase your home value on average by 3-5%.
Medina Fiber’s slogan sums it up as bridging the digital divide. “It means offering high-speed internet to areas that don’t currently have access to it,” Shelley says. “With COVID, we have seen an increasing need for high-speed internet, with people working from home, attending school at home, and even ‘visiting’ the doctor over the internet,” she explained. ”Fiber is no longer a luxury. It’s a necessity for people, like their electric, water, or gas service.”
But how is Medina Fiber different from other fiber internet companies? Medina Fiber provides symmetrical upload and download speeds directly into your home without sharing your signal with the entire neighborhood. Symmetrical upload and download speeds mean everything you receive or send travels at the same speed. Traditional services only provide asymmetrical bandwidth, which means you can download data much faster than you can upload it. But upload speed is equally as important as download speed, especially since it’s used for everything from streaming video calls and conferences to file or photo sharing on the cloud. Without symmetrical speeds, your internet experience will be unfavorable.
The Local Difference
Unlike some of the corporate incumbent ISPs, Medina Fiber doesn’t put limits on people’s services and doesn’t try to lock customers into contracts. Its hometown approach is evident in the way it serves the community. “We know many of our customers by name,” Shelley says. “I’ve made many house calls to help them with items not even related to their internet service. We offer educational ‘streaming 101’ classes to the public to teach them the technology and how to stream their favorite TV channels through a streaming provider.”
Medina Fiber promises no price increases until at least 2042, no data caps, and no ”bait and switch” pricing. A local community network, Medina Fiber has a small-town feel but a ‘big city’ connection. Find out if Medina Fiber is available on your street.