Why Fiber Internet Outclasses 5G
You can’t escape the noise. Every commercial break is a barrage of polished ads telling you that 5G is here, it’s magic, and it solves everything. The marketing teams at the big national carriers want you to believe wireless is the future because it’s cheaper for them to deploy. But as engineers, we look at the physics, not the press release. We are skipping the sales pitch to look at the physics. Here is exactly why fiber wins, and why 5G just can’t compete.
Fiber Internet
Fiber isn’t just “better” cable. It is a completely different medium. While legacy networks rely on copper wiring from the 90s, fiber internet uses light.
It allows for speeds that physically outclass wireless alternatives, taking your streaming, gaming, and working to a level that radio waves simply can’t match. With Connect Northwest’s 10 Gig Symmetrical fiber, you experience unlimited bandwidth. You can run a full smart home, multiple 4K streams, and video conferences simultaneously without the network breaking a sweat.
In contrast, 5G is a wireless technology working across three radio frequency bands (low, mid, and high). It is designed for density and mobility, not for the heavy lifting of a modern household. The “high-band” frequencies required for fast speeds are incredibly fragile, while the low bands are often no faster than basic LTE.
The Engineering of Fiber
To understand why fiber is the only future-proof technology, you have to look at the build. Fiber networks are comprised of hair-thin strands of glass. This glass acts as a waveguide for light, transmitting data over long distances with almost zero signal loss.
Because we are transmitting light rather than electricity or radio waves, the signal is immune to the electromagnetic interference that plagues other connection types. It doesn’t matter if you are next to a power station or a microwave; the light stays pure.
Fiber Advantage #1: Latency (The Gamer’s Metric)
Speed is how much data you can move; latency is how fast it gets there. This is where fiber shines.
Latency is the delay in transmission time. If you are day-trading stocks, gaming competitively, or trying to have a Zoom conversation without talking over your boss, latency matters more than raw speed. Because fiber uses light in a contained medium, the physics allow for near-instantaneous travel. A Connect Northwest fiber connection typically operates with sub-5ms latency. 5G, which has to process signals through the air and bounce between towers, simply cannot compete on this metric.
Fiber Advantage #2: Upload Speeds Just as Fast as Download Speeds
The “Big Tech” monoliths love to sell you “Gigabit” speeds, but they usually only mean download speeds. Their upload speeds are often strangled.
Fiber is symmetrical by design. Our 10 Gig fiber offers 10,000 Mbps up and 10,000 Mbps down. This capacity is due to the massive bandwidth potential of optical glass. Researchers have already scaled fiber transmission to speeds exceeding 1 Petabit per second in lab environments. There is currently no wireless or wireline copper system that comes anywhere close to this ceiling.
Fiber is “future-proof.” Once we dig that glass into the ground to your house, upgrading your speed is just a matter of swapping the electronics at the ends. The expensive, hard work is already done.
Mobile Internet vs. Home Internet
We know mobile wireless is essential for your phone. It allows you to check email while walking the dog. But 5G home internet is an attempt to use a mobile solution for a stationary problem.
5G transmitters work similarly to Wi-Fi but on a larger scale. They provide service to open areas. However, unlike fiber, wireless signals degrade rapidly over distance. To cover a neighborhood with “high-band” (fast) 5G, carriers have to deploy massive amounts of equipment. And even then, they are fighting a losing battle against the environment.
5G Disadvantage #1: Chaos in the Airwaves
5G promises better latency than 4G, but it is still subject to the laws of physics. Sending data through the air requires complex encoding and error correction that adds delay.
While 5G is an improvement for mobile phones, it is a step backward for home internet users accustomed to wired reliability. The “air interface”—the gap between the tower and your house—is a chaotic environment full of noise and interference. Fiber is a closed, protected highway.
5G Disadvantage #2: The Washington Factor (Inconsistent Speeds)
Here is the reality of living in the Pacific Northwest: We have trees. We have hills. We have rain.
5G struggles with all three.
High-frequency 5G waves (millimeter wave) are notoriously bad at penetrating obstacles. They have a hard time passing through modern UV-coated windows, walls, and specifically, wet foliage. In a lab in a dry state, 5G looks great. In a rainy neighborhood in Pierce County surrounded by Douglas Firs, it fails.
This leads to the “5G Shuffle”—your modem constantly bouncing between high speeds (which are blocked by trees) and low speeds (which can penetrate walls but are slow). Connect Northwest fiber doesn’t care if it’s raining. It doesn’t care if there is a tree in your yard. It just works.
The Clear Winner
Technology evolves, but the laws of physics don’t change. Fiber internet is the only medium that scales to the future needs of Washington homes and businesses.
5G is a fantastic technology for your phone when you are walking down the street. But for your home, it is a compromise. Connect Northwest builds networks that don’t compromise. We deliver the raw speed of light, built by locals, for locals.
Pre-register your address now so you are the first to know when 10 Gig fiber hits your street.
