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Copper phone lines vs fibre and VoIP

Today we rely on fibre like we used to rely on copper.

Since the late 1800s, shortly after the telephone was invented, landlines relied on copper to transmit sound. Switchboard operators were in high demand and rotary diallers were all the rage. Our communications technology was quite a different scene a hundred years ago.

Today’s phones

Fast forward to today and the operators, rotary diallers and chunky corded phones are all gone. Today’s phones can text, pay for things like parking and dial a number with one-touch programming, along with loads of other handy features.

Copper vs VoIP

More and more businesses are taking advantage of the latest communications technology and in particular, experiencing the benefits of a fibre service over a copper one. Besides offering the ability to streamline office operations with customised phone features, fibre offers robust savings on phone calling rates, and that’s not all.

Fibre offers greater security (it is extremely difficult to tap a fibre line) and the tiny hair-like strands of fibre offer far greater transmission speeds. Switching to fibre, or VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) simply means moving from copper wires to fibre and changing your phone services from a copper cable to the internet.

You’ll already know the difference it made when you changed your internet from dial-up to fibre, right? VoIP offers the same fundamental benefits to your phones: faster, clearer communications and more flexibility.

If you’re thinking of switching from copper to fibre, take a look through the pros and cons below.

Copper landline Fibre/VoIP
Speed Limited to ADSL or VDSL (1-30Mbps) Ranges from 30-1000Mbps
Capacity Around 3,000 calls Around 31,000 calls
Security Calls can be intercepted Incredibly difficult to intercept a fibre data transmission
Service Analogue; requires expensive PABX phone system Digital; better quality and many more features
Interruption of service Copper lines break. Parts of the network are old and vulnerable to performance issues in bad weather Service interruptions can happen when the internet is down (though this can be recovered by redirecting to your mobile)
Safety Old or worn copper is a fire hazard Cloud based, more secure
Call quality Compromised over longer distances Superior clarity

 

We think (and we’re not the only ones) fibre optic cable is far superior to copper cable in just about every way and any downsides are far outweighed by the benefits.

Want to know more about how fibre and VoIP can benefit your business? Give us a call and we’ll walk you through it: 0800 303 202.

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