When the Internet was first introduced on the consumer market, the only option available was a dial-up connection. Then, when companies realized that people wanted to be able to talk on the phone at the same time as they used the Internet, cable companies began offering Internet service through existing cable lines. Around the same time, telephone companies came up with a way to compete by offering DSL service. Both offered comparable service at about the same price.

Now that the Internet is being used mostly for multi-media downloads, the need for higher speed is ever increasing. T1 and T3 connections offer super-high speed connections to businesses, but aren't widely available to the consumer market. In order to meet the demands of increasing bandwidth needs, consumers are beginning to look towards fiber.

Traditionally, fiber connections were only available to businesses that needed to transfer high volumes of data on a daily basis. But this need is no longer exclusively owned by businesses. Surfing traditional Web pages no longer holds consumers' interest for very long. Music, video and multi-media are now downloaded on a regular basis.

With increased consumer demand for speed and the ability to handle more bandwidth, a new form of Internet connection is emerging on the market. It's called fiber-based ADSL.

Fiber-based ADSL offers many advantages over traditional ADSL service. Currently it is used primarily to access international Web sites at high speeds and is mainly used for downloading large media files such as music and movies. It also makes streaming music and videos extremely easy and fast. There are many other advantages of fiber-based ADSL:

High-speeds - using fiber wires allows you to transfer information at a greater speed than traditional copper wires.

Greater bandwidth - because fiber wires are able to carry more information than copper wires, using fiber, you'll be able to get much better bandwidth than with traditional ADSL or cable.

No crosstalk - this refers to what happens when two lines are running next to each other and create an undesirable effect on the user such as static or other Internet 'noise.' This can happen with traditional copper wires and sometimes even cable. However, with fiber wires there is no concern of crosstalk, even if the wires run for considerable distances.

Low Latency - Any avid gamer knows the importance of avoiding latency. Somehow it just ruins the gaming experience when your character is waddling around the screen like a duck or moves at the pace of a turtle when it needs to run like a cheetah. With a fiber connection, you won't have to worry about your game being choppy and hard to play. The fact that fiber-based ADSL runs at such high speeds, latency isn't a problem.

No Sparks - while this isn't a concern for the average home user, fiber wires can be safely used in flammable areas. Copper wires have a tendency to cause sparks when they come in contact with other metals. So if the wire is running through a highly flammable area, you run the risk of causing explosions. Since fiber wires don't spark, this risk is eliminated.

High electrical resistance - Another feature that may only be needed by military or large corporations, fiber-based ADSL has a high electrical resistance. What this means is that fiber cables can be safely used in close proximity to high-voltage equipment without a problem.

While there are many benefits of fiber-based ADSL, one of the major drawbacks of this service is the price. Since installing fiber requires running a new line from the service provider into your home, a fiber connection is costly. In most instances the traditional ADSL service works fine for most people's needs, even taking into consideration the amount of movies and music most people download these days. So unless you're an avid gamer and love to download tons of other media, fiber-based ADSL probably isn't necessary and traditionally ADSL will more than meet your needs.