OnlineNW Fiber is now available to customers within city limits.

The OnlineNW Fiber Network consists of miles of fiber optic cables. Inside these cables there are many strands of fiber optic cables, about as thin as a human hair. We use one single strand of fiber to deliver data at speeds up to 1 Gbps (1000Mbps), roughly 100 times faster than the average home in the US today.

If you are on the Internet, you are using fiber for some portion of your connection. Both DSL and cable modem system networks rely heavily on fiber for parts of their network, but the actual connection to your house (frequently called the ‘last mile‘) uses copper phone lines or coaxial cable lines. The bottleneck generally occurs over the last-mile.

Neither phone lines or cable can offer the speeds we need to remain competitive in the digital economy. DSL over phone lines is limited by distance; the signal degrades for those living more than 1 mile away from the central office. Even for those living close to a central office, the top speeds are not comparable to speeds commonly offered with an all fiber connection.

Cable systems tend to offer faster download speeds than DSL but cable systems use a shared network to cover the last mile. In most situations, the loop is shared by many houses. If a few of them are hogs, everyone’s performance suffers.

The OnlineNW fiber network offers the fastest speeds at prices similar or below the prices you are currently paying for slower speeds.

A Typical 4K Video stream use up to 15Mbps per stream. Typical YouTube and FaceBook videos use up to 10Mbps per stream. Many XBox One and PS4 games are more than 10GB in size, and some as much as 50GB. The typical speed complaint is because of multiple users in the home. A typical OnlineNW Fiber connected home will use video streaming for TV with a service like Hulu, Sling, or ESPN. Each video stream will consume bandwidth. The minimum recommended speed is our Value package for most Internet uses today. If you plan to Cut the Cord and watch TV through your internet connection, or do a lot of gaming, the Power or Turbo plan is recommended.

There are several options for watching TV other than through a cable subscription. The first option is the simplest one, which is by using a HD antenna.  This solution doesn’t provide a way to watch streaming videos, but if you only want to watch live TV, it’s the cheapest way to go.  You can get a good HD antenna for less than $40, and there are no subscription fees.  However, your channel selection depends a lot on where you live.  You may want to check with surrounding neighbors to see what others in your area are able to receive.

If you want to take advantage of streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and so forth, you’ll need a way to display them on your TV.  If you have a smart TV these apps are usually built in.  If not, setting up your TV for streaming is still be simple and inexpensive.  Some of the most popular devices are Roku, Google Chromecast, Xbox One and Apple TV.

There are more expensive, but more comprehensive, streaming services known as cable replacements.  These services include Sling TV and Playstation Vue.  These stream live channels in real time over the Internet.  Sling TV carries multiple ESPN stations, plus Cartoon Network, TBS, Bloomberg, CNN, History and dozens of others.  You can also record programs to watch later just like you would with a cable DVR box.

DirecTV and Dish Network both offer similar channel packages, DVR recording and video on demand services like cable.  OnlineNW can explain their current packages and promotions and can also install their services.

Wireless routers are not provided as part of our standard fiber optic installation.  We will happily support your existing router solution, recommend the most popular router solutions or provide a wireless router solution for an additional fee.  

For a standard installation there is no connection fee.  A standard connection consists of an underground conduit installation of 150 feet or less from the nearest fiber access point to an exterior wall location on the first floor of your home or an aerial installation from the nearest fiber access point to an exterior wall location.  If your existing service comes in overhead, then we will most likely use the same access method.  If you have special requirements, we will be glad to review those with you. Custom installations will be quoted before installation begins.

Since the fiber optic technology that we use is much more advanced than the copper wires maintained by the cable and telephone companies, OnlineNW Fiber service is not subject to the slowdowns that you might have experienced with cable Internet (e.g. in the evening when lots of people are trying to get online). The OnlineNW Fiber network is engineered from the ground up for reliable Internet service.

OnlineNW Fiber speeds are symmetric, they operate at the same speed when downloading or uploading. Cable and DSL are asymmetric, they operate at a slower speed when uploading than when downloading, usually 1/10th the speed.

The upload portion of your bandwidth is very important, especially when working from home, backing up to the iCloud, Gaming, Video Conferencing, and emailing large files. We don’t restrict that portion of your bandwidth like they do.

Our home phone system is a digital system. When using analog services on a digital system, there can be some issues. Many alarm systems offer a cellular backup. We actually recommend this over a landline, because it is wireless and can’t be cut. Customers should share with us any and all services and devices that currently depend on an analog (copper) connection.  We are happy to work with you to determine the best solution for your individual needs.