ID10T Techcast

Fiber powered is a lie: how ISPs sell you coax and call it glass

• Tyler Woodward • Episode 41

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0:00 | 38:00

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There's a box on my basement wall where light turns into internet, and most people paying for "fiber" don't have anything close to it. I break down the term "fiber powered," why Spectrum is selling coax as if it's the real thing, and how the FTTH, FTTN, FTTC alphabet soup exists to hide exactly where your fiber connection actually stops.

I also get into the AT&T versus Spectrum lawsuit, because AT&T is suing Charter over the fiber powered branding and they're not wrong. But AT&T pulled the same trick with fake 5G labels on 4G phones a few years back, so nobody in this fight is innocent. I explain what HFC networks are, why your upload speed gets choked on shared coax, and what the fine print is actually admitting when you read it closely.

This is a consumer rights problem dressed up as a tech story. If you're paying for internet every month, you deserve to know what wire is actually running to your house.

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