Fibre, Ethernet or Radio: Choosing the Right Local Loop Technology
The best last-mile technology for a site depends on what is available in the street, how much bandwidth you need and how quickly you need it. Here is how the main options compare.
Fibre
- Highest capacity — easily upgraded to 10 Gbps and beyond
- Low latency and immune to electrical interference
- Delivery can take weeks if new civil work or permissions are needed
Copper Ethernet
- Useful within buildings and campuses over short distances
- Limited reach and capacity compared with fibre
- Mostly a building-internal or short-hop option today
Microwave and E-band radio
- Can be live in days where fibre is not available
- Licensed bands give interference-free, predictable links; E-band supports multi-gigabit capacity over shorter distances
- Requires clear line of sight and rooftop or tower space; heavy rain can reduce capacity at higher frequencies
- Naturally diverse from buried fibre
4G / 5G
- Fastest to deploy, ideal as backup or for small and temporary sites
- Shared capacity — performance varies with load
Our recommendation
Use fibre as the primary wherever it is available, add radio or 5G as a diverse secondary for critical sites, and use radio to get a new site live quickly while fibre is being built.
We deliver all of these through our Local Loop service. Check feasibility for your address.
