Fiber Internet In Las Vegas: What Is The Difference?
If you are reading this, congratulations! You’re on the internet. Many in the Las Vegas valley are on one provider: Cox. Fiber internet in Las Vegas is about to become a reality for many. Terms like “Gigablast” and “high speed” will get a major challenge.
Google Fiber has already struck a deal with Clark County and is soon to strike a deal with the city to provide fiber internet in Las Vegas. By mid 2025, they could be at your door. AT&T Fiber and Quantum already have customers throughout the valley and are growing.
While there are several ways to get on the internet, the symmetrical speed of fiber internet will revolutionize the way you do things. Plus the additional competition will drive down prices.
What Makes Fiber Internet In Las Vegas Different?
You may be reading this on a cell phone. Mobile data has taken a lot of our daily browsing. While it is fine for this use case, it doesn’t provide fast and dependable latency (the delay in data moving) to be great for streaming or gaming.
CenturyLink DSL can be glacially slow. They do offer fiber (via their Quantum Fiber brand) but only in select areas. Cox Home Internet is often the default at home internet provider. Chances are you’ve believed you’ve had “fiber” internet the whole time. But odds are likely you haven’t.
The rollout of fiber internet takes time. Providers need to lay fiber optic cable in roads and utility boxes to get the data to the front of your home, but they also need to run fiber optic to your home. In Cox’s case, the odds are likely there is fiber to your street. As an example, you might have a highway near your house, but the final bit of driving will be slower. Fiber “to the home” brings the highway to your driveway.
The result is much faster symmetrical speeds. For people that are just watching Netflix, you might not notice the difference. But for those who are uploading YouTube videos, large attachments, gaming and more, the data will be just as fast going up as it is coming down. Right now, “gig” plans will provide 1 gigabit downloads, but an upload speed less than 1/20th the download speed.
What Does All This New Competition Mean?
Fear of the unknown is natural. But what the new competition entering the market means is the market leaders will need to compete for business.
Operators like Google Fiber, AT&T Fiber and others provide fixed pricing, no data overages and more. It is tough to threaten your current provider with leaving if there is no one to leave to. Unlimited data costs $50 a month with Cox, but is already part of the plan with Google and AT&T. Not to mention the service itself for 1 gigabit download and upload runs around $70 a month. Getting to that download speed, with unlimited data, would cost about double on Cox – and your upload speed would be a fraction.
Cox is getting into the Fiber game as well, and when they make it to your street they will likely have to compete against some very heavy competition. That means lower prices and more incentives to switch.
Competition is a good thing. Fiber internet is a great thing. Lower prices are the best thing. Hopefully all of that is coming to our door sooner rather than later.
Prime Membership Perks You Probably Didn't Know About
Grubhub+
Amazon is a great place to stock up on groceries and other essentials without having to leave the house. As a Prime member, you could also be saving some money the next time you want to order in for dinner. I didn’t know that you can get a Grubhub+ subscription free for a year with your Amazon Prime membership. With this perk, delivery fees are waived on orders over $12, and service fees will be lower overall. If you’re curious about how it works, take a look here.
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Photo and Video Storage
Did you know that Prime members get photo and video storage as part of their membership? I found on by watching a video on social media. Amazon Prime members get unlimited full-resolution photo storage and five gigabytes of video storage with their subscription. This is a handy perk too. When using other storage platforms, you often run into the issue of having to pay for additional storage. I happen to take a lot of pictures so, this is a bonus.
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Baby Registry Box
If you have expecting parents in your life, let them know about this one. Prime members can snag a baby registry box. Select members can get a free welcome box when they create a baby registry for more than 10 unique items and make $10 worth of purchases. Make sure to read the fine print. Shipping and tax don’t count toward the amount, and neither do gift card purchases.
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Cash Back
Prime membership already offers a direct way to save on your purchases by providing free shipping. The subscription also has free two-day shipping available on eligible items. But one perk that’s often missed is cash back with a co-branded Visa credit card. The Prime Visa card is a fee-free card. Members earn 5 percent cash back on Amazon, Whole Foods, Amazon Grocery, and Chase Travel; 2 percent back on gas, restaurants, and commuting costs and 1 percent everywhere else. Cardholders can often get 6 percent cash back if they opt for slower shipping and 10 percent on select sale items. Some users will also receive an Amazon gift card worth up to $100 when they enroll.
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Prime Gaming
Gaming anyone? Access to Prime Gaming is just another one of the perks that comes with your membership. Just by being a Prime member, you can get your hands on exclusive in-game loot and free monthly PC games.It also includes a free monthly Twitch subscription that you can use to support your favorite streamers. I’m not much of a gamer but now, I want to look into this a bit more.
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