Fixed wireless vs fiber: what's the difference?

More homes and businesses in Kenya come online every day, and providers have responded with a range of ways to connect you. The two you've probably heard of are fiber and fixed wireless. If you don't know which is which, or which one you should be asking for, you're not alone. Here's the difference.

How each one works

With fixed wireless, we install a receiver on your property, usually on the roof. It connects wirelessly to an access point on our tower, which is where your traffic joins the wider internet. These links run in the 5 GHz band and can carry well over 1 Gbps with the right kit.

With fiber, your data travels as pulses of light down a glass cable. It reaches you either overhead on poles or underground in trenches, and ends at a router that gives you WiFi. Fiber can carry more than 10 Gbps.

So which one do I want?

Ask that five years ago and the answer was easy. Fiber, obviously. It isn't that clear-cut any more. Here's how they compare on the four things that make a difference day to day.

Cost

Laying fiber costs a lot more per kilometre than putting up wireless. If you're not in a built-up area, chances are fiber hasn't reached you, and pulling it to you gets expensive fast. One wireless access point can cover a radius of up to 20 km. That makes coverage much cheaper in places fiber hasn't got to.

Speed

Fiber has the higher ceiling. 10 Gbps isn't difficult; most wireless systems stop nearer 1 Gbps. But that's total capacity, not what you'll use. A typical household runs somewhere between 10 and 100 Mbps, and both handle that without breaking a sweat.

Latency

Latency is the gap between asking for something and the answer starting to arrive. It matters for voice calls and gaming. Fiber wins on paper, around 2 to 3 ms against 3 to 4 ms on a wireless link. Most people will never notice. Competitive gamers will.

Reliability

This one surprises people. Fiber sits in public places, strung from poles or buried beside roads, so it gets cut. Road works and upgrades take out fiber links regularly. Wireless equipment sits on private property with backup power and technicians nearby. Its weak spot is interference, which is worst where lots of networks compete for the same air.

The short version

The two are much closer than their reputations suggest. Rough rule: fiber for dense built-up areas, fixed wireless for suburbs and the areas around them. We install both, so you don't have to work this out yourself. Tell us where you are and we'll tell you which one will work at your address.