In the coming years, consumers will soon have to rely more on in-store networks for a seamless shopping experience.
Until recently, most retailers relied on copper internet to run operations, but this brought limitations to the networks' core. Successfully meeting the need to add more equipment, workstations, and security technology is only possible with a move to fiber optic technology. By choosing fiber, organizations benefit with improved reliability, speed, and security, all while achieving a lower total cost of ownership over time.
While many first associate speed with fiber optic internet, there are still plenty of other fiber network advantages over copper:
- Reliability - Reduced downtime means fewer headaches for your staff and your shoppers. Fiber optic transceivers and cables keep your network running reliably for around-the-clock access.
- Bandwidth - Increasing bandwidth supports larger quantities of simultaneous users and critical appliances/hardware (point of sale, kiosks, guest Wi-Fi, video security, etc.)
- Security - Any attempts to tap can cause the fibers to break, thus protecting the sensitive data of your business and customers.
- Cost - Daily operating costs in replacements and power consumption is significantly reduced over time with fiber, providing a lower total cost of ownership.
What are the most popular solutions to help maximize retails' network potential?
- Media Converters – A conversion from electrical/copper/PoE signals to fiber/optical signals with media converters is a key step in building your new fiber network.
- 1G/10G Transceivers – 1G/10G fiber transceivers build a strong fiber network foundation, and improve network performance through elevated data rates and bandwidth headroom.
- Multi-mode, Single mode, or Single Strand Fiber – Extend fiber links over greater distances while also future-proofing for 10G and higher data rates.
- Scalable Fiber Infrastructure – Deploying fiber builds a scalable solution, as transceivers can be swapped out and upgraded without running additional fiber in many cases.