Drastic increase in Internet usage

Cyprus International University (CIU), Faculty of Engineering faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Öztoprak drew attention to the increase in Internet usage in education, commerce, and social areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Öztoprak added, “it should be aimed to invest in this area and offer accessible, fast and secure Internet considering that internet access should be considered as a civilian or perhaps human right.”

Reminding that internet access is sold by the internet service providers offer a connection at a wide range of data transfer rates through various network technologies, Öztoprak also stated that many government, autonomous and private organizations provide paid or free wireless access and landlines.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Öztoprak expressed that the availability of internet access was limited in the past, and continued, “however, it has grown rapidly today. For example, in 1997, only 2 percent of the world population had internet access while in the 21st century many consumers in developed countries started to use faster broadband technology, and by 2017, 48 percent of the world population had access. ”

The highest speed is provided by fiber optics
Explaining that ADSL, VDSL, coaxial cable, Internet over the power line, and increasingly widespread fiber optic technology are used in developed countries, Öztoprak informed that the highest speeds are reached with fiber optic technology as both downlink and uplink.

It was underlined that fiber optic cables carry high speed and error-free data over long distances, unlike technologies such as ADSL and VDSL, which use copper, and that these technologies can also be used together. The data carried at high speed with a fiber optic up to a certain point can be carried to the houses with VDSL technology later and Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, WIMAX and 5G technologies which are being newly installed are in use.

It was reminded by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Öztoprak that ADSL, 3G and Wi-Fi technologies are used extensively for internet access in our country: “Currently, fiber optic technology is used in the infrastructure of the telephone office and mobile operators. These should be developed and carried to the end user either directly or indirectly via VDSL technology. ”