When we connect to the Internet, we usually do it by Wi-Fi, or failing that, by network cable. Wi-Fi is currently very popular, the most used and also the one that offers us greater mobility. Then we have the Ethernet network cable, which is the best possible connection if we want to take advantage of all the bandwidth. On the other hand, we have another alternative, the PLC, in which our data will travel through the electrical wiring of our home. Without a doubt, there are three good alternatives that, depending on the situation, one or the other may suit us more. In this article we are going to see if you are going to have worse speed if you navigate with PLC.
PLCs are a very interesting way of connecting to the Internet, which can sometimes save us from having to put an Ethernet network cable to get good speeds. This way we get rid of having a cable of several meters generally attached to the baseboard of our house.
If I use PLC will I be able to navigate well?
When we talk about PLC comes from the acronym in English Power Line Communicationswhich translated means power line communications. Thanks to PLC technology, the electrical network of our homes is used to convert it into a high-speed digital line for data transmission and thus allows us to access the Internet through broadband.
One of the advantages of PLCs is that you are not exposed to interference from nearby networks, as is the case with Wi-Fi. In the event that we want to use this technology, we should have 2 PLCs that we will place like this:
- One connected to the main router by network cable and put into a socket.
- Another placed in another plug in the room with which we connect. Then the other computer will connect via network cable, although there are also some that are Wi-Fi.
Then the only thing we would have to do to make them work would be to pair them by pressing a button they have. As for if I navigate with PLC, we can do it with great solvency. The reason is that I can get speeds close to 100 Mbps if you have a Fast Ethernet card and exceed this speed if you have Gigabit Ethernet ports. In short, to navigate and perform daily tasks with the PLC we will have more than enough. Here are some tips to make PLCs work faster.
Will I have worse speed than wired network or Wi-Fi?
Here a very important element is going to be the speed that we have contracted to the Internet. In this aspect, with connections of 100 Mbps or less, it is possible that both with Wi-FI, PLC or Ethernet network cable we obtain the contracted speed. The situation in this case could be considered a draw, although by PLC and especially by Wi-Fi we will have a little more latency. Also a fundamental factor is going to be the quality of these PLCs and the connection speed they support. In this regard, some recommended manufacturers would be Devolo, D-Link and AVM FRITZ! Powerline.
If we talk about speeds of 600 Mbps, things get very complicated. So the big winner is the Ethernet network cable with which it is possible to obtain speeds close to 1 Gbps without much problem. Keep in mind that the vast majority of computers today have a Gigabit Ethernet card.
As for Wi-Fi or PLC, things are more complicated and you can opt for one or the other depending on the situation. Of course, for this comparison to be even, these PLCs have to have Gigabit Ethernet ports and have a speed of about 1200 Mbps. One of the great enemies of the PLC is the distance, from about 200 meters they can have problems. It should also be noted that if the electrical installation is quite old, they can lose a lot of speed.
In summary, if the distance is not very great and in new electrical installations, it can beat Wi-Fi. That does not mean that Wi-Fi is better in certain situations, such as when the distance is quite large and our electrical installation is old. Finally, Wi-Fi may also be better if we have a good repeater or a Wi-Fi Mesh system.
