Cincinnati Bell

Cincinnati Bell Altafiber

Cincinnati Bell provides both fiber and DSL internet connections. Cincinnati Bell's main focus is its fiber-optic network, which it calls "Fioptics" internet. Cincinnati Bell started offering Fioptics in late 2009. Cincinnati Bell is a full-service provider of data and voice communications services over wireline and wireless networks, and a reseller of information technology (IT) and telephony equipment.

You might also know Cincinnati Bell as "Altafiber" if you live in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The company made this historic name change and rebranding to reflect its growth beyond Cincinnati and its investment in fiber network capabilities. Altafiber delivers integrated communications solutions to residential and business customers over its fiber-optic network, including high-speed internet, video, voice, and data. The new name was announced in 2022, less than a year after the 150-year-old company was purchased by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners. The acquisition closed in September 2021 in a $2.9 billion transaction. The name change is significant because Cincinnati Bell was founded in 1873 as a telegraph company and remained a Bell System franchisee up until the 1990s when it added internet access and mobile phone services. It subsequently got out of the mobile phone business to focus on fiber optic internet services. The history of the Bell franchises could fill several books, podcasts and Netflix series. The company’s new name, Altafiber, is designed to move from the past into the future.

AT&T owned 32.6% of Cincinnati Bell until 1984, when the shares were placed into a trust and then sold. Both Cincinnati Bell and Southern New England Telephone were partially owned by AT&T, but are now fully independent.

Fiber-optic internet, or "fiber" for short, is a broadband connection that uses fiber-optic cables to transmit data. The technology can send data at speeds approaching 70% the speed of light. Fiber-optic internet can reach speeds of up to 940 Megabits per second (Mbps), which is about 20 times faster than regular cable.

Fiber-optic internet is a newer technology than traditional cable or ADSL connections. It offers faster speeds, greater reliability, and better security than other types of internet service. Fiber-optic cables can also carry much more bandwidth than similarly sized copper cables and are immune to interference because there are no electrical signals in use.

However, fiber-optic internet isn't as well-dispersed as many would prefer, thanks to last-mile infrastructure challenges. The “last mile” is the final length of cabling or antenna transmission from the closest transmission point to a home or business. The last mile typically has a speed bottleneck and also has multiple external dependencies to resolve for optimal performance. These often do get resolve successfully and hence fiber optic speeds are the gold standard.

Like other forms of internet service, fiber optic technology be susceptible to physical damage, cost considerations and infrastructure dependencies. One unique problem is the possibility of a “fiber fuse” which is significantly less common that damage from construction digging but no less catastrophic to the fiber. A fiber fuse can damage long distances of optical fibers by a form of extreme overheating.

Cincinnati Bell offers several high speed internet plans with a variety of download speeds, including but not limited to 10, 20, 30, 50, and 100 Mbps. Pricing for bundles of internet, phone and TV start at $39.99 per month up to $59.99 per month. Other plans are available for just internet and TV. Incentives include a free month on certain plans. Some plans require a 24-month term of service. Taxes, fees and conditions apply. Contact Altafiber directly for granular details.