Orion Telekom: Optics as a trump card

Orion telekom is the first domestic provider to recognize optical Internet access as a key trump card of market competition, so back in 2015, it offered this service not only to companies, but also to residential users, and under favorable conditions. Today, Orion’s offer is characterized flexible pricing plans, and speeds of up to 10 Gbps are announced for the near future.

Five years ago, we lived in a world that thought that a home user had enough speed of about fifty megabits per second when downloading and only a few megabits per second when uploading – more than that is needed by companies, and they will be ready for symmetrical links and higher speeds pay expensive subscriptions. This way of thinking also stemmed from technical possibilities, as the predominant ADSL connections provided uploads of up to 1 Mbps, while a smaller number of users living closer to telephone exchanges could enjoy VDSL where upload speeds went up to 5, and in some cases up to 10 Mbps. A faster connection via copper telephone pairs was simply not possible.

Orion telekom was among the first to notice that, primarily due to the development of cloud technologies, private users and smaller companies really want higher speeds, if they can get them at a good price. And so began the development of the optical network, which soon reached users. As one of the first residential users to introduce Orion optics in early 2015, I can only say that the speed of 100 Mbps (download) and 20 Mbps (upload) then looked like science fiction. It was not just about speed, but also about connection stability, low latencies, fast ping ‑ in… Simply, another story. And I just got used to those 100/20 (you already know how to say, eating comes appetite) when in early 2017 Orion offered a speed of 1000/100 Mbps at similar prices. Yes, full gigabit. And how to resist…

What is a gigabit

What does 1000/100 Mbps really provide? As for uploading, it ensures that you work comfortably with large files, that you don’t have to think about when to send some extensive graphics or video materials to colleagues, that you comfortably use any video conferencing software with maximum picture and sound quality, that you Remote Desktop‑ login to a remote PC and work on it less or more ‑ more as comfortable as being physically in front of a remote keyboard, easily accessing your home computer remotely and picking up the necessary data from it… However, extra speed would come in handy here , so if Orion offers you 1000/200, be sure to opt for that variant.

Gigabit download is a huge speed that is not easy to “spend”. At the time I switched to gigabit, there was virtually no way to transfer data at that speed as most sites limited downloads to 1, 2 or possibly 16 Mbps. Only parallel data transfer from many sources, such as torrent protocols, could use most of the available bandwidth. In the meantime, the Internet has grown, so sites have been more “generous” in data transfer – for example, today ISO files from the site microsoft.com transfer at very high speeds, and cloud providers (OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive) provide higher speeds, especially if you pay for a commercial package. Finally, for ambitious gamers, fast ping, low latency and a reliable connection bring a whole new dimension and can be the difference between winning and losing a game.

Another trump card in favor of high-speed Internet has emerged this year – when parents work from home and children attend online classes, resources are wasted in an instant. With fast optics, you are sure that you will always have enough reserve for the whole family, no matter how demanding employers and teachers are.

Equipment should also be considered when planning high-speed Internet access. An older computer cannot transfer data at gigabit speeds, nor can it be written to an old and slow hard disk. A laptop that connects to the network with a Wi-Fi interface can’t even come close to gigabit speed, unless you have switched to Wi-Fi 6, which is very rare in the world today. Orion, meanwhile, offers Wi-Fi Mash, which still can’t transmit data at gigabit speeds, but is a significant improvement. Still, connecting with an Ethernet cable (or perhaps optics) to a network still has no alternative when it comes to top performance. Finally, if you use your router to have full control over the network, it must be one of the more modern devices – a small MikroTik may show a full gigabit on the speedtest and, but when packets really start arriving from all sides, the speed will drop significantly. Modern equipment is also needed for modern speed.

Offer today

Today, the Orion telecom network covers a significant part of Serbia, which refers not only to Belgrade, Nis, Novi Sad and larger cities, but also to smaller places where interest in fast and quality Internet access has been noticed. Orion optics has already entered many buildings, and if it is not in yours, it is worth asking for an offer that will allow you and your neighbors a greater choice and better access to the Web.

The basic Orion offer includes packages of speeds of 100/10, 200/20 and 1000/100 Mbps at the price of 1699, 1899 and 3199 dinars per month, including VAT. These prices imply the usual 24 ‑ month contract, but Orion also offers something unique in our market: optics without a contractual obligation.

Twenty-four months is a long period and some users are reluctant to commit to paying a subscription, especially if they are planning to move in the near future. Orion offers them speeds of 200/10, 500/20 and 1000/50 Mbps for 1000, 1500 or 2500 dinars per month, with the first month free of charge, since then a one-time connection fee is paid. Here’s a way to test the power of optical Internet and later pay a month ‑ for ‑ a month, or maybe switch to one of the variants of the contractual obligation.

Orion’s offer is designed to make packages attractive, but also to adapt to users who want to choose IP services from a portfolio of different providers

This time we are dealing primarily with the offer for Internet access, so we will only mention that Orion also has very interesting packages that include television, landline and Internet access, as well as equipment (eg TV) which you can get on favorable terms. Most are obtained in the popular “Troika packages”, where for example for 4799 dinars a month you get Internet 1000/100, television with 180 channels, three smart set ‑ top box devices for three TVs, fixed telephony with an unlimited number of free minutes and various other benefits.

Orion’s offer is designed so that the packages are attractive, but also to be adapted to users who want to choose IP services from the portfolio of different providers. So whether you watch Netflix, HBO or streaming TV, whether you use Viber or fixed number telephony, stable and fast Internet access is at the heart of all other services, and that’s why Orion is focused on providing that services.

The needs of business users have been recognized, especially smaller companies, developers and more demanding freelancers. They are offered the opportunity to lease a static (fixed) IP address, put the equipment in bridge mode and thus connect various locations via VPN, and to pay extra for a professional level of support that includes direct contact with Orion’s engineers 24/7. Optics is a reliable medium for communication and there are rarely any problems with it, but if a problem does occur, it usually occurs at the most inconvenient time, so it is very important for professionals to solve it in a short time.

And the future?

Orion Telecom is not stopping at the achieved level – with the expansion of the network, the replacement of equipment within the GIGANT project is underway, which should offer data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps. Is that too much? Well, we already said that in 2015, the speed of 100/20 sounded like science fiction, and the same could be said for the speed of 1000/100 a couple of years later. The Internet is growing, and with it the needs of users, so 10 Gbps will probably be an over-ambitious speed in the beginning, but there will be suitable ambitious services for it as well. I can only say that, as a typical early adopter, I can’t wait to try accessing the Web at this speed. And to write about him…

Useful address: Orion Telekom