If you’re planning a new network cable installation or upgrading an existing network, a Fiber Optic solution is an excellent option to consider. Copper and fiber optics each have their own set of advantages and characteristics. Copper has long been used in many ways, and it is a cost-effective way to link network devices. However, due to the decrease in the cost of optical deployment, the future-proof fiber optic solution outperforms copper and has a stronger future demand.
Fiber optic cables have several benefits over copper cables:
Cost:
Fiber cable was near twice the price of copper only a few years ago, but the gap between the two has narrowed, and fiber components and hardware have gradually decreased.
While some fiber optic cables are more expensive than copper at first, the longevity and reliability of fiber will reduce the total cost of ownership. As technology progresses, the cost of fiber optic solutionand related components continues to fall.
Greater Bandwidth:
Copper cables were designed primarily for voice transmission and had a finite bandwidth. Fiber optic cables have a higher bandwidth than copper cables of the same diameter, allowing them to hold more data. Single-mode fiber provides up to twice the throughput of multimode fiber within the fiber cable family.
Speed:
The speed of photons vs the speed of electrons can be compared in fiber optic versus copper transmission. Photons travel at the speed of light. In comparison, copper electrons travel at less than 1% of the speed of light. Fiber optic cables do not travel at the speed of light, but they are just around 31% slower. As you can see, fiber and copper have a significant inherent speed gap. Furthermore, fiber does not have the 100-meter distance cap that unshielded twisted-pair copper has without a booster. As a result, distances for 10 Gbps multimode cable can be as short as 550 meters and as long as 40 kilometres for single-mode cable.
Longer Distances:
Fiber optic cables can carry signals much farther than copper cables, which are limited to 328 feet. Any 10 Gbps single-mode fiber cables, for example, can carry signals nearly 25 miles. The actual distance is determined by the cable type, wavelength, and network.
Less Noise, Stronger Signal:
Fiber optic cable is resistant to the kind of electromagnetic interference that causes “cross-talk” or “noise” in copper wires because its “heart” is made of glass. A signal moving via fiber optic cable is unaffected by power lines or appliances. Fiber optic cable often has less “attenuation,” or signal loss, and can hold complete signals a much longer distance before needing to be amplified.
Low-Security Risk:
Increased understanding of data protection issues and the use of alternative raw materials drive the growth of the fiber optic communication industry. In fiber-optic communication, data or signals are transmitted using light. As a result, there is no way to “listen in” to the electromagnetic energy “leaking” through the cable to detect the data being transmitted, ensuring the absolute security of information.
Another security issue is that optical fiber does not transmit energy, does not radiate signals, and cannot be tapped – copper, on the other hand, does use electricity and can be tapped, causing the whole device to fail. The electrical wiring can create a minor spark. Using Electrical Wiring in oil refineries or chemical factories for data transfer is dangerous. Without effective monitoring techniques, a copper cable carrying a current can short out entirely or even cause a fire if it is weakened, old, or worn.
Lightweight:
Fiber optic cables are thinner than copper cables and are made of glass or plastic. They become lighter and easier to mount as a result of this. Adding new equipment to existing cable infrastructure is simple: Using fiber optic cable, new equipment can be connected to existing cable infrastructure since optical cable has a much higher capacity than the originally installed cable. WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) technology, including CWDM and DWDM, allows fiber cables to carry more bandwidth.
