Advantages and Disadvantages of Fiber Optic Cables

Fiber optic cables offer numerous advantages over copper cables, including greater bandwidth and higher speed, as well as immunity to electromagnetic interference.

• Lightning speed: How fast is fast? Fiber optic cables can transmit data at rates up to 800 Gbps (today's data center maximum, but theoretically rates could be even faster). Broadband internet services leverage those cables to deliver some of the fastest internet speeds to millions of customers.

• Greater bandwidth: Fiber optics can transmit a wide range of light frequencies, transferring more data at higher throughput. For example, a single fiber connection can transfer a movie in HD format in less than a tenth of a second; the typical copper-wire office network would take about a minute to do the same task.

• Less data loss: Loss or attenuation is a performance measure in cabling and network standards. Optical fiber is less susceptible to data loss from electromagnetic interference from power cabling, radio signals, and even solar flares.

• No corrosion: Because fiber optic cables are made of non-metallic materials, fiber connections can't corrode. They are, however, vulnerable to contamination by dust and moisture, which is why fiber connections should be inspected regularly and kept clean for best performance.

• Transmission over longer distances: Copper cable is limited to 100 meters in length without a signal repeater, but fiber optic cables can carry signals for 100 kilometers without losing signal strength.

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