Advantages of Fiber Optic Cables

Fiber optic cables are being used more frequently to transmit cable TV, provide Internet access and make phone service available to homes and businesses. Fiber optic may seem like new technology, but has in fact been around for centuries, and the cables offer many advantages over copper.

History

Claude and Ignace Chappe invented the optical telegraph in the 1790s, and Alexander Graham Bell invented an optical telephone system in the late 1800s, which did not fare as well as the earlier telephone. In the 1970s, telephone companies began instituting fiber optic cables.

Function

Fiber optic cables guide light from the source to the end-user. A transmitter sends data from the source through groupings of optical fiber strands. A receiver reconfigures the data from a light signal to its initial form.

Types

There are three types of fiber optic cables commonly used: single mode, multimode and plastic optical fiber (frequently referred to as POF).

Misconceptions

A common misconception about fiber optic cables is that they are expensive to install and maintain. In fact, fiber optic cables can be bought affordably in bulk and cost less to maintain than copper.

Benefits

Fiber optic cables transmit data at a much higher speed than copper cables. They have a larger transmittal capacity, and can transmit data much further.