What Are the Differences in Optical Fiber and Metallic Cable?
Sometime in the future, fiber optic Internet connections will replace the standard broadband options of 2010, such as cable and digital subscriber line (DSL), according to Webopedia. Fiber optic and coaxial are similar, but fiber is a superior medium for transmitting data.
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Features
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Coaxial cable contains copper surrounded by a thin layer of foil and a thick coat of flexible plastic to protect it from interference, according to TechTarget. Optical fiber employs a similar setup, but contains a form of glass because it transmits data using light. Some other metallic wire, such as telephone, uses little shielding over copper wire.
Benefits
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The glass used in fiber optic cable costs less than copper. Also, fiber optics use light to carry data--the fastest speed in the universe and many times faster than metallic cable, which use sound waves or electrical signals. Fiber optic connections can get up to 4 gigabits per second, while cable does not usually get more than 8 megabits per second, according to TechTarget.
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Considerations
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Although coax cables cost more than fiber, installing a coaxial service is cheaper than a fiber one because telephone and cable lines exist to most homes, so providers only need to convert signals to digital. Fiber optic lines need a new, complicated installation which can cost thousands, even though they need less shielding and are not buried as deep as metallic wires.
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- Photo Credit Fiber Optic Computer Cable . image by Andrew Brown from Fotolia.com
