What Are the Advantages of Fiber Optic Cables?

Wondering what are the advantages of fiber optic cables?  The communication technology known as fiber optics relies on very minutely thin (sometimes thinner than a human hair) cables which can transmit light and other data across long distances reliably, inexpensively, and easily.  Previous communication technologies such as telephone communication or telegraph communication relied on heavy, expensive, metallic wires, often made of copper or other metals, that were not only expensive to acquire and install, but that were also subject to breaking down over time due to corrosion and other factors.  The fiber optics revolution changed all of that. 

There are a number of advantages to fiber optic cabling that did not exist prior to fiber optics, and these advantages are still seen to this day, as the technology becomes more and more advanced. Some of the advantages of fiber optic cables include:

• Reduced interference
• Reduced need for power consumption
• Thinner lengths
• Reduced production cost

Let's look at some of these advantages of fiber optic cables in more detail.

Reduced Interference with Fiber Optics

One important advantage of fiber optic cables is that there is a reduction in interference between signals travelling through the same cable at the same time. 

• An electrical impulse travelling through a metallic cable has the potential to interfere with other electrical impulses travelling through the cable at the same time.
• This interference causes signal degradation or garbled output on the receiving end. 
• The light impulses used to send signals through fiber optic cable do not interfere with each other, even if they are travelling through the same portion of cabling at the same time.
• Because the passing signals do not interfere with each other, more data can be sent through the same pipeline at a faster rate than through conventional metallic cables. This data can also be sent without any degradation or loss of speed or information.

Reduced Power Consumption with Fiber Optics

Fiber optic cables are also advantageous because they do not need much power to operate. 

• While signals sent through metallic cable must be boosted periodically in order to maintain their speed and to overcome resistance in the cabling, fiber optic cables do not require a large power input in order to travel a long distance.
• Because data passing through fiber optic cables travels at the speed of light, the signals that are sent can reach their destination much faster than traditional electronic signals without any need for outside input or assistance and signal boosting.

Reduced Lengths and Production Advantages

Fiber optic cables can also be produced in much thinner lengths than metallic cabling, and the production of fiber optic cables can be done at a much smaller cost than the production of metallic cabling. This leads to a product that is not only faster and better, but also to one that can be produced and installed much more cheaply than the closest metallic cable competition. 

As a result of these and other advantages, fiber optic cabling continues to be the standard in the communication industry by which other methods are judged.

So, now you know some advantages of fiber optic cabling, as well as a bit more information about how the technology works and why those advantages exist.