Fiber Optics vs. Copper Cable, Which is better?

For many years, copper cable was the only option for your network. Your network may still be wired with copper. Should you change to fiber optics? To determine the best course of action, you must consider if the benefits of fiber optics out-weigh the cost required to rewire you network.

Copper wires are fragile and can be difficult to maintain. Copper wiring has a much smaller bandwidth than fiber optic cabling (Copper 1.5 mbs vs. fibre 2.5+gbs). And, copper wires do not move data as far as fiber optic cabling does. While copper wires may break on occasion, it is not difficult to pull and new line to replace the old. Bandwidth limitations are only a problem if you have a need to move large amounts of data. Finally, distance is a consideration only if you need to cover a very large area. Copper effectively manages a distance of 2.5 KM while fiber can handle 200 KM.

If your network is fairly constant and you are not relocating, unless you have bandwidth or distance issues, it makes more sense to maintain the copper wiring. If, on the other hand, you are relocating, growing, or planning to grow, fiber optics make more sense. Faster networks will demand greater bandwidth network capacity. Although Fiber is much cheaper than copper, switching from copper to fiber isn’t as simple as plugging in new wires. You will need new connectors.

Fiber cables transmit pulses of light instead of electrical signals, so the terminations must be much more precise. Rather than simply allowing pins to make metal-to-metal contact as with copper, fiber optic connectors must align microscopic glass fibers perfectly in order to allow for communication.

Optical fibre is known for its reliability and immunity to sources of interference such and it its extremely large bandwidth (ranging from 600 MHz to 1000 MHz), is suited to multimedia applications. Optical fibre cables do not conduct electricity or support ground loops, so will be unaffected by lightning strikes.