Advantages of fibre-optic cable

There are many advantages to using fibre-optic cables, particularly over longer distances.

• Faster - Coaxial cables transmit radio signals, which travel at two-thirds the speed of light. In comparison, fibre-optic cables transmit light. This means they are able to transmit information around 30 per cent faster than coaxial cables.
• Less expensive - Several kilometres of optical cable can be manufactured at a cheaper cost than equivalent lengths of copper wire or coaxial cable. This reduces the costs for cable providers, which leads to cheaper prices for customers of subscription television or broadband internet.
• Can carry more information - Fibre-optic cables can carry more information relative to the size of the cable than copper or coaxial cables. This is because light is faster and more efficient than electricity for carrying information.
• Less signal loss - Signal loss, or degradation, means the reduction of quality within a transmitted signal. Signal loss on a phone line results in static; on television, it can cause the ‘snow’ effect on the screen. For the internet, degradation means information is lost and has to be resent, slowing down the connection. Fibre-optic cables suffer less signal degradation than copper wire or coaxial cable, particularly over long distances. This leads to clearer sound and pictures, and faster transmission speeds on fibre-optic networks.
• No interference - Unlike the electrical signals used in copper and coaxial cables, light signals from one strand of a fibre-optic cable do not interfere with other strands nearby. This means the strands can be bundled tighter together to save space. It also means there is even less signal loss.
• Fibre is thinner - Each optical fibre can be smaller in diameter than individual copper wires, meaning more can fit in a smaller space and be bundled together into a cable. This allows more information to be sent through each cable and reduces the need to lay additional cables, and cuts down the size and weight of the cables when laying them over great distances and under water.
• Use less energy - Because there is less signal loss, lower-power transmitters can be used to send information through fibre cables than for copper cables where high-voltage electrical transmitters are needed. This reduces cost and maintenance, saving money for customers.
• Less risk of injury - Because no electricity is sent through these cables, there is no risk of electrocution or burns when handling or accidentally cutting through fibre-optic cables. There is also less risk of the cables themselves causing fires.
• Flexible - Fibre-optic cables can be twisted, tied into knots and otherwise flexed without a major risk of breaking the cable. Copper and coaxial cables are less flexible and must be handled with greater care. Fibre-optic cables have proven very useful in other sciences such as medicine, where cables can be used to take pictures inside living bodies and in plumbing and engineering where fibre cable cameras can be used to inspect narrow pipes or other hard-to-reach places.