Re-Introduction

This is the second part in the F4C series. It will cover the more persuasive material regarding fiber optics as opposed to the descriptive and informative nature of the previous entry. If you missed part 1, then click here to view it.

IV. Convince Me

Now that you understand what Optic Fiber is, the remainder of this document will convince you why you’ll need it.

The main reason why you should look into Optic Fiber is because it is very high performing.

Numbers

Going by the numbers, we can see some of the outstanding performance metrics of optic fiber:

• For Single-mode optical fiber, data rates of 10 Gbit/s over 80 km (or 50 mi) are to be expected. With state of the art technology, thousands of kilometers can be traversed at that data rate and hundreds at the rate of 40 Gbit/s
• For Multi-mode optical fiber, typical speed/length performance can be broken down into: 100 Mbit/s at 2 km (1.24 mi), 1 Gbit/s at 1000 m (0.62 mi), and 10 Gbit/s at 550 m (1804 ft).
• While optic fiber doesn’t suffer from interference (such as EMI and other such problems) it does have attenuation–the amount of signal loss over distance (km); however, this happens to all transmission mediums:
  • Single-mode fiber have an attenuation, at 850/1300nm, of 0.4/0.25 dB/km respectively.
  • Multi-mode fibers have an attenuation, at 850/1300 nm, of 3/1 dB/KM respectively.

Costs

The main drawback, or the reason why it isn’t as popular to the average consumer, is because of initial costs. While competition and demand have brought costs down to near that of copper wires, the added equipment needed to properly install a fiber optic structure will initially be high.

Future Proof

Although initial cost is a drawback, the cost and the drawback are both only observed at the beginning. The demand for faster networks is making optic fiber cheaper, and since the demands for speed aren’t going to go down, those who invest in fiber can and will end up saving over time. Case in point, switching over to optic fiber now and incur the high costs or purchase more copper wires to fulfill the growing demand now, only to shift to fiber optic in the end when it becomes the dominant transmission medium.

V. Ok, So What?

Regarding the previous information on performance, cost and future proofability, what do these things translate to the customer?

Applications

Optical fiber has many uses, but its most popular is surely for telecommunication and computer networks. The reason for this is because of how superior it is to its competitor in this arena: copper cables. Many telecommunication companies have made the switch long ago or are in the process of doing so currently. Also, computer networks looking to capitalize on users’ ever increasing demand and usage of bandwidth and data has allowed those who can connect faster and with less errors the opportunity to productively use this speed advantage; e.g. in stock trading. Some other uses for optic fiber include using fibers as sensors for plotting and measuring, and in the medical field for sensitive instruments; e.g. endoscope and microscope.

Examples

Some examples of fiber optic usage are in the following:

• “Medical – Used as light guides, imaging tools and also as lasers for surgeries
• Defense/Government – Used as hydrophones for seismic and SONAR uses, as wiring in aircraft, submarines and other vehicles and also for field networking
• Data Storage – Used for data transmission
• Telecommunications – Fiber is laid and used for transmitting and receiving purposes
• Networking – Used to connect users and servers in a variety of network settings and help increase the speed and accuracy of data transmission
• Industrial/Commercial – Used for imaging in hard to reach areas, as wiring where EMI is an issue, as sensory devices to make temperature, pressure and other measurements, and as wiring in automobiles and in industrial settings
• Broadcast/CATV – Broadcast/cable companies are using fiber optic cables for wiring CATV, HDTV, internet, video on-demand and other applications”²

Comparison

Since optic fiber is actively competing with copper wire for mainstream dominance, a quick comparison between the 2 will show how you should see one over the other:

“So the phone system is mostly fiber optics beyond the short subscriber link. Fiber links offer over 1,000 times as much bandwidth over distances over 100 times further. Specifically, you can have:”

The majority of backbones in large companies are fiber. They want the bandwidth and reliability of fiber, and the networking equipment vendors recommend fiber for the backbone. They expect to upgrade to higher bandwidth in the future, and only fiber offers upgradeability.”³

VI. Bottom Line

The bottom line about optical fiber is that it is a great technology that has many applications. It uses light to transmit data and performs this role at an elite level. It has been around for a while, and with the increasing demand for data promises to be around for a while longer. There are other transmission mediums—primarily copper wires—used in the same space as optic fiber. As costs have gone down, and because fiber outperforms copper, there has been more spotlight shone in the direction of fiber in recent memory. The rundown of fiber optics for the customer goes like this:

• Fiber is dominant in telecommunications; basically used all the way up to the end-point where users are connected at.
• Fiber technology uses narrow strands of fiber—typically made from hair-thin, tubular glass—to guide a beam of light from point-to-point.
• A single-mode optic fiber is a strand of fiber that is characterized by a narrow core, allowing only a single stream of data at any one time.
• Single-mode fiber transfers data faster than multi-mode fiber and keeps this speed advantage over distance.
• A multi-mode optic fiber is a strand of fiber that is characterized by a wider core, allowing multiple streams of data (light) in at any one time.
• A simplex fiber is a single fiber that can be of the single-mode or multi-mode variety.
• Duplex fibers consist of 2 fibers—either of the single-mode or multi-mode variety—and is necessary where data needs to be transferred both to and from.
• The most common connectors are the: SC (Square connector, push/pull “snap-in” mechanism), FC (Fixed connection, screwed on, single-mode applications), ST (Straight tip, quick release bayonet style, legacy connector), LC (Lucent connector, smaller and preferred over SC), MRTJ (Mechanical transfer registered jack, uses 2 fibers, similar in appearance to RJ45, similar but smaller than the SC).
• The main reason why you should look into Optic Fiber is because it is very high performing.
• For Single-mode optical fiber, data rates of 10 Gbit/s over 80 km (or 50 mi) are to be expected. With state of the art technology, thousands of kilometers can be traversed at that data rate and hundreds at the rate of 40 Gbit/s
• For Multi-mode optical fiber, typical speed/length performance can be broken down into: 100 Mbit/s at 2 km (1.24 mi), 1 Gbit/s at 1000 m (0.62 mi), and 10 Gbit/s at 550 m (1804 ft).
• The main drawback, or the reason why it isn’t as popular to the average consumer, is because of initial costs.
• The demand for faster networks is making optic fiber cheaper, and since the demands for speed aren’t going to go down, those who invest in fiber can and will end up saving over time.
• Optical fiber has many uses, but its most popular is surely for telecommunication and computer networks.
• Some other uses for optic fiber include using fibers as sensors for plotting and measuring, and in the medical field for sensitive instruments.
• The jury says choose Category 5E/6 for end-users and optic fiber for everything else.

Conclusion

As you can see from the information provided by this post and the last one, fiber optics is a great technology that will decrease in cost overtime allowing for speeds faster than those currently clocked with copper wires; also, interference and therefore lag time and other reduction in quality will be diminished.