Fibre optic cabling is an alternative to the more common copper cabling used for internet connections. These cables are much faster than copper cables, as fibre optic cables use light to transmit data instead of electricity. Because electricity moves much more slowly than light, the speed of data transmission is significantly slower in copper cables than in fibre optic cables.
In the past, we have used electricity to transmit data through copper cables; however, this isn’t the most efficient option. Fibre optic uses light to transmit data, representing binary 1s and 0s with either light or no light respectively. Because the speed of light is so fast, this leads to incredibly quick data transmission, which is made even faster by fibre optic cables each having several ‘cores’ within them. Each core is able to independently transmit data, so at any given time you could have two, four, eight, or even hundreds! It all depends on how much data you need to transmit and the demands of your business’ internet.
Fibre optic cables use light instead of electricity to transmit data; because the speed of light is much faster than electricity going through a copper cable, the data transmission rates are also significantly faster.
Fibre optic is light-powered – but what exactly does this mean aside from higher speeds? Firstly, electromagnetic interference cannot happen, as there is no electricity being transmitted. These cables are also safer than copper cables. Because there is no electricity being transmitted through the cables, there are no fire hazards – unlike with copper cables which can, and do, cause fires when their protective casing wears down.
Fibre optic cables are able to transmit data significantly further than copper cables without experiencing any data transmission speed decrease. Copper cables can transmit data between 100 to 5000 metres away, with transmission speeds of around 10-15mbps at longer distances. Fibre optic cabling, on the other hand, can transmit data at 10Gbps, up to 40,000 metres.
Fibre optic is significantly more durable than copper cables for a few reasons. Firstly, copper cables are susceptible to damage from moisture, temperature, and weather, as they gradually degrade the cable and the metal within it. On the other hand, fibre optic cables are effectively weatherproof, they can operate at any temperature, and aren’t affected by moisture, as there are no metals within the cable that can degrade.
Another reason they are more durable is that copper cables are prone to damage from being pulled and twisted – which is particularly an issue if you do not have a proper structured cabling setup. Although fibre optic cables are much thinner than copper cables, they are also significantly sturdier and can handle a lot more twisting and pulling from general use.
Faster data transmission
Increased network range
More durable cables
Uses optical fibre technology
Although it is a great solution to speed up your network, there are other factors that contribute to network slowdown that are worth considering too.
- Does your hardware support the number of users? If your company has had a recent rapid expansion of staff, but no upgraded network hardware, your network might not be able to handle it on its current hardware.
- Are your access points adequate? Access points can have their signals blocked by many things such as thick walls, excessive numbers of devices, and in some rare cases even faulty microwaves in the break room!
- Which WiFi band are you using? Some devices operate on 2.4GHz, others on 5GHz. 5GHz is generally much faster than 2.4GHz, but there can sometimes be issues using certain WiFi bands on certain network hardware.
If you think that any of these factors might be impacting your business’ network performance, or just want a check-up, why not arrange a site survey with our technical team? Click below to visit our site survey page where you can find out more about our site surveys.
Fibre optic is an excellent option for many businesses thanks to its many benefits, and at TEC-ID we will be able to discuss your options for implementing this into your business, so you can experience minimal disruptions, and get on a faster, more reliable fibre-powered network. Contact us today!