There is no denying that people may encounter a dilemma when accessing which type of network cable (fiber or copper) to install, and which type you should go with. As technology develops further and supporting devices catch up, fiber optic technology is becoming more and more popular. As we know, the most obvious difference between the fiber optic network and copper network is the speed of transmitting data. Associate Professor Robert Malaney has said, “When we are talking about 'speed', we were actually talking about throughput (or capacity)—the amount of data you can transfer per unit time.” Of course, fiber optic cable can definitely transfer more data at higher speed over longer distances than copper cable. So here comes the question: why is the fiber optic technology better than copper?

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Why Is the Fiber Optic Technology Better Than Copper?
There is no denying that people may encounter a dilemma when accessing which type of network
cable (fiber or copper) to install, and which type you should go with. As technology develops further
and supporting devices catch up, fiber optic technology is becoming more and more popular. As we
know, the most obvious difference between the fiber optic network and copper network is the
speed of transmitting data. Associate Professor Robert Malaney has said, “When we are talking
about 'speed', we were actually talking about throughput (or capacity)—the amount of data you
can transfer per unit time.” Of course, fiber optic cable can definitely transfer more data at higher
speed over longer distances than copper cable. So here comes the question: why is the fiber optic
technology better than copper?
How Do They Work?
To solve this problem, first we should get down to the working principles of them. Copper network
works by sending electrical pulses through a copper wire. The power of the signal dictates how
much of it will be retained by the time it reaches its destination. At the destination (e.g. the router),
the wire’s electromagnetic field is constantly monitored for changes. As the field gets stronger, the
destination registers a “1.” If it dips below a certain measurement, a “0” is registered. Copper
cables must have several wires built in to accommodate the mechanisms that allow Ethernet
routers to properly process signals. While fiber patch cables transmit data by sending pulses of light
Why Is the Fiber Optic
Technology Better Than
Copper?

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Why Is the Fiber Optic Technology Better Than Copper?
generated by a light emitting diode or laser along optical fibers. It conserves the data being sent by
not allowing light to stop around the middle, which can be highly beneficial when you’re trying to
transfer data over long distances.
Why Fiber Optic Transmission Is Faster?
It is the common sense that fiber can transmit faster data rate than copper. Why is that? Because
copper has a significant signal-loss issue. To read a signal correctly during operation, you have to
know the exact moment the signal has stopped and the exact moment it began. As a signal is forced
to travel farther, the difference between a start and a stop (zero and one) gets very fuzzy. Copper is
best used for maintaining a continuous electrical current for the great conductive property. However,
for signaling, it remains a very poor material. It’s still good for local networks, but not necessarily
something we should be using for global communication infrastructure, considering that Cat6a
copper cables can lose 94 percent of their signal at 100 meters distance. Researchers have recently
been able to send data at 10 Gbps through copper, but at distances no larger than 30 meters.
Fiber, on the other hand, can theoretically send terabytes per second of data without so much as a
3% data loss over 100 meters. The signal retention and signal clarity are two things playing an
important role here. Not only do you absolutely know when the signal began and ended, but you
receive a very strong signal across the wire. This allows communication at dizzying speeds so fast
that most routing technologies still can’t process them fast enough. Figure 2 shows a single-mode
fiber cable installation.
Through the signal’s lifecycle, fiber does another very important thing: It protects the signal from
any electromagnetic interference. EM fields can influence how copper transfers data, but since
optical fiber is made of extruded silica, it’s magnetically neutral. If you would have a perfect cable
(there’s no such thing yet), you could theoretically send a signal across the United States without
making any stops along the way.

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Why Is the Fiber Optic Technology Better Than Copper?
Superiority of the Fiber Optic Cable
In both cases you're detecting changes in energy, and that's how you encode data. With copper
wires you're looking at changes in the electromagnetic field, the intensity of that field and perhaps
the phase of the wave being sent down a wire. With fiber optics, a transmitter converts electronic
information into pulses of light—a pulse equates to a one, while no pulse is zero. When the signal
reaches the other end, an optical receiver converts the light signal back into electronic information.
The following table concludes the reasons why we should choose fiber.
The throughput of the data is determined by the frequency range that a cable will carry. Generally,
the higher the frequency range, the greater the bandwidth and the more data that can be put
through per unit time. So here we can get the key point: fiber optic cables have much higher
bandwidths than copper cables. This difference determines that fiber optic cable can transfer a
large sum of data at a very high speed, while the copper cable would attenuate or lose signal
strength at higher frequencies. What is more, fiber optic technology is far less susceptible to noise
and electromagnetic interference than electricity along a copper cable. For example, when we want
to transmit data over 200 kilometers, fiber optic cable can make it perfectly, while the copper cable
would suffer a lot of degradation over that distance.
Last but not the least, an added benefit of fiber optic cables is that they are not a fire hazard. This
can also be attributed to the same reason that the cables do not produce EMI—there is no electric
current traveling through the core. Fiber optic cables do not break as easily, even though the fiber is
made of glass, copper wires are more prone to damage than fiber optic cables are.

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Why Is the Fiber Optic Technology Better Than Copper?
Summary
Because of its incomparable superiority, fiber patch cable make itself a more enticing cable
infrastructure solution than its copper counterpart. It has been utilized in many new cabling
installations and upgrades, such as medical examinations, government services, improved
productivity, telecommuting, three-dimensional conferencing and working from home. Copper,
however, no longer represents a worthwhile investment and should be retired. People may hold
different opinion about copper vs. fiber, please leave your message to share with us.

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Fiberstore (FS.COM) | Why Is the Fiber Optic Technology Better Than Copper?
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Notice: This document is for informational purposes only and does not set forth any warranty, expressed or
implied, concerning any equipment, equipment features, or service offered or to be offered by Fiberstore.
Fiberstore reserves the right to make changes to this document at any time, without notice, and assumes no
responsibility for its use. This information document describes features that may not be currently available.
Contact a Fiberstore sales team for information on feature and product availability.
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