optical fiber vs copper wire ppt

Choosing the perfect solution for your cabling infrastructure is not easy. However, once you know the different properties of copper and fiber, your solution may seem clearer. There are many advantages to fiber vs. copper cable, as explained below.

Fiber vs Copper Data Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the main character of communication, so here, first, we are going to compare fibre vs copper for bandwidth. Fiber-optic can support data bandwidth from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps. However, copper wire infrastructure and TDM technology are limited. Because it was originally designed to transmit voice calls only, the demand for bandwidth wasn’t high. So, it supports 10 Mbps to 100 Gbps data only.

Distance Covered

The distance is another important consideration for comparing fiber vs copper. The signal travel on copper wire networks degrades with the length of the cable. So the distance covered by copper wire is very Short, which is from 1 meter to 100 meters. However, the signal travel on fiber optic cable does not degrade as the signal degrades in copper wire. The distance covered by fiber optic is very long, from 1-100,000 meters.

Security

The security difference between fiber and copper is important to consider. We can easily intercept copper cable only by connecting taps to a line to pick up the electronic signals. So it is very easy to compromise your security and difficult to trace compromise cable. But Putting a tap on a fibre-optic cable to intercept data transmissions is very difficult. It’s also easy to quickly find compromised cables, which visibly emit light from transmissions.

Immunity to EMI and RFI

Copper wire is a conductor, so it is very low in immunity to EMI and RFI. However, fiber optic cable is a non-conducting material, and electrical signals do not interfere with it. So, the immunity to EMI and RFI is very High (Completely immune)

Immunity to electrical hazards

The immunity to electrical hazards in copper wire is very low. However, fibre optics have high immunity to electrical hazards because of their non-conducting materials.

Size of Cable

The speed via copper cable is directly associated with the weight of the cable used. More cable is required to achieve a higher speed, which requires more space in a system room. However, fiber cable’s speed is not associated with its size, and it is far lighter than copper. This renders it easier to use and less demanding of limited space in small rooms.

Media and connector costs—The cost of the copper cable is low for the connector and media, but the cost of fiber optic-related media equipment and connectors is very high.

Installation skills required—The installation skills are most important for fiber vs. copper cables. Copper cable requires only some installation skills, but fiber optic cable requires highly skilled technicians and engineers for installation.

Safety precautions- The copper wire safety precautions are low. But fiber optic required high safety precautions.

Power over Ethernet (PoE)—Copper cable provides the facility of power over Ethernet(POE), but fiber optic does not provide such facility.

Flexibility – Copper wire is more flexible than fiber optic cable.

Reliability- Copper wire is less reliable than fiber optic cable.