FIBER OPTICS Characteristics Comparisons

Fiber Optics Characteristics Fiber optic technology uses light pulses to transport digital information from one point to another. Specifically, fiber optics are thin filaments of glass through which light beams are transmitted. Advantages of fiber include: High information carrying capacity (bandwidth) Very low error rates Total insensitivity to electromagnetic interference Great immunity to eavesdropping Transmission Media Comparisons Type/Considerations Typical Capacity Limits Copper Wire 19th Century medium; voice or slow data speed only 1.5 Mb/s or 24 simultaneous voice/data calls Microwave Point to point application; line of sight path required 135 Mb/s or 2,160 simultaneous voice/data calls Satellite Good for broadcast or wide coverage area 45 Mb/s or 720 simultaneous voice/data calls Fiber Optics Highest capacity; low propagation delay n   x 10 Gb/s or n   x 129,024 simultaneous voice/data calls