The world we live in is constantly changing. Every day, billions of bytes of information are sent from place to place and person to person via an invisible yet vital network. 
This network is made up primarily of copper wires – think CAT 5 cable for a common household example – but with each passing year, there is a greater shift in overall network composition. This shift heavily favors fiber optics, for reasons to be discussed shortly.
The Date Sream: The Trickle VS The Flood
At the moment, most tweets, Facebook posts, phone calls, and television programs are carried to and fro via copper wire. This is because copper is highly conductive, and also because it carries a patina of tradition – data has been transmitted on copper wiring since the telegraph. Still, we no longer live in the 1800s. Technologically aided communication has increased exponentially, and the new millennium has brought with it a commensurate need for speed and capacity when it comes to the channels through which such communication will be conveyed. While copper still has its place, many consumers, businesses, and even governments are turning to fiber optics to handle their data transmission needs.
Copper VS Fiber Optics
Since some readers may be unfamiliar with what fiber optics technology entails and/or how it’s any different from traditional methods, here’s a brief primer. The copper wire used in most consumer and business-grade telecom wiring is inferior to fiber optics in a number of ways. First, copper conducts electricity, so that’s how data is transmitted. As a result, copper-carried data is susceptible to electrical disturbance and the relatively low usage thresholds inherent in copper technology. Just take a look at a CAT 5 wiring diagram for confirmation of these facts.
Fiber optics, by contrast, use light pulses to carry and transmit data. Light, as nearly everyone knows, travels at the fastest speed known to mankind. It should come as no surprise, then, that data speeds on a fiber optic network are vastly superior to those of a copper one. Unlike the current metal-based mode of transmission, the use of light as a medium of transmission allows for a much higher data load while simultaneously eliminating the “noise” which can sometimes plague a copper-based system. In simple terms, fiber optic networks can carry much more data much more quickly than traditional networks. This means faster Internet, faster telephone relays, faster television signal relays, and more, all with better data integrity than copper networks.
A Bright Future
With the obvious advantages of fiber optic networks, one may ask why copper networks are still in place. It’s simple: They work. They do the job, and have done for quite a long time. Fiber optics on a wide scale is a relatively new thing, and it will take both time and money to transition to a 100% optical network. Still, early adopters can’t stop raving about their positive experiences. With rave reviews of fiber optic technology coming in from college kids who just want fast, gaming-capable Internet, large corporations, and even the Australian government, the future for fiber optic data networks looks bright indeed.
Article by, Meghan Belnap
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