copper vs. fiber
Copper vs. Fiber
Modern telecommunication networks rely primarily on two types of cable. Older copper cables have been replaced in many cases by fiber optic "light pipes," first in undersea cables and major intercity trunks, and later directly to many homes and businesses.
Principles
Copper cables carry information as an electrical signal, which may be digital, as in phone lines, or analogue, as in audio speaker cable. In optical fibers, however, data is carried digitally by light from a laser or LED. This travels along the cable by means of Total Internal Reflection, bouncing from one side of the glass's inner surface to another and therefore following the cable's path.
Bandwidth
Although new techniques may allow copper cables to carry much more data than in the past, in most cases optical fibers provide much greater bandwidth. The first generation of submarine fiber optic cables carried 280 megabits per second, compared with only 2.5 megabits per second through copper cables. Modern optical fibers can carry terabits, or millions of megabits, per second.
Electromagnetism
Copper cables are inherently vulnerable to electromagnetic interference. Although fiber optic lines do have metallic components, these do not carry the signal, so interference is not a problem. Copper cables can also be "tapped" electromagnetically, allowing the signal to be covertly monitored. Optical fibers, on the other hand, cannot be tapped without disrupting the signal.
Distance Bandwidth Voice Channels Copper 2.5 km 1.5 Mb/s 24 Fiber 200 KM 2.5+ Gb/s 32,000 +
LAN Bandwidth
Ethernet 10 Mb/s
FDDI 100 Mb/s
Fast Ethernet 100 Mb/s
ATM 55, 155 Mb/s
Gigabit Ethernet 1,000 Mb/s (1 gigabit/s)
10 Gigabit Ethernet 10 Gb/s
Refereces - http://www.ehow.com/facts_5781999_difference-fiber-cable-copper-cable.html#ixzz29QHmIcka http://www.thefoa.org/tech/fo-or-cu.htm
Modern telecommunication networks rely primarily on two types of cable. Older copper cables have been replaced in many cases by fiber optic "light pipes," first in undersea cables and major intercity trunks, and later directly to many homes and businesses.
Principles
Copper cables carry information as an electrical signal, which may be digital, as in phone lines, or analogue, as in audio speaker cable. In optical fibers, however, data is carried digitally by light from a laser or LED. This travels along the cable by means of Total Internal Reflection, bouncing from one side of the glass's inner surface to another and therefore following the cable's path.
Bandwidth
Although new techniques may allow copper cables to carry much more data than in the past, in most cases optical fibers provide much greater bandwidth. The first generation of submarine fiber optic cables carried 280 megabits per second, compared with only 2.5 megabits per second through copper cables. Modern optical fibers can carry terabits, or millions of megabits, per second.
Electromagnetism
Copper cables are inherently vulnerable to electromagnetic interference. Although fiber optic lines do have metallic components, these do not carry the signal, so interference is not a problem. Copper cables can also be "tapped" electromagnetically, allowing the signal to be covertly monitored. Optical fibers, on the other hand, cannot be tapped without disrupting the signal.
Distance Bandwidth Voice Channels Copper 2.5 km 1.5 Mb/s 24 Fiber 200 KM 2.5+ Gb/s 32,000 +
LAN Bandwidth
Ethernet 10 Mb/s
FDDI 100 Mb/s
Fast Ethernet 100 Mb/s
ATM 55, 155 Mb/s
Gigabit Ethernet 1,000 Mb/s (1 gigabit/s)
10 Gigabit Ethernet 10 Gb/s
Refereces - http://www.ehow.com/facts_5781999_difference-fiber-cable-copper-cable.html#ixzz29QHmIcka http://www.thefoa.org/tech/fo-or-cu.htm