What is the difference between copper and fiber cable

Copper wires can be twisted pair or coaxial cable. Unguided medium refers to transmission of EM waves through atmosphere and outer space. The transmission through guided medium is known as wired communication where as transmission through unguided medium is known as wireless communication.

Copper has electrical conductivity of 5. Hence copper wires offer high current capacity for power packages and thinner wire for fine pitch packages. Moreover it offers improved heat transfer efficiency. Copper has numerous mechanical properties such as higher tensile strength, increased ductility, Stiffness, reduced molding sway etc.

Moreover it offers high mechanical stability, long term reliability and so on. In data communication, copper as a medium offers low delay, medium bandwidth and varying path loss. Copper wire categories such as twisted pair and coaxial cable are used for data communication. In twisted pair, copper wires can be twisted into spiral shape in order to reduce noise and crosstalk. Coaxial cable is improved version of twisted pair which is consists of conductors insulated from each other and enclosed in a polyethylene jacket.

There are two types of twisted pair viz. The UTP categories include cat-1 to cat The common applications of copper wires are telephone cables, electric wires, ethernet cables etc. Following are the advantages and disadvantages of Twisted pair cable and coaxial cable. Advantages of Twisted pair cable are as follows. Disadvantages of Twisted pair cable are as follows.

Advantages of Coaxial cable are as follows. Disadvantages of Coaxial cable are as follows. Therefore, distance can range from meters for 10 Gbps multi-mode and up to 40 kilometers for single-mode cable. Fiber optic cable is much less susceptible to various environmental factors than copper cable. For example, copper will experience a great deal of degradation in quality over a distance of two kilometers, using fiber optic cable over the same distance can provide extremely reliable data transmission.

Also, like the transatlantic cable connecting the U. Since optical fiber does not transmit electricity, it does not radiate signals and cannot be tapped — copper does use electricity and is susceptible to be tapped, which can cause the entire system to fail. A broken or damaged optical fiber can be detected extremely quickly by using a number of monitoring techniques including monitoring the actual power transmission or the transmission of a pilot signal.

On the other hand, copper cable carrying a current can short-out completely or even cause a fire if it is damaged, old or worn without such efficient monitoring techniques.

The advent of optical cable with its ever-reducing cost, increased bandwidth, extremely high speed and long transmission distance, excellent reliability and perfect security, has replaced copper in every aspect of network transmission and reception. Fiber optic cable has become one of the most popular mediums for both innovative cabling installations and upgrades, including backbone, horizontal, and even desktop applications. And with the steadily lowering cost and intrinsic improvements made seeminly daily in fiber optic connectivity, fiber construction will become more convenient and cost-effective.

First Name required. Last Name required. Your Company required. In some areas, especially rural ones, it is just too expensive to install fibre cables meaning some communities - maybe you are living in one - are reliant on copper and stuck on very slow speeds.

In others, you may have no broadband at all. The Government and regulatory bodies are currently trying to address this. Ultrafast broadband to the door. Companies that wholly supply fibre-optic cable broadband right up until the connection point at the door of a home or business can usually offer far superior speeds, connectivity and stability.

We have allowed them a far better experience than some of those living in towns and cities who are still stuck on slow copper wire connections. The future is full fibre. While research is being done in the background to phase out the need for copper wiring, it is clear that areas benefitting from fibre-optic cabling directly to the point of internet connection on their doorstep can experience broadband that is generally much faster than homes still using copper on that final leg.

With data transfer capacities and internet speeds usually much higher within a full fibre network than a fibre-to-the-cabinet one, these properties are future-proofed and can sit back comfortably as the rest of the UK catches up. There is no doubt full fibre will become the dominant connection to our homes and businesses, the question is not if, it is when!