Fiber optic cable therefore has a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as a result of not having to contend with the continual wear and tear on the metallurgical values of the wire (Ferelli, 23, 24). The Specific Advantages of Fiber Cabling over Copper:

Taking a Closer Look

It's been established in this analysis that fiber optic cabling can support single-mode and multimode fibers which further differentiates this cabling technology from copper. There are finer gradations of differences in fiber optics vs. copper cabling however that is also explained here. First, fiber optic cables can also be built to order depending on their wavelength range, maximum propagation distance, maximum bitrates, and potential for cross-talk between wires. There are no configuration options for ordering copper cable that are comparable to these. Fiber optic cabling is also specifically designed to be shielded to minimize crosstalk and also ensure higher accuracy rates for asynchronous and synchronous communication (Ichikawa, Shimizu, Akabane, Ishida, Teramoto, 55, 56). Figure 1 presents a graphical representation of a fiber optic cable, illustrating why it is more suited for high density applications.

Figure 1: Diagram of Fiber Optic Cable

Source: (Davey, Nesset, Rafel, Payne, Hill, 13)

As a result of the structure of this cabling, fiber optic networks are also less impacted by power surges and outages, including interference vs. copper cabling (Ferelli, 24, 25). Despite all of these advantages however, fiber optic cabling is among the most expensive there is and is often only used for enterprise deployments where the Total Cost of Ownership can be underwritten by the total cot of the implementation. Despite their high price however, fiber optic networks deliver the highest performance relative to competing cable technologies. Table 1, Comparison of Speeds and Costs of Media provides an overview of the various communications mediums or connectivity wiring options available for creating WANs and LANs.

Table 1, Comparison of Speeds and Costs of Media

Medium

Speed

Cost

Twisted Wire

300 BPS -- 10 MBPS

Their use in telecommunications networks, enterprise-wide LANs and WANs are underscored by their agility and relative reliability vs. copper cabling. While fiber optic will most likely not migrate to the mid-tier of the market, there are many applications for it in the more high-bandwidth, demanding applications described here.
Conclusion

Comparing fiber optic and copper cabling illustrates how fast the innovation in the former is occurring. No longer having to wait for the development of customized networks, systems planners and developers can create entire networks in less time and have a clearer idea of the TCO as well. Fiber optic makes the task of network planning more efficient, reliable yet also potentially more costly.