Jan 24, 2014

The Pros And Cons Of Fiber Optics

By Amanda Bean


The talk about the use of optical fibers have progressed from being a mere dream into a reality. However, such a reality is still not up to the standard of a useful level. The all-optical network is yet to become a reality. There are only a select few that are using a fiber optics network as their option to connect to the Internet.

There are a lot of things that prevent the full development of this network. There are surely a lot of people who are aware of this. There are also advantages and disadvantages to using the said option nowadays. Here are those advantages and disadvantages that the person might want to take in mind beforehand.

On the advantages side, the user can take advantage of its bandwidth capacity. The optical signals will carry considerably high amount of information that is a far cry from the electrical ones. The optical signals can actually carry a hundred times more information that the copper cables. This will be beneficial for Internet usage.

There is also the advantage of signal reliability. Electrical signals are easily exposed to electromagnetic interference. The bit error rate of the electrical systems when there is an electromagnetic interference will god up then. For the optical signals, it does not suffer from electromagnetic interference. Since there is no signal loss, the bit error rate is smaller.

The person can also consider the size and weight of the optical fibers. When it comes to the size, the optical wires have a size of ten to 50 micrometers. This is comparable to a fifth of a human hair's diameter. When it comes to the weight, one kilometer of this wire can be weighed as much as six kilograms.

Of course, using the optical fibers also has its own disadvantages. One of them is the cost of the said product. The exorbitant amount of the said option makes it only available to big companies. They use it as an economic investment because they can use this to serve as a backbone for their processes. If it is used at home, the price will be too expensive.

There are physical constraints that people has to suffer from too. The optical fibers should never be bended too much or else it will lose its light reflecting property. It is also a known fact that this is more easily damaged compared to copper cables. The complexity and cost of the repairs is higher as well.

There is also a need to pay attention to the traffic switching of this product. Truth be told, the switching technology of this product is not up to par compared to the electrical switching solution. It is not as cost-efficient and flexible as what the electrical options can offer. This is the reason why it is troublesome to make use of this when there is a high traffic for the company.

These are just some of the pros and cons that people will have to take into account when they are trying to install the fiber optics into their house or their business. There should be other pros and cons that people can reap aside from the mentioned ones. Better know more of these pros and cons through proper research so that one can make an informed decision in the end.




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