Comparison between

Optical fiber and Copper

Cable
 Fiber optic cables transmit data at much higher speed than
copper wires. This is because the speed of light is greater than

Optical
the speed of electrons.

Single Mode Fiber Optic Cable Speed data rate is at 100 Mbit/s

Fiber Vs or Gbit/s, the transmission distance can reach up to 5 km. In

that case, it is usually used for long distance signal transmission.

Copper Multimode Fiber Optic Cable Speed and the transmitting

distance limits are 100 Mbit/s for distance up to 2 km, 1 Gbit/s

Cable
up to 1000m, and 10 Gbit/s up to 550 m.

Copper-based transmissions currently max out at 40 Gbps.

Optical Fiber Vs Copper Cable
Both copper and fiber-based signaling suffers from attenuation (weakening of the waveform signal over distance). However,
fiber optic cables can transmit data over much longer distances.

Copper cables are limited to lengths of 100 meters (~330 ft.), per governing standards. Longer distances are theoretically
possible, but may introduce other problems, preventing copper from being a reliable transmission method at greater
distances. Fiber optic cabling, depending on signaling and type of cable, can transmit up to over 24 miles (~ 38.6 km).

All data signals degrade over a range, but fiber offers significantly better signal durability. Fiber only loses 3% of the signal
over distances greater than 100 meters, compared to copper's 94% loss of signal.

Fiber optic cables have very low attenuation. Repeaters need to be added only after every 50 km as compared to 5 km in
copper wires.
 Copper cables and connectors are
Optical much cheaper than fiber optic
cables and connectors.
Fiber Vs
Copper Also, copper has excellent resale
value. Since any technology is
Cable constrained to cost, need for
deployment of fiber optic cables has
to be justified before installation.
Factors affecting the speed
and quality of internet
connection
Multiple factors affect the speed and quality of your internet connection.
Transfer technology, your location, the number of people you share the
connection with and the device you use are only some of these factors.
Factors affecting the speed and quality of
internet connection
• Speed in fixed network
Data In fixed networks, the main factor affecting the broadband speed is the
technology used for data transfer. Fiber-optic and cable networks enable high-
transfer speed connections, whereas traditional xDSL (DSL-ADSL-VDSL) connections
technology provided over a telephone network have limited maximum transfer speeds.

Network The speed of your connection also depends on the distance between your
terminal device and the network centralizer. The further you live from the
centralizer. operator's broadband centralizer, the more it affects the speed of your
connection.

Other
devices and
users. 
Difference between Leased
line and the DSL Line
 ADSL vs Leased Lines
ADSL LEASED LINES

Cost Low cost High cost

Bandwidth Shared Bandwidth (not Fixed) Dedicated Bandwidth (Fixed)

Typical Subscriber Used by home users Used by businesses

Technical Support Support often isn't provided 24/7  24/7 support

Backup Connectivity Options No\Rarely Backup option Routine to be given the option of a backup connection

Fiber v Phone Lines Runs over standard analogue phone cables Tend to run over fiber-optic circuits

Typical Uses Used for streaming TV, music and radio, general Internet Used for general Internet surfing, phone calls (using IP telephony),
surfing and gaming data backup, data replication, video conferencing and uploading large
files

Connection Quality Impacted by electrical interference Stable

Connection Speed Variability by Vary a lot depending on how close you are to your local Available regardless of where you are, i.e., they offer a fixed-, with
Location telephone exchange the only variable being the price of the connection.
References
• Bandwidth: Fiber vs. Copper - Which Is the Clear Winner? (atlantech.net)
• 5 Reasons Why IT Professionals Choose Fiber Optic Cables Instead of Copper (cablexpress
.com)
• How Fast Fiber Optic Cable Speed Is - Fiber Optic Solutions (fiber-optic-solutions.com)
• Comparison of Fiber Optics and Copper Wire (tutorialspoint.com)
• Factors affecting the speed and quality of internet connection | Traficom