Fiber Optic Cabling Facts: 10 Things You Might Not Know – Part 1

by Fiber-MART.COM

All over the world, people are really beginning to embrace the power and the flexibility of fiber optic cabling. While the technology behind the new fiber optic cabling installations is not exactly brand new, the applications in which it’s being called to use for are and it’s exciting to see. Due to a wide variety of reasons, fiber optic cabling is becoming the fastest, smartest and most flexible way to enable large amounts of digital data to be transmitted and received. The only problem is, many people are still in the dark about fiber optic cabling technology.

 

To attempt to slightly remedy that situation, we’re going to present the first 5 of 10 interesting and exciting about fiber optic cabling today that should shine some “light” on such a great technology. Here are our favorite fiber optic cabling facts:

 

Fiber Optics Has a History – The technology surrounding fiber optics has been around since the 1870’s. The first introduction of actual fiber optic cabling started showing up in the 1950’s. This is a technology rooted in solid history.

 

Fiber Optics Use Light – There is no electrical current being passed through fiber optic cabling, only light. Because of this, there is no heat and no heat means no burning and no fire hazards. During normal use, fiber optics are the safest option for data transmission.

 

Fiber Optics are FAST – Data can be transmitted through fiber optic cabling faster than traditional cabling due to increased capacity. Right now, commercial uses of fiber optic cabling can transmit 10-80 Gigabits per second over just one channel. According to reports, the current record is 15.5 Terabits per second over a distance of 7,000km. To put that into perspective, that’s the equivalent of 10.3 million DSL connections.

 

Fiber Optics Have Many Uses – From the traditional use of data transmission, fiber optics have grown in their use. Now, they are used with gun sights, imaging optics, spectroscopy, supply low levels of power, signs, art and even artificial Christmas trees.

Fiber Optics are Green – The amount of energy required to send a flash of light across a distance in fiber optic cables is far less than that required to send electrical signals. Less power means less carbon output, lower emissions and lower prices.

There is the first half of our 10 favorite facts about fiber optic cabling. As you can already tell, fiber optics are an interesting and exciting development in data transmission technology. Stay tuned for our next installment and the remaining 5 fiber optic cabling facts!

 

To learn more about fiber optic cabling installations and how the technology can help push your company into the next level, please feel free to visit fiber-mart’s Fiber Optic Cabling page.