Saturday 25 January 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.

Even if the said network is still far from getting developed realistically, people should already be made aware of it. It will be beneficial for them if they have an idea on what the pros and cons are of this option. Here are the pros and cons that the people should know about when it comes to this kind of network.

In the advantageous side, there are a lot of people who will appreciate taking advantage of the available bandwidth capacity of the said network. Compared to electrical signals, the capacity for information of an optical signal is three hundred times higher. It makes the connection flow faster and more information are exchanged.

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 weight and size of this product will also prove to be advantageous. It is not as heavy nor as bulky as the coaxial cables. For the optical fibers, the size of it will measure to only ten micrometers in the least. This is just a fifth of the diameter of a person hair. The weight of these optical fibers measures to at least six kilograms per one kilometer.

If there are pros, there are surely cons to the said option. Since this is the case, it is better to have a look at the disadvantages of this option too. First of all, there is a problem with how much this product cost. There is a reason why only big enterprises can afford to get optical fibers as backbone for their network. If this is deployed to homes, then the cost will be exorbitant for one subscriber.

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.

Traffic switching is still not a good feature for the optical fibers. It is still better to use the electrical switching solution. After all, the cost-efficiency and flexibility of the latter is better than the optical fibers.

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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