Location:Home > News >

How Do Fiber Optic Cables Transmit Data?

 

Basics of Fiber Optics

Fiber optics are plastic tubing filled with thin glass filaments which carry data in the form of light across a network. The basic of fiber optics consists of speed, distance, resistance and bandwidth. Fiber optic cables function at gigabit speeds. Their bandwitdh is larger than standard CAT5 networks. Fiber optics are able to transmit data without worry of signal loss and they offer a great resistance to interference such as radios or electromagnets.

Fiber Optics and Light

Fiber optic cables use pulses of light and send them through a transmitter across thin filaments of fiber. The transmitter can interpret electronic information and turn it into pulses of light which are then sent through the fibers using a lens. Light passes through the fibers and bounces from the inside of the glass tubing until it reaches its destination. At the end, it is received and interpreted as electronic information.
 

Types of Fiber Optic Cables

There are two common types of fiber optic cables used: Single mode and multimode. Single mode cable uses one strand of glass fiber. Single mode cabling is used with multi-frequency data transmission and gives a faster speed than multimode. However single mode cable is more expensive. Multimode fiber optic cabling uses two fibers for transmission and reaches speeds of Megabits per second up to Gigabits per second. They are used for medium distances no farther than a few kilometers.