Advantages of copper and fiber optic cables

"Fiber-optic cables instead of copper? Is this really possible?"

With the continuous improvement of bandwidth requirements in the network era, there is a saying that copper fades into light, and optical fibers have gradually replaced traditional copper cables and become the mainstream of the 5G era. Will copper cables really be replaced by optical cables? Let's talk about some knowledge about copper cables and optical cables.

Advantages of copper cables

Although the demand for higher bandwidth in the data center, optical fiber has the advantages of higher transmission rate, larger bandwidth, longer transmission distance, etc., so that it occupies a larger share in the deployment of data centers, especially the backbone application network; But in fact, copper cables will still be an indispensable part of data centers, and in applications in special environments such as voice transmission and power supply, copper cables are cables that cannot be replaced by optical fibers.

In network transmission within 100 meters, optical fiber is inferior to copper cable in terms of maintenance, cost, and wiring. The fiber core in the optical fiber is a kind of glass fiber, which is more fragile than the copper in the copper cable. In the wiring and later maintenance, the optical fiber will be damaged if you do not pay attention, while the copper cable is not easy to be damaged, so it is relatively In general, the wiring and maintenance of copper cables are more convenient and cost-effective. In the transmission of voice signals, optical fibers cannot replace copper cables.

Because copper cables are different from optical fibers in that they transmit data through electrical pulses, they can transmit voice signals, but optical fibers cannot. Since the core of the optical fiber is made of silica, it cannot conduct electricity, while the copper in the copper core can conduct electricity. The copper cable can supply power while connecting data, and can be used in power systems.

Advantages of fiber optic cables

①Light weight and small size: Compared with copper cables, the core diameter of optical cables is much smaller, and the weight of optical cables is much lighter than that of copper cables;

②Strong anti-interference ability: the optical cable only transmits optical signals, not electrical signals, and is not subject to electromagnetic interference, so the signals transmitted in the optical fiber are not easy to be eavesdropped, and the confidentiality is strong;

③Long transmission distance: Compared with copper cable, the longest distance of electrical signal transmission is 100 meters, and the transmission distance of optical cable is more than 100 kilometers;

④Abundant resources: The main raw material of optical cable is silica, that is, quartz, which is extremely abundant in nature.