Tuesday, January 21, 2014

The Benefits And Risks Of Fiber Optics

By Amanda Bean


Ever since long ago, talks about the wonders of optical fibers have made its round across the globe. Despite the fact that it has been talked about ever since long ago, getting an all-optical network remains a dream. Only a few places are making use of fiber optics as a part of their network for Internet connections.

An all-optical network is still far off. However, people should thoroughly be made aware about this. It is better to inform the public about the possibility of this dream. Before anything else, let the public know about the pros and cons that are available to them. Here are some important pros and cons the public should know about.

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 person has to think about the size and weight too. The optical fibers usually have a size of at least ten micrometers. This size can be compared to a fifth of the diameter of human hair. The weight of this option, when it has a length of one kilometer, will be approximately six kilograms. It is definitely smaller and lighter than the coaxial cables.

Of course, there are consequences to choosing this option too. The first one has something to do with the product's cost. The optical networks of big companies use optical fibers as its backbone since it is economical. However, it will be a different matter when this is deployed at home. The cost is too high for a single 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.

The pros and cons are not limited to the aforementioned, though. People should take account all information about using fiber optics. This is so that they can make a more appropriate decision in the end. This way, they can enjoy the benefits and withstand the consequences of using the said network easily.




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