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Coaxial Cable vs. Fiber Optics
Everyone should be fed up with all these online mêlées by now, all
the utterances regarding which is better between the two existing
telecommunications medium. By now everyone can spot-tell the
difference in a jiffy, but that doesn’t mean choices have to be made
on that same wavelength. There are lots and lots of things to
consider.
So, between Coaxial Cable vs. Fiber Optics which is best?
Technically, the fiber optics choice is obvious but life isn’t a
rock-paper-scissors rule. We don’t throw coaxial cables because a
new technology has arrived, or else everyone will be going bankrupt
by then as newer innovations are getting introduced one after
another, in a rate that could overwhelm even a customer call center.
The comparisons between Coaxial Cable vs. Fiber Optics should start
with the conventional wisdom. So read on.
We define Coaxial Cable as an advance electrical cable made of
several layers: a round conducting copper wire surrounded by an
inner dielectric insulator, followed by a (usually braided) sheath
of another conductor (usually copper) and then finally encased by an
insulating plastic. This design serves a purpose, the
electromagnetic field traveling along the two layers prevents
interference, particularly crosstalk, from other external
electromagnetic fields.
From the data, anyone can tell that coaxial cables are heavy duty
cables capable of delivering accurate signals on varying distances.
So we can assume further that coaxial cables have a broadband
capability and are often used for high frequency signal
transmission. And yes, it has served greater uses in networks until
it was replaced by twisted pair for reasons of affordability.
Coaxial cables are primarily used for high tech purposes, and
internet, radio, and broadcasting, which are highly dependent of
these hard wire materials. But all of that is before the
introduction of Fiber Optics.
Fiber Optics (or Optical Fiber as the right term, since Fiber Optics
is the study of optical fiber usage) is a crystal clear filament
made of either glass or plastic (the former being the best material
and the latter is the affordable lesser quality substitute). One
aspect true to all fiber optics is its strict adherence to the
standard rating of the index of refraction. And this only aspect
made fiber optics outmoded coaxial cables in every way.
In a nutshell, fiber optics is technically better than coaxial
cables. Similarly, with the beginnings of the mass production of
fiber threads, fiber optics will be cheaper than coaxial cables.
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