PO Box 1075 113 Fairground Rd.
East Corinth, VT 05040
PH. 802-439-5325
Fax 802-439-5600
Putting The Future In Your Hands
Fiber vs. Copper
The transfer from copper lines to fiber optics started about 30 years ago when fiber optics were first installed in Chicago, IL in 1976. By the mid 1980s fiber was replacing copper, microwave and satellite links and fiber networks were connecting the major cities on each coast. In the 1990s, cable TV companies discovered fiber would not only enhance their service but could be used for telephone and internet as well, which greatly increased their customer market.
As demand for high speed internet increased and speeds increased to gigabits, the copper cable had trouble keeping up to the technology. Although copper cable has a large infrastructure and would require less technical training, copper is also more delicate than glass fiber optics with a lower pulling tension and more room for kinks in the wire, possibly causing problems with the high speed performance. Copper wire can handle high speed internet but only if it is carefully installed and maintained with expensive equipment and components.
Fiber optics, on the other hand, are more efficient and secure and can carry more data for longer distances than copper wires. Fiber links offer more than 1,000 times as much bandwidth over distances more than 100 times farther than copper. Glass fiber is also more difficult to tap onto than copper lines providing extra data security. While copper is easily eroded by harsh elements, water and chemicals, fiber optics are more resilient to these elements. Fiber optics poses little threat from injury to employees installing the cable as it transmits light, not electricity making the risk of injury from electrocution virtually non-existent. With no electrical conductivity, fiber is immune to electrical interference including lightning and can be used outdoors in close proximity to electrical lines.
