Blog

Coleman Technologies Blog

We can give your organization comprehensive IT services and 24/7/365 live support for a predictable monthly fee. Stop stressing about technology, and start focusing on growing your business.

Know Your Tech: Fiber Optics

Fiber optic cable is a network cable that contains small strains of glass fiber. Those glass strains are covered by an insulated casing. They transmit data through light. They are often not much thicker than a human hair. They are made up of the core, which is the pathway for light to travel. The core is surrounded by a layer of glass called cladding that keeps light in via reflection to avoid signal loss and keep transmissions true as the wire bends. 

Since the transmission of light is so fast, data can travel long distances quickly.  These cables provide higher bandwidth and can maintain the integrity of data transmission over long distances. Today, this technology supports much of the world’s Internet, cable television, and telephone systems. Their main benefits include:

  • Higher capacity data - The amount of data that a fiber optic cable can carry exceeds that of traditional copper cable. Fiber cables are rated at 10 Gbps, 40 Gbps, and 100 Gbps. 
  • Longer Distances - Since light travels for much longer distances without losing strength, there is less need for signal boosters. 
  • Less Interference - Copper cables require shielding to protect it from electromagnetic interference, but this shielding doesn’t always work. The physical makeup of fiber optic cables works to avoid this outside interference. 

Most fiber optic cable is installed to run long-distance connections, there are some Internet providers that roll out fiber optics for direct access to customers. They are deployed the following ways:

  • Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) - Fiber that is laid to support the use of media services to residential buildings.
  • Fiber to the Building (FTTB) - Also called Fiber to the Block or Fiber to the Business - This is fiber optic cable that supports commercial buildings.
  • Fiber to the Curb of Node (FTTC/N) - This is fiber cable that is laid to the node, while copper wires complete connections to customers.
  • Direct fiber - Fiber that leaves the central hub and is attached directly to a customer. Some of the most expensive network cabling on the market. 
  • Shared fiber - Much like direct fiber, but at the end it’s split up to other customers. 

Deploying fiber optic cable to your place of business is possible, but it is extraordinarily expensive. Due to the mounting costs associated with it, it may not be an option unless your provider is rolling out new infrastructure. 

If you would like to learn more about the technology your business uses, and what kind of effect it can have on your business, return to our blog regularly. 

0 Comments
Continue reading

Customer Login

News & Updates

When it comes to growth and advancement, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in British Columbia have been effectively leveraging Coleman Technologies’ affordable enterprise-level IT practices and solutions since 1999. The proof: Coleman Technol...

Contact us

Learn more about what Coleman Technologies can do for your business.

Coleman Technologies Inc.
20178 96 Avenue, C400
Langley, British Columbia V1M 0B2

Operations Center
6600 Chase Oaks Blvd, Suite 100 Plano
TX 75023

 

2 year badge

Copyright Coleman Technologies. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy