Fibre optics

Fibre optic cable is a transmission medium in which data is carried as light signals through a thin core made of silica glass. A distinction is made between multimode fibre for shorter distances within buildings and data centres and singlemode fibre for long distances in wide area and provider networks. Compared with copper cabling, fibre offers higher bandwidth, considerably greater reach, low attenuation and immunity to electromagnetic interference. Network components are connected using transceivers such as SFP, SFP+ and QSFP with connector types including LC, SC or MPO. Fibre is deployed in corporate network backbones, for site interconnection, in data centres and in access networks following the FTTH principle. Fibre class, connector cleanliness, bend radii and professional splicing are decisive for transmission quality.