1. What does a Fibre Optic Cable Do? 2. What is a Fibre Optic Cable? What is meant by an optical fibre cable? 3. What are fibre optic cables made from? 4. Are all fibre optic cables the same? 5. Fiber Optic Cabling Advantages and Disadvantages

1. What is optical Fibre cable and how does it work?
What doesa Fibre Optic Cable Do?
The way inwhichwe communicate hasradicallychangedoverthe lasttwodecades.Advancements
intechnologyhave ledtoa landscape where we cancommunicate withanyone in the worldno
matterwhere theyare.And,more importantly,we candothisquicklyandwithminimal disruptions
to quality.One of the drivingforcesbehindthisadvancementisthe availabilityof manyfibre optic
cable types.
Fibre opticcablesallowfor a higherbandwidthandtransmissionspeedsoveragreaterdistance than
those achievedoncopperstructuredcabling
What is a Fibre Optic Cable?What is meant by an optical fibre cable?
A fibre opticcable issimilar,atleastinaestheticterms,toanelectrical orstructuredcablingcable.
Howeveritsmethodof operationisverydifferent.Insteadof transmittingelectricityoveritscable
length,fibre opticcablestransmithighspeeddataviapulsesof light.Subsequentlytheseare
convertedfromandto electricitybothendsof the cable
What are fibre optic cablesmade from?
Cablesare constructedof long,thinstrandsof glassfibre thatare housedwithinaninsulatedjacket.
Thereofre afibre opticcable transmitslightsignalsthroughitsglasscore. Dependingonthe
specificationof the cable the lightwill eitherbe sentviaa LED source or a laser. LED iswhere a
multiple large zone of lightisshone downthe cable.Incontrast a laserdevice transmitsasignal
laserlightdirectalongthe glass core of the fibre opticcable.
Are all fibre optic cablesthe same?
To the nakedeye fibre opticcablesall lookverysimilarandthe innerglasscoresbeingsosmall look
similareventhoughtheyrange indiameter
Fibre opticcablingcan varyin the followingways
 The fibre cable can be eithersingle mode ormultimode
 The fibre cable can have a differentnumberof innercores
 Categoriesof single andmultimodecanbe categorisedintosubcategoriesof different
performance capabilities
 The outer sheathcan be suitable forinternal orexternalconditions,the outercoatingcanbe
armouredor surroundedbya corrugatedsteel tube (CST)
 The sheathcan be PVC,LSOH or Euro classfire rated
There are twomaintypesof fibre opticcables:
 Single mode Fibre:
Workingwithjusta single lightpath,single modefibre cantransmitsignalsoverdistancesof
up to 100km. The electronicsrequiredtoworkwithsingle modefibre cablesare expensive
and are mostcommonlyfoundintelephonyapplications,local areanetworksandcable TV.

2. The categoriesare OS1 and OS2
 Multimode Fibre:
These typesof fibre opticcablesdiffertosingle mode fibrecablesinthatmultiplelightraystravel
throughoutthe cable.Thisallowsconnectionstobe simplifiedandpresenta
cheaper option.However,due tothe lightdispersionthattakesplace,the range onoffer
inmultimode fibre cablesismuchreduced;the distance onofferisusuallyaroundamaximumof
one km.
The categoriesare OM1 throughto OM5
Fibre Optic Speedsand Distances
How many cores in fiberoptic cable?
Fibre opticcablingworksviaa transmitand receive returnpathonseparate coresso 2 cores are
neededforeachconnection
Standardoffice connectionsare usually4-16 coresand will dependonthe numberof connections
required.Largercore sizesare usuallyinstalledinlargerprojectsortoallow forfuture connections
A designmaycall for separate connectionsbetweenfloorsforNetwork,CCTV,Access,Telephone
and WIFI.Thiswouldrequire aminimumof 10 core fibre (5x 2 connections)

3. FiberOptic Cablingin ComputerNetworking
The backbone of any good computernetworkshouldalwaysbe fibre opticcables.Communicationin
businessneedstobe quickandit needstobe efficient.Andfibre opticcablesallowboththese
conditionstobe met.Large filescanbe seamlesslytransferredbetweenusersandcommunication
viavideoconferencingcanbe deliveredwithacrystal clear,uninterruptedlevel of quality.Andfibre
opticcablesare more than capable of supportinglarge numbersof employees.Therefore,fibre optic
cablesare a fantasticchoice whenitcomestosettingupany computernetwork.
Coppercableswill be installedfromthe cabinetstothe useroutletsandthe fibre opticcablingwill
linkthe separate cabinetsthroughoutthe buildingorcampus
FiberOptic CablingAdvantages and Disadvantages
As withanyproduct,a fibre opticcable comeswitha numberof advantagesanddisadvantages:
Fibre Optic CablingAdvantages:
 High Bandwidth: Comparedto othercablesonthe market,such as copper,fibre optic
cablesprovide the highestbandwidthavailable fortransmittingandreceivingdata.
 Small Size:A majoradvantage of fibre opticcablesistheirsmall size.Thisnotonlyhelpsyou
to save space,but allowsforsimplerorganizationof yournetwork.
 Distance: Fibre opticcablesare able to take advantage of theirlow powerlossto transmit
data overlarge distancescomparedtorival cables.
 Low Error Rate: The fibreswithinthe cablesare highlyresistanttoelectromagnetic
interference,sothe riskof errorsduringtransmissionissignificantlyreduced.
Fibre Optic Cabling Disadvantages:
 Install Issues:Fibre opticcable isn’tthe easiestmaterialtoinstall due toitsfragility.
Bendingthe cablescaneasilydamage the glassfibresandthe thinjacketsalsomeanthat
theyare susceptible tobeingcut.
 Costs: The manybenefitsof fibre opticcablesdonotcome cheaply.And,comparedto
coppercables,theyare much more expensive topurchase.
Withthese benefitsitisof little surprise thatfibre opticsare fastbecomingthe cable solutionsfor
choice forbusinessesthatwantreliable,fastconnections.
About NM CablingSolutions - NetworkCabling Specialist
NMCablingisa technologyandstructuredcablingintegratorworkingthroughoutthe United
Kingdom.
We have createda comprehensive KnowledgeCentre forourindustrywhichcanbe viewed
at https://www.nmcabling.co.uk/knowledge-centre/