The advantages of optical fiber communication, in various aspects, contribute to the rapid development of an optical fiber communication system. Although it's still with some also have disadvantages and it will be improved with the future with the development of technology. Here this article gives some advantages and disadvantages of optical fiber communication to better understand this topic.
Advantages of optical fiber communication:
- Optical fibers are insulators of electricity. They do not show earth loop and interface problems like metallic cables.
- Optical fiber communication has enormous bandwidth and hence show for greater transmission potential than the metallic cable system.
- It is a higher communication capacity.
- Optical fiber communication is noise-free.
- There is a small transmission loss in optical fibers cable as compared to the metallic cable.
- Optical fiber cables are small in size and weight as compared to metallic cables and hence occupy small space for its operation.
- Optical fiber provides a high degree of signal security.
- Optical fiber forms a dielectric waveguide and is therefore free from electromagnetic interference or some radio frequency interference.
- Optical communication cannot jump as easily as radio waves.
- The fiber are made from the silica which is available in abundance. Hence there is no shortage of material and its cost is also less. So optical a very low-cost communication.
- Optical fiber is most suitable for digital transmission and stitching system.
- Optical fiber is most suitable for digital transmission and switching systems.
- Optical fiber is most suitable for wavelength multiplexing, Very large number of signals of slightly different wavelength can be sent along with the same fiber. A pair of optical fiber can carry more than 3000 telephone calls simultaneously.
- Optical fiber light does not radiate significantly and therefore they provide a high degree of signal security.
- Fiber has been fabricated with losses is low as 0.2dB/km and this feature has become a major advantage of optical fiber communication.
Disadvantages of optical fiber communication:
- The cost of manufacturing the optical fiber is high.
- The optical fiber communication can be handled by trained and skilled engineers only.
- In this communication, the glass fibers are easily broken than metallic wires, so extra care is needed when they are to be installed.
- Optical fiber cables are very difficult to merge and there will be loss of the beam within the cable while scattering.
- In optical fiber communication installation of these cables is cost-effective. They are not as robust as the wires. A special test of equipment is often required to the optical fiber.
- Separation and coupling are not flexible for optical fiber communication
- In this communication special device are needed to check the transmission of fiber cable.
- It required more protection around the fiber cable compared with copper cable.
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