By Roberto Garabell
In recent years, the "digital revolution" and the incredible advances in computing power and communications bandwidth have spurred a slow but steady refurbishing of the world's communications backbones (if you prefer, infrastructures). Among the most impressive advances is the use of optical fiber for communications systems, which enjoy many advantages over the once standard - in fact, once revolutionary - metals-based communications methods. These advantages are many and diverse, and even the few highlights featured in this article are enough to impress, not to mention the future that can be imagined as the technology fully matures.
Distance, length and diameter
Because of greater signal integrity and less reduction in its strength (called "attenuation"), optical systems offer greater distances that metallic systems and do not need the in-line "repeaters" that the latter do. A single-line, voice-grade copper system cannot normally carry a signal farther than a mile or so without those signal boosters. In comparison, optical systems routinely carry signals over 60 times farther without any additional processing, active or passive. As emerging technologies move from the drawing board to "the grid," the future promises
In recent years, the "digital revolution" and the incredible advances in computing power and communications bandwidth have spurred a slow but steady refurbishing of the world's communications backbones (if you prefer, infrastructures). Among the most impressive advances is the use of optical fiber for communications systems, which enjoy many advantages over the once standard - in fact, once revolutionary - metals-based communications methods. These advantages are many and diverse, and even the few highlights featured in this article are enough to impress, not to mention the future that can be imagined as the technology fully matures.
Distance, length and diameter
Because of greater signal integrity and less reduction in its strength (called "attenuation"), optical systems offer greater distances that metallic systems and do not need the in-line "repeaters" that the latter do. A single-line, voice-grade copper system cannot normally carry a signal farther than a mile or so without those signal boosters. In comparison, optical systems routinely carry signals over 60 times farther without any additional processing, active or passive. As emerging technologies move from the drawing board to "the grid," the future promises
