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Communication system; optical fiber merits

Short answer

A communication system sends information from source to destination via a channel using electrical, radio, or optical signals. Optical fiber offers extremely large bandwidth, very low attenuation, immunity to EMI, high security, small size, and safety compared to copper or radio.

Define communication system. Discuss about the merits of optical fiber communication over the other transmission media.

A communication system is a system that sends information (voice, data, video) from a source to a destination through a channel using electrical, radio or optical signals. Its main parts are the information source, transmitter, channel, receiver and destination.

Merits of optical fiber communication

Optical fiber carries information as light through a glass core, using total internal reflection. Compared with copper cable, coaxial cable and radio links:

PointOptical fiberCopper / coaxial / radio
BandwidthExtremely large (THz)Limited (MHz to GHz)
AttenuationVery low (0.2 to 0.5 dB/km)High, needs frequent repeaters
InterferenceImmune to EMI, RFI and crosstalkAffected by noise and lightning
SecurityHard to tapEasy to tap or intercept
Size and weightThin and lightThick and heavy
SafetyNo electrical hazard, no sparksRisk of shock and sparks
Cost of materialSilica is abundant and cheapCopper is costlier

Other merits:

  • The high data rate allows thousands of telephone channels, or high-definition video, in one fiber.
  • Signal quality stays high over long distances, with a low bit-error rate.
  • The cable can easily be laid underground or undersea because it is non-conductive and corrosion-resistant.
  • It is future-proof: capacity can be raised by changing only the terminal equipment.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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