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Optical fiber advantages over coax and twisted pair

Short answer

Optical fibers offer very high bandwidth (Gbps–Tbps), low attenuation (~0.2–0.5 dB/km) enabling long repeater spans, immunity to EMI and crosstalk, high security, small size and weight, and no electrical hazard, making them superior to coaxial and twisted-pair cables.

What are the advantages of optical fibers over coaxial cable and twisted pair cable?

Advantages of optical fibre over coaxial and twisted-pair cable:

  1. Very high bandwidth and data rate: a fibre carries Gbps to Tbps; coaxial and twisted pair are limited to Mbps to a few Gbps.
  2. Low attenuation: about 0.2 to 0.5 dB/km, so repeaters can be 40 km or more apart, against 1 to 9 km for coaxial and about 2 km for twisted pair.
  3. Immunity to electromagnetic interference and crosstalk, since light is not affected by electrical noise, lightning or nearby power cables.
  4. High security: tapping a fibre is hard to do without being detected; copper cables can be tapped easily.
  5. Small size and light weight, with much more capacity per unit area; fibre is also thin and flexible.
  6. No electrical hazard: no sparks and no ground loops, so it is safe in explosive areas; it is also corrosion resistant.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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