- 2071 Chaitra · 6 marks
Optical fiber vs satellite transmission
Short answer
Optical fibre operates at 180-370 THz with Tbps bandwidth, near-zero EMI, very low delay (5 µs/km), and high security, but fixed point-to-point. Satellite microwaves (1-40 GHz) offer wide broadcast coverage and mobility, but suffer from 0.5 s round-trip delay, rain fade, lower security, and limited bandwidth per transponder.
Compare the transmission characteristics and performance (frequency range, bandwidth, security, flexibility, interference, connectivity) of Optical fiber cable and Satellite transmission.
| Characteristic | Optical fibre cable | Satellite transmission |
|---|---|---|
| Medium | Guided: light through glass | Unguided: microwaves through space |
| Frequency range | 180-370 THz (infrared and visible light) | 1-40 GHz (C, Ku, Ka bands) |
| Bandwidth | Extremely high (Tbps with WDM) | Moderate, limited by spectrum and transponders (up to hundreds of Mbps) |
| Delay | Low (about 5 µs/km) | High (about 250 ms one way for GEO, so about 0.5 s round trip) |
| Security | Very high; hard to tap | Low; any receiver in the footprint can receive, so encryption is needed |
| Flexibility | Fixed route; new cable is needed to reach a new site | Very flexible: new site only needs a dish, mobile and remote areas are covered |
| Interference | Immune to EMI | Affected by rain fade, solar interference and other transmissions |
| Connectivity | Point-to-point, needs cable to each site | Broadcast and wide coverage; point-to-multipoint over a whole country |
| Attenuation / errors | Very low attenuation, very low BER | Large free-space loss; higher BER |
| Cost | High installation (laying), low operation | Very high satellite cost, cheap for each additional user |
| Typical use | Backbone, long-haul, FTTH | TV broadcast, remote areas, ships, GPS |
✓ Answer checked by Claude Sonnet 5.5
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