5 Fun Facts on Fiber

The first “optical telegraph ” was invented in the 1790’s by the Chappe brothers in France. It was a system comprised of a series of lights mounted on towers where operators would relay a message from one tower to the next.
Sprint was founded on the first nationwide, 100 percent digital, fiber-optic networks in the mid 1980’s.
Fiber is a green technology. The amount of energy it takes to send a flash of light across a fiber optic cable is significantly less than that required to send electrical signals (copper cables). Less energy means less carbon output, lower emissions and greener operations.
Fiber really isn’t all that fragile. Sure, some aspects of working with glass fiber do require more care, but fiber optic cables are designed to withstand some of the most rugged installations. In fact, the military often depends on fiber cable to keep communication open in the toughest conditions. For a quick comparison, fiber optic cable can be rated to withstand more than 200 pounds of pulling tension (depending on cable construction); while Category and rated Ethernet cables are limited to approximately 25 pounds (per TIA/EIA-568A standards)
Fiber is a top choice to support wireless networks due to its great bandwidth, low attenuation and extreme distance capabilities. With technology advances in lasers and fiber optic glass, the bandwidth of fiber doubles about every 12-18 months with distances of up to 80km’s at a loss of less than 0.5 per kilometer.