Below is an excerpt from the podcast:
With industrial Internet of Things (IoT) networks constantly changing and evolving, understanding the ins and outs of fiber optic cables is needed for IT technicians and plant managers alike.
Although fiber has been around for more than four decades, many misconceptions remain. At the top of the list is that installing fiber optics is more expensive than copper due to its networking devices, terminations, and cables. Another is that fiber is harder to install and terminate than copper. Last, there's the fallacy that fiber cables are fragile since they're "made of glass".
We'll dispel those lingering myths here.
Fiber optic cables are the fastest-growing transmission medium for both new network builds and expansions, especially in applications that require high bandwidth, long distances, and immunity to electrical interference. Network backbones transmitting huge amounts of bandwidth-consuming data files almost exclusively rely on fiber.
As the name implies, fiber optic cables carry optical signals using fast-traveling pulses of light instead of electricity over long distances. At the cable's core are extremely pure glass fibers the same width as human hair that transmit light photons down the length of the cable.
