Fiber-optic communication
method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of light through an optical fiber
Fiber-optic communication is a form of optical communication for transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of infrared or visible light through an optical fiber. The light is a form of carrier wave that is modulated to carry information. Fiber is preferred over electrical cabling when high bandwidth, long distance, or immunity to electromagnetic interference is required. This type of communication can transmit voice, video, and telemetry through local area networks or across long distances.
Optical fiber is used by many telecommunications companies to transmit telephone signals, internet communication, and cable television signals. Researchers at Bell Labs have reached a record bandwidth–distance product of over 100 petabit × kilometers per second using fiber-optic communication.
Background
First developed in the 1970s, fiber-optics have revolutionized the telecommunications industry and have played a major role in the advent of the Information Age. Because of its advantages over electrical transmission, optical fibers have largely replaced copper wire communications in backbone networks in the developed world.
The process of communicating using fiber optics involves the following basic steps:
creating the optical signal involving the use of a transmitter, usually from an electrical signal
relaying the signal along the fiber, ensuring that the signal does not become too distorted or weak
receiving the optical signal
converting it into an electrical signal
Applications
Optical fiber is used by telecommunications companies to transmit telephone signals, internet communication and cable television signals. It is also used in other industries, including medical, defense, government, industrial and commercial.
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This entry incorporates text from “Fiber-optic communication” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.